Tickets
OPENING FREE FOR EVERYONE
RSVP REQUIRED for PANEL DISCUSSION
This exhibition and its programs have been supported in part by the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation.
In grand commemoration of the opening of Eternal Testament on Saturday, March 22, co-curators Jeremy Dennis and Meranda Roberts have created an electric series of events that will inspire, delight, and inform all on the topic of the show. The run down is:
5 PM – 6 PM PANEL DISCUSSION WITH JEREMY DENNIS, MERANDA ROBERTS & DENISE SILVA-DENNIS: Join us on our studio level for as co-curators Jeremy Dennis and Meranda Roberts, co-curators of the show are joined in conversation by artist Denise Silva-Dennis. The trio will dive deeper into some of the themes, intentions and inspirations for the show, providing guests a unique opportunity of insights before seeing the show. The exhibition invites audiences to “reconsider their perceptions of Eastern Long Island in a way that positively engages with Indigenous history and the land we occupy,” according to the Curators. Following a brief Q&A
6 PM – DRUMMING PROCESSIONAL WITH JEFFREY PEGRAM: At the end of the panel discussion, we will be led up to the exhibition via a performance by contemporary Native TSALAGI Nation (Cherokee) Singer and Composer, Jeffrey Pegram. Nominated for various indigenous music awards and a historian of Native American culture, the multitalented speaker and lecturer invites all people into the gallery to reflect, contemplate, and expand their awareness.
6:30 – ELISA HARKINS PERFORMANCE: Elisa Harkins (Cherokee, Muscogee) will present a 15-minute performance of Indigenous hymns and hand-drum songs, transforming the former church — on the homelands of the Montaukett and Shinnecock Nations — into a site of Indigenous presence and resistance. Rooted in language revitalization and Indigenous musical traditions, her work challenges the church’s colonial history of forced assimilation while amplifying themes of sovereignty and reclamation central to Eternal Testament. By filling the space with Indigenous sound, Harkins unsettles historical narratives and invites audiences to reconsider their relationship to land, spirituality, and power.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
DENISE SILVA-DENNIS
Visual Artist
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DENISE SILVA DENNIS, “Weetahmoe” (1960, Shinnecock/Hassanamisco-Nipmuc), is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based at the Shinnecock Nation in Southampton, New York. Denise graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, with a B.A. in studio art and a minor in sociology. She holds certification in New York State as a teacher in both special education and art, and her master’s degree in special education is from Dowling College. Denise is currently the workshop coordinator/beadwork instructor at Ma’s House, a BIPOC art center founded by her son, Jeremy Dennis, located at Shinnecock. Denise also presents her Shinnecock/Hassanamisco culture through her artwork, which includes life-size figurative paintings, outdoor historical murals, beadwork, regalia, talking sticks, dreamcatchers, and other artifacts when she visits schools, museums, and libraries. Denise’s artwork has been shown at Southampton Arts Center; Ma’s House (February 2022, artist-in-residence solo show); Southampton African American Museum BIPOC show; Long Island Museum at Stony Brook; the Long Island Children’s Museum at Garden City; and The Church. In addition, Denise painted Wunne Ohke-The Return to Good Ground, a two-story mural as a Road Show Artist for the Parrish Art Museum in 2022. In celebration of 2024 Women’s History Month, two of Denise’s paintings, A Hole in the Sky and Medicine Woman at Shinnecock Hills, greeted visitors as they entered Gracie Mansion
JEREMY DENNIS
Co-curator of Eternal Testament
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JEREMY DENNIS (b. 1990) is a contemporary fine-art photographer, an enrolled tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, New York, and lead artist and founder of the nonprofit Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc. on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. In his work, he explores Indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation. Dennis holds an M.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University in State College and a B.A. in studio art from Stony Brook University on Long Island. He lives and works in Southampton on the Shinnecock reservation.
MERANDA ROBERTS, PH.D.
Co-curator of Eternal Testament
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Dr. Roberts is 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.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
JEFFREY PEGRAM
TSALGI NATION (Cherokee) Singer/Composer
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JEFFREY PEGRAM is a TSALGI Nation (Cherokee) singer and composer of traditional/contemporary Native American music. He has been nominated for various Indigenous music awards. He is also a historian of Native American culture, a speaker, and lecturer.
ELISA HARKINS
Cherokee/Muscogee Interdisciplinary Artist
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ELISA HARKINS (b. 1978, Cherokee, Muscogee) is an artist, singer, electronic music composer, and curator. Her work is concerned with the body, language revitalization, and Indigenous music. She has exhibited and performed at Crystal Bridges, the Getty, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, MoMa, Montréal, arts interculturels, and REDCAT. Harkins has received awards from Creative Capital, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Harpo Foundation, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. In addition to her artistic practice, she serves as a visiting lecturer at various institutions, fostering dialogue around Indigenous music and arts. Harkins is an enrolled member of the Muscogee Nation and lives and works on the Muscogee Reservation.