The University of Nebraska is a land-grant institution with campuses and programs on the past, present, and future homelands of the Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe-Missouria, Omaha, Dakota, Lakota, Kaw, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Peoples, as well as those of the relocated Ho-Chunk, Sac and Fox, and Iowa Peoples.
Exhibition Dates: September 6–December 21, 2024
For the fifth iteration of Contemporary Indigeneity, the Great Plains Art Museum sought Native American artists addressing any issues and themes relevant to the contemporary Indigenous experience on the Great Plains. A panel of Native American art professionals reviewed the submitted work and made selections based on the artwork’s aesthetic merit and contribution to the field of contemporary art.
The museum and its parent organization, the Center for Great Plains Studies, are committed to increasing the representation of and providing a platform for Native artists in their collections, exhibitions, and educational programs. Contemporary Indigeneity plays a key role in that initiative.
The Center for Great Plains Studies loosely defines the Great Plains as a region that stretches westward from the Missouri River at Omaha and Kansas City to the Rocky Mountains and northward from the Texas Panhandle into the Canadian Prairie Provinces.
2024 Jurors
Mary V. Bordeaux (Sicangu Oglala Lakota), Co-director, Racing Magpie, Rapid City, SD
Chelsea M. Herr, PhD (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Curator for Indigenous Art & Culture, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
Tarah Hogue (Métis), Adjunct Curator (Indigenous Art), Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
The Contemporary Indigeneity jurors and Ashley Wilkinson, Director & Curator of the Great Plains Art Museum, discussed the exhibition and Indigenous art on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at the museum.
Selected Artists
Angela Babby
Marwin Begaye
Rachel Berg
Awanigiizhik Bruce
Mona Cliff
Gordon Coons
Dennis Fox
Dustina Gill
Kimberly Hager
Hotvlkuce Harjo
Jessica Moore Harjo
Sun Rose Iron Shell
Kelsey Jacobson
Valentina LaPier
Steve C. LaRance
Chris Pappan
Henry Payer
Daniel Pewewardy
Meredith Radke-Gannon
Savannah Berlyn Ricehill
Nathaniel Ruleaux
Nelda Schrupp
Tony A. Tiger
Crystal Wabnum
Benjamin West
Paula Whatley
2024 Entry Guidelines
Artist & Artwork Eligibility
- This exhibition is open to all Native American artists who work within or address themes relevant to the Great Plains.
- Artists must be 18 years or older at the time of submission.
- All submissions must be original works of art and created during or after 2022.
- All submissions must be available for display during the entire run of the exhibition (September 6–December 21, 2024). Artwork will be returned by mid-January 2025. The Great Plains Art Museum will cover all incoming and outgoing shipping costs.
- There are no limitations on artwork media. Two-dimensional artwork cannot exceed 70 inches on the longest side (frame included). Three-dimensional artwork and its packaging cannot exceed 135 inches in length and girth combined and cannot weigh more than 100 pounds.
Submission Guidelines
- All applications must be submitted by February 15, 2024. All applicants will be notified via email of juror selections in early April 2024.
- Each applicant may submit up to five (5) works for consideration, but not all submitted works may be included in the exhibition.
- The preferred submission method is through SlideRoom.
Applications can also be sent via mail. Send completed application form and artwork images in digital (CD/DVD/USB) or printed format to:
Great Plains Art Museum
Attn: Ashley Wilkinson
1155 Q Street
P.O. Box 880250
Lincoln, NE 68588-0250
For questions about the submission process and exhibition, contact Great Plains Art Museum Director & Curator Ashley Wilkinson at 402-472-0599 or ashley.wilkinson@unl.edu.
Sponsored by:
This project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.