SING OUR RIVERS RED
Open to the public May – Oct., 2021
The SORR exhibit will take place in the McMahon Gallery at the Dairy Arts Center. Free and open to the public Monday-Saturday 2pm-6pm.
Featuring works by Chad Yellowjohn, Nathalie Standingcloud, Mary Jane Oatman, Crystal Dugi, Lakota Sage, Olivia Montoya, and JayCee Beyale, Sarah Ortegon, Danielle SeeWalker, Donna Chrisjohn, Jonathan Nelson, Gregg Deal
Sing Our Rivers Red (#SORR) aims to bring awareness to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and colonial gender-based violence in the United States and Canada.
This exhibition strives to raise consciousness, unite ideas, and demand action for our Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirt relatives who have been taken, tortured, raped, trafficked, assaulted, and murdered. We demand proper attention and justice for our relatives.
The exhibition is centered around over 5,000 single earrings, separated from a pair. Each earring represents a current Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) case in North America. The earrings have been collected from all around Turtle Island and beyond since 2015, many from people that have been directly affected by MMIWG. The idea behind collecting a one-sided pair of earrings is to symbolize how we continue holding onto something we cherish even if part of it is missing. It is about the process of reconciliation with the loss of the other side, or in other words, the loss of a loved one.
The abuse of women is well known in history and tells you a lot about what is hapening to our earth. #MMIP #MMIR #MMIW #MMIWG #MMIWG2S
Complementing the earring installation are letters from people that have been affected by this epidemic and works of art from regionally based artists that personally advocate and bring awareness to MMIW.
Ribbon skirts hanging in the center of the gallery honor the many Indigenous women here in Colorado that have been murdered. Ribbon skirts are a historical and traditional clothing adopted in the late 18th century as traders began to offer Native people wool, cotton and ribbons to use for clothing. There are numerous beliefs and reasons as to why Indigenous women wear the ribbon skirt but overall, they tie Native American women to the earth, to ceremonies and to the political unrest of issues including the injustice of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirits. They are considered an expression of history, resilience, and character. These skirts have been handmade by local Denver-based artists and are for sale as well as other pieces throughout the exhibition.
#MMIP #MMIR #MMIW #MMIWG #MMIWG2S
About the Exhibits
Sing Our Rivers Red Earring Exhibit
MMIWG+ Art Exhibit
Native Fashion Taking Action Exhibit featuring Patricia Michaels
Mural by Creative Nations’ artist JayCee Beyale
Accomplished Diné artist JayCee Beyale will debut a mural exhibition that will be on display at the Dairy Arts Center, which is inspired by the MMIWG Movement. JayCee’s mural will be on display at the Polly Addison Gallery at the Dairy Arts Center.