Last Updated: 19 june 2025,
Opening June 18, Shaping the Future Through Tradition is a new exhibition of multimedia works by Indigenous artists from the Pacific Northwest. Hosted in the rotating contemporary art gallery of the American Museum of Natural History’s Northwest Coast Hall, the exhibition explores how today’s Indigenous creators draw on their heritage to inform and inspire their modern practices.
Curated by guest curator Michael Bourquin (Tāłtān/Gitxsan, Wolf Clan)—a filmmaker from the Iskut First Nation whose work centers Indigenous oral traditions, cultural revitalization, and community storytelling—the exhibition features 12 interdisciplinary pieces. These include short films, animations, music videos, and a multi-channel video installation, showcasing how cultural legacy and modern media intersect in vibrant and innovative ways.
“We are excited to open this exhibition that celebrates the perspectives and creativity of this dynamic group of Pacific Northwest Coast artists,” said Museum President Sean M. Decatur. “The latest contemporary art exhibition to open in our Northwest Coast Hall, Shaping the Future Through Tradition is a powerful expression of the ways that Indigenous culture and history fuel the creative visions of these seven artists, whose present-day work reflects their enduring connection to their communities.”
For Bourquin, the gallery offers a unique convergence of past and present. “Bringing together these seven artists and seeing their work nestled in this space among the works of our ancestors adds an extra layer to the juxtaposition of traditional and current technologies,” he said. “It’s a vision of shaping the future, informed by the past.”
Featured artists include:
- Wuulhu, Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations), an interdisciplinary artist blending sculpture, painting, and drawing with digital media, animation, and live performance to animate ancestral art forms.
- Kayah George (Tulalip and Tsleil-Waututh Nations), a filmmaker and activist who weaves environmental advocacy and cultural revitalization into powerful storytelling.
- Jordan Hill (T’Sou-ke Nation), a new media artist who reimagines overlooked spaces through immersive physical and virtual installations.
- Dustin McGladrey (Nisga’a, Grizzly Bear Clan), a filmmaker and editor whose work uplifts Indigenous stories with authenticity and depth.
- Wil Uks Batsga G̱a̱laaw (Jeremy Pahl) (Ts’msyen, Laxsgyiik Clan), a musical artist whose Sm’algyax-language project G̱a̱mksimoon revives Indigenous language and sonic traditions.
- Danika Saunders (Nuxalk, Gwa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw), a tattoo artist who incorporates traditional Northwest Coast formline designs into contemporary practice.
- Kristi Lane Sinclair (Haida, Cree), a genre-defying musician whose powerful lyrics and soundscapes explore womanhood and lived experience.
Shaping the Future Through Tradition is the third exhibition in the newly reimagined Northwest Coast Hall’s contemporary art gallery, following Living with the Sea (2022) and Grounded by Our Roots (2024). The Hall reopened in 2022 following a major renovation and reinterpretation co-led with Indigenous communities from the region, with the goal of presenting Native cultures as living, evolving, and future-facing.
This exhibition continues that vision, demonstrating how Indigenous artists are not only preserving tradition—but redefining it.
