FREE FIRST THURSDAYS: NATIVE REMIX
Multi-disciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin, Reservation Dogs composer Mato Wayuhi, and New Jersey’s Red Blanket Singers lead Free First Thursdays at Montclair Art Museum in honor of Native American Heritage month. Join these artists as they remix and reclaim narratives through genre-bending sculpture, music, and dance. Participate with interactive opportunities throughout the evening.
**Due to changing circumstances, Nicholas Galanin will be participating virtually in Thursday’s gallery conversation at the Museum.**
We thank our Native arts partner We Are the Seeds of Culture Trust, Philadephia, and the participation of the American Indian Community House, New York, NY.
Free First Thursdays are MAM's once-a-month evening party. Enjoy free general admission, talks, music, art activities, food trucks, a cash bar, and much more.
Program:
MATO WAYUHI: DJ SETS
5–9 p.m.–with breaks | Leir Hall
Mato Wayuhi (Oglala Lakota), the composer for the critically acclaimed Hulu series Reservation Dogs and a pop and hip-hop artist, will spin throughout the evening—with plenty of space to dance. For a sample, follow his MAM playlist below.
NICHOLAS GALANIN: TRANSFORMING OBJECTS/RECLAIMING NARRATIVES
6–7 p.m. | McMullen Gallery/Lehman Court
A critical and incisive voice in contemporary art, Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) will lead an interactive in-gallery conversation about cultural commodification and reclamation surrounding his 2019 work I Think it Goes Like This (Gold). Featuring hacked and gilded replica totem poles, the work will be reconfigured with Galanin’s guidance and audience participation. The work is on view in the exhibition Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists only through January 2023.
RED BLANKET SINGERS
7:15–8 p.m. | Leir Hall
Featured across the Northeast, the Red Blanket Singers from south Jersey will bring stirring drum, song, and powwow dance by Nanticoke Lenape, Haliwa-Saponi, and Mohawk members of our community.
I WILL CARRY YOU RATTLE MAKING WORKSHOP WITH WE ARE THE SEEDS
5–7 p.m. | Geyer Studio
For all ages: Learn about rattles from across Native America, then gather inspiration from Colleen Farwell’s I Will Carry You children’s book to make your own, guided by designs from Summer Peters (Ojibwe), ACONAV (Acoma Pueblo), Tchin (Narragansett), Katy Issenock & Johnson Taylor (Sicangu Lakota) and Sylvia Farwell (Crow). Once your rattle is complete, head to Leir Hall for an interactive music-making session.
GALLERY TOUR
7:30 p.m. | Meet in MAM’s Cornerstone Cafe for Docent-led tours of current exhibitions.
EAT & DRINK
- Cash (and credit) bar with specialty cocktails
- Food trucks outside
LEARN & SHOP
- Meet We Are the Seeds and American Indian Community House NYC
- Buy work by local Indigenous artists
- The Shop at MAM
Attendance is free, but space is limited. Advance registration recommended.
Support for Nicholas Galanin: Transforming Objects/Reclaiming Narratives provided by Art Bridges. Music presented by Mato Wayuhi is made possible by Jennifer Ley and Kit Skarstrom. Free First Thursdays are presented by TD Bank.
Images: Nicholas Galanin portrait by Will Wilson; Mato Wayuhi by Indigena/Josué Rivas; Red Blanket Singers by Max McDonald.
