Indigenous Arts, Cultural Representation, and the Future – John P. Lukavic

On this episode of Beyond the Art, we meet  

John P. Lukavic, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts and head of the Native Arts Department at the Denver Art Museum. John explains that his department includes indigenous arts of North America, arts of Africa, and arts of Oceania, but they are kept separate to maintain their identity. His primary focus is on indigenous arts of North America, and he emphasizes the importance of using indigenous ways of knowing, being seen, and doing as a guiding light for their work. The Denver Art Museum has always focused on contemporary indigenous art, rather than trying to preserve the ways of the past. Their indigenous art collection includes about 18,000 works of art that span from the 20th to the 21st century, with the biggest regional groups being the Southwest, Plains, and Northwest coast. Due to the nature of the historical works, the museum has to do rotations quite often. The conversation also touches on the ebb and flow of attention given to indigenous arts by non-native art institutions and the recent groundswell of interest in indigenous voices, which may be attributed to social events such as Black Lives Matter protests and the intersectionality movement. The conversation revolves around the Denver Art Museum’s collection and how they acquire new pieces. They often work with collectors to build a collection that is donated to the museum over time or receive donations from individual donors.