Eternal Testament
Curated by Jeremy Dennis and Meranda Roberts, Ph.D.
MAR 23 - JUN 1
Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 22nd
6 - 7:30 PM
Jaune Quick to See Smith, Trade Canoe: Don Quixote in Sumeria, 2005, mixed media on canvas, 60 x 200 inches. © Jaune Quick to See Smith, 2005. Gochman Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Eternal Testament is an exhibition reaffirming that Sag Harbor, including this “church,” occupies the traditional homelands of the Montaukett and Shinnecock Nations. By featuring works by Native artists regionally and from across the country that incorporate wit, irreverence, and playfulness —tools for survival and healing— the exhibition asserts Indigenous presence and sovereignty as artists reclaim space, “temporarily transforming a site of forced assimilation into one of resistance and refusal,” according to Roberts.
Juxtaposing themes of whaling, indenture, land loss, and Western religious and spiritual iconography with playful yet pointed commentary, the exhibition invites viewers to reconsider their perceptions of the Eastern Long Island, raising critical questions about how we engage with Indigenous history and the land we occupy. Featuring Natalie Ball, Jim Denomie, Denise Silva Dennis, River Garza, Elisa Harkins, Emily Johnson, Chaz John, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Rachel Martin, David Bunn Martine, New Red Order, Jaune Quick To See Smith, Adrienne Terry, Tyrell Typaha, Marie Watt, and additional artists and programs, to be announced.
JEREMY DENNIS
Co-Curator
Jeremy Dennis (b. 1990) is a contemporary fine art photographer, an enrolled Tribal Member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY, and lead artist and founder of the non-profit Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc. on the Shinnecock Reservation. In his work, he explores Indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation. Jeremy Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY. He lives and works in Southampton, New York, on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.
MERANDA ROBERTS, Ph.D.
Co-Curator
Dr. Meranda Roberts, a citizen of the Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana, holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in Public History from the University of California, Riverside. She is a Visiting Professor in the Art History Department at Pomona College and serves on the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum, where she advocates for inclusive representation of Indigenous histories.
An accomplished scholar and curator, Dr. Roberts co-curated Native Truths: Our Stories. Our Voices. at the Field Museum of Natural History. She also curated the 2023 Native American Invitational Exhibition at Idyllwild Arts, Still We Smile: Humor as Correction and Joy, and curated Continuity: Cahuilla Basket Weavers and their Legacies at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. Most recently, she co-edited Surviving the Long War: Creative Rebellion at the Ends of Empire, published by Bridge Books in Chicago.
Through her work, she is dedicated to advancing anti-colonial pedagogy and Indigenous methodologies, holding colonial institutions accountable for harmful narratives, and reconnecting cultural heritage items with descendant communities to ensure their stories reflect their enduring significance.