America The Beautiful
2026-05-08 - 2026-08-09
Save The Date: New exhibit: Eugene Tapahe Art heals: Standing Rock and The Jingle Dress Project
Exhibition of compelling and provocative photographs illustrating America, American life, and the American people as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday amid the erosion of civil rights, human rights, and democratic norms.
On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. “America The Beautiful” confronts the idea that “American” is a uniform, monolithic identity at a critical time when our Democracy is under attack. Threats to free expression are rising, federal civil rights laws have been weakened and the foundations of the country’s racially inclusive democracy are being challenged
Through more than 40 enthralling images, “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL” explores the rituals, celebrations, social change, history, and memories of the American nation. Photographs in the exhibit depict major events and everyday life; themes of patriotism, memory, conflict, and identity; and documents Americans struggling for their freedom; their right to live without fear, their right to speak and the right to protest inequities.
Watch: Ryan Vizzions Artist Talk From Standing Rock To Minneapolis
Eugene Tapahe: ART HEALS The Jingle Dress Project and Standing Rock Movement
2026-08-13 - 2026-11-01
Opening reception and Artist Talk Thursday, August 13, 20926 5-7 PM Tapahe will share his insights and the dream which brought healing through his art.
The Ojibwe jingle dress dance originated from a dream to heal. The sound of the cones on the dress connect us to the water and the land, embodying the ancestors' prayers.
Over the past ten years, Eugene Tapahe has documented this dance, beginning at the Standing Rock camps in North Dakota and throughout the world during with Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project. This dance brought healing, hope, and unity during times of trauma, fear, and uncertainty.
Eugene Tapahe documented the strength, unity, inspiration, resilience, and hope of the Indigenous-led movement that began in April 2016 to block the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota He remembers the grace and courage of Jingle Dress dancers healing the trauma inflicted on the water protectors from police and private security forces using water cannons, LRAD sound cannons, rubber bullets, pepper spray, mace, tear gas, and bean bag blasts. Years later, Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project originated from a dream Tapahe had during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring him to unite the land and people through the healing power of the Ojibwe jingle dress dance. The images have raised awareness of many Native American issues, such as land acknowledgment, women’s rights, and, most importantly, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
The unity and resilience of native ceremony, traditional storytelling, and the healing power of the jingle dress have connected these two historical events.
