♪♪ People have very small understandings of what Indigenous culture is because we are so misrepresented and there is such a lack of representation of who we are in mainstream culture, in any sorts of, you know, conversations in academia, everywhere.

Johnson-Cunningham: So, "On Display" focuses on museums and other cultural institutions, primarily in New York City.

And this season, we're focusing on Indigenous voices.

So it's a vast conversation, but it all speaks to preservation, to the importance of preserving these stories as well as preserving these institutions.

♪♪ ♪♪ It's been really great visiting the Clemente.

I think this space is a hidden gem here in New York City.

It's quietly kept, but it is incredible, the work that they are doing here.

The artwork, the theatrical performances all connect to the Lower East Side and, also, the diasporic experience that we all kind of go through.

Guerra: The history of the Clemente goes back to around 30 years ago.

A group of poets, cultural activists, mostly in the theater field, and obviously individual visual artists came together.

And it was on those iterations where the building was abandoned.

They took it over, and on sweat equity, they built the the place to what it was with this vision of cultural equity.

"If the establishment doesn't represent this type of thing, let's make our own institution."

How we support artists is through many different ways.

We provide affordability of studio space to many artists who would have probably been displaced of the area.

We have an ecosystem of not only visual artists with more than 40 artist studios, but small arts organizations that are mostly POC-centered in their missions.

So Clemente acts as an umbrella to all this ecosystem.

But then we have our own programmatic mission and output that we conduct.

We distilled it into three pillars called responsive arts, heritage conservation and conversation, and provocative collaborations.

♪♪ To hear about the ways that they are literally incorporating Indigenous life ways, Indigenous sensibilities, but also Indigenous artists, Indigenous artwork as a form of cultural survival I think is really beautiful.

It was really great hearing and seeing Jorge's candle-making, which I think some people don't know just how intricate the process is and, also, how much it's connected to Indigenous practices.

González: We are looking at a space where we are producing tallow candles.

We're following a tradition by the Yucatán people of Tabasco, Mexico.

I had the opportunity to -- that the collaborators that I'm working with, the Vera List Center and also the Clemente, I'm really thankful that we can have this workspace.

As different crafts face, there's a risk of not being continued by future generations.

So that's always -- this is based within the processes that I've been engaging with in the past years through the project called "Escuela de Oficios" or "Trade School."

Now that abilitates the learning of different crafts and this is... there's some of a familiar space that there's a risk of losing a knowledge, you know.

So how do we come together?

Because there's an openness to pass down the knowledge.

And there's always a member of a family that extends from the values of teaching.

Johnson-Cunningham: So, what are these candles used for?

They are to be lighted on the Day of the Dead to shed light for those past family members, to have -- for those past family members to have a guiding light when they come and visit during that night.

Johnson-Cunningham: I think to hear more and more of the voices of Indigenous peoples, communities, and artists is really important.

And to see that Indigenous artwork is being preserved and in multiple vast mediums I think is really important.

♪♪ Carroll-Cachimuel: So, my exhibition at the Clemente just recently closed, and it was titled "The Fight to Free Leonard Peltier -- Honoring Indigenous Culture and Heritage."

I identify as a Quechua-Otavalo woman.

My father is indigenous to Ecuador.

And throughout the course of my life, I'd always tried to figure out a way that I could integrate my identity and my personal passions for social justice and advocacy together into a project.

I've wanted to figure out a way to bring Indigenous solidarity into the conversation, highlighting South American Indigenous people that are oftentimes left out of the rhetoric and conversation when it comes to Indigenous liberation.

So this project came together as a form of solidarity, and the reason that it's a solidarity project is because the artists that were featured in this exhibition offered their work to the space as a means to bring attention to Leonard Peltier's case.

So, Leonard Peltier was accused of the murder of two FBI agents.

Can you talk a little bit about Leonard's identity, as well?

Mm-hmm.

So, Leonard is Dakotan, and he grew up, you know, really advocating for his community.

The reason that Leonard's case is so important is because it really symbolizes this relationship that the United States government has with Native people.

And this is not something that's new within the Indigenous community.

When leaders in the Indigenous community get targeted, that's because they are a threat.

And so often we see Indigenous environmental leaders, for example, in Honduras that go missing, right?

That the government doesn't look to find where they are.

They don't put an importance on Indigenous lives, that someone like Leonard was such an influential leader that people wanted him gone.

So what do you want visitors to walk away better understanding?

The main things I wanted people to take away from the space was to have an understanding of who Leonard is as a person and how important our collective solidarity is towards liberation, whether that be showing up and being an ally.

But I also did want people to understand that Indigenous solidarity, Indigenous culture, and Indigenous heritage are beautiful.

So much of who we are doesn't get projected into the mainstream narrative.

And I feel like that's exactly what this exhibition did.

You know, there's so many pieces of, like, beautiful women in their traditional clothing just being, right?

Like, we are allowed to just be sometimes.

And as much as I wanted this to be, like, this huge advocacy project, there was also this huge part of identity and culture that I wanted to be showcased.

So, how is Indigenous art a method of cultural survival?

I always like to think of myself as, like, my being is cultural survival.

So I think that we keep our lineage and our culture and our heritage alive through art.

We tell stories through art.

And so often Native people and Indigenous people get their stories told by others.

And I think that the purpose of this exhibition was to allow Indigenous artists to represent themselves for themselves.

You know, working and being in so many spaces where I'm reading all of these articles or these books written by people that aren't from the community, there's just an element that's missing in that.

So much gets lost if you don't allow the people to represent themselves for who they are.

And I think that using art made by Indigenous people, using the cultural practices that we've grown up to hold on to is a form of cultural resistance.

One part of the exhibition actually featured my family.

My family has a band in Ecuador, and they're called Supay.

And they are a traditional Quechua-Otavalo band.

And the reason that they are unique and important is because they sing their traditional songs in Quechua, which is something that we don't see a lot of anymore in the village, you know, in the place that my family's from.

And them using Quechua is a form of, like, language revival and language preservation.

They use their power as a music group to speak Quechua and to continue on the legacy and the traditions of our ancestors and our family by keeping Quechua alive.

Because as we know, Indigenous dialects are dying out, and they die out through ancestry.

♪♪ Now, what do you see for the future of your work and curatorial practice?

I see the future of my work continuing in the space that's similar to the one that was created here at the Clemente.

I would love to continue to partner with Indigenous-led organizations that are doing advocacy work in all types of spaces, creating Indigenous spaces for Indigenous artists, for people to come and be in solidarity with us.

And I would also love for other Indigenous folks that are here in New York City and beyond to come and experience the space so that they can feel seen and heard.

So sometimes we're not going to see what we want to see unless we do it ourselves.

That's right.

And I have felt so misrepresented in museums.

Every museum that I've ever been to, I've never felt seen.

And what I wanted to do was create a space where other Indigenous, you know, women, people like me that come from the Quechua diaspora or that, you know, grew up here in the United States but have this lineage that's tied to us in another place to feel seen and heard.

Johnson-Cunningham: It's really great to see that the Clemente is really looking to continue to bolster the visibility of these practices that without Thalia, without a Jorge, and without Libertad, some of this would be lost.

And so it's really great to see that they are continuously working in the preservation of these artistic practices.

I could say that we're very inspired in two Indigenous concepts that relate, one, to arts and culture of ceremony.

Arts and culture of ceremony.

That sensibility has to do with providing a space that could connect us further to not only the urban or natural world, but to each other.

And when it comes to artists, and me being a curator myself, I want to provide that safe space for for artists to fail, triumph, experiment, in the space of safety, but also beyond individual artists themselves, for people to find that place of connection in a more intimate and heightened awareness.

I think, leaving this space, one thing that I'm really interested in is learning more about different Indigenous art, different Indigenous organizations that are doing work.

I think Thalia and Jorge and Libertad -- they spoke so passionately about Indigenous practices and the need for more amplification of this work, I think really inspired me to learn more about what ways I can also, you know, support the Indigenous community, as well, personally and professionally as a museum professional.

During the time of speaking with Jorge, he gifted me some of the candles that he's created, and I think that was such a special gesture.

The candles are going to be lit during the Day of the Dead, where they will be commemorating their ancestors.

And I've decided that I'm going to do the same to also commemorate my ancestors.

And I think it's really just a beautiful way of remembering those who came before us and be a part of, you know, such a vibrant community that was created, you know, in Mexico, but continues to thrive throughout the diaspora and also invites others to connect with their ancestors, as well.

So I'm really grateful and, you know, thankful for that gesture.