Ancestral Modernity

Ancestral Modernity features contemporary Pre-Columbian-inspired Indigenous ceramic flutes, ceremonial vessels, & kitchenware. In the context of Claytopia, this exhibition looks to the past of the Maya and Lenca regions where a true claytopia existed and most things both utilitarian and ceremonial were created in clay. Modernity challenges the tradition of pre-columbian ceramics and the notion that its practice or culture bearers are extinct. Form, function, and ceremony evolve today with contemporary influences and an urban environment. 

Featuring the work of Latinx artists Xilam Balam, 2018 McKnight Ceramics Fellow (Ceramic flutes, carved masks, and ceremonial vessels), and Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra (slip-painted Lenca pottery), this exhibition will also feature live music at the evening reception by the Indigenous fusion band Curandero. Curandero (meaning healer) is a collective sound healing project whose music is a mash-up of Pre-Columbian Indigenous instruments with contemporary electronic and DJ elements.