"Native New York,” featuring 50 contemporary artworks by Haudenosaunee artists from the Six Nations in what is now New York, will open the season on Oct. 8 for SUNY Oswego’s Tyler Art Gallery. 

“Native New York” consists of artworks lent by the Adirondack Experience, the Iroquois Indian Museum, the New York State Museum, the Rockwell Museum and alumna artist Luanne Redeye. “Native New York” connects with the college’s Institute for Global Engagement highlighting First Nations and Native American cultures for 2020-21.

The exhibition highlights the aesthetic diversity and dynamic character of Haudenosaunee art through a range of media including beadwork, ceramics, drawing, painting, photography and sculpture. Collectively, the artwork in the exhibition underscores the artistic breadth, creativity and resilience of Six Nations artists and gives voice to their individual experiences, while challenging stereotypes and the historical narrative.

The exhibition also takes a closer look at the ongoing legacy of Haudenosaunee art and culture, examining both sources of inspiration and resistance including diplomacy and treaties, cultural knowledge, oral history, connections between land, place and identity, and the importance of community and family. 

SUNY Oswego 2008 art alumna and Seneca artist Luanne Redeye is among those featured in the exhibit. Redeye will talk about her work at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Marano Campus Center auditorium (Room 132). Another artist in the show, Onondaga ceramic artist Peter B. Jones, will also visit campus to speak about his work on Monday, Oct. 11, in 107 Lanigan Hall at 6 p.m.

Co-curated by Lisa Seppi, who teaches art history at Oswego, and Michael Flanagan, director of the Tyler Art Gallery, “Native New York” marks the first group exhibition of Haudenosaunee art on SUNY Oswego’s campus. The campus occupies the ancestral land of the Onondaga Nation, “people of the hills” or central firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Haudenosaunee, also referred to as the Six Nations or Iroquois Confederacy, is an alliance between the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations.

An opening reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in Tyler Art Gallery. All events are free and open to the public.  The exhibition will run through Nov. 14.

The fall 2021 hours for Tyler Art Gallery are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The gallery is closed on Mondays and school holidays.

For more information or to arrange a group visit, call the gallery at 315-312-2112.