Artist Talk with Dyani White Hawk
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MacArthur Fellow. Contemporary Lakota artist. Visionary.
Dyani White Hawk brings her groundbreaking practice—where traditional Lakota design meets bold abstract painting—into conversation with A Nation of Artists, exploring how Indigenous artists have always been essential to the American story, even when institutions failed to recognize them.
September 17, 2026, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
General Admission: $25
Student Admission: $10
Member Admission: Free
White Hawk's monumental works challenge viewers to reconsider what American art means. By weaving together star quilts, geometric abstraction, and materials that carry cultural memory, she creates a visual language that honors ancestral knowledge while pushing contemporary art forward. Her work asks essential questions: Whose traditions count as "American"? How do artists maintain cultural continuity while innovating fearlessly? What happens when we finally tell the full story of American creativity?
This conversation, moderated by scholar and curator Leah Triplett, brings together themes of tradition, continuity, and innovation in Indigenous art—illuminating how Native artists have shaped American visual culture for centuries, often without credit or recognition.
In collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Artists on Art lecture series, this event celebrates how contemporary artists expand our understanding of American art history by insisting we look deeper, question assumptions, and make space for voices that have always been here.
Dyani White Hawk (b. 1976)
She Gives (Quiet Strength VII) (2020)
Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 120 in.
Museum Purchase
Dyani White Hawk brings her groundbreaking practice—where traditional Lakota design meets bold abstract painting—into conversation with A Nation of Artists, exploring how Indigenous artists have always been essential to the American story, even when institutions failed to recognize them.
September 17, 2026, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
General Admission: $25
Student Admission: $10
Member Admission: Free
White Hawk's monumental works challenge viewers to reconsider what American art means. By weaving together star quilts, geometric abstraction, and materials that carry cultural memory, she creates a visual language that honors ancestral knowledge while pushing contemporary art forward. Her work asks essential questions: Whose traditions count as "American"? How do artists maintain cultural continuity while innovating fearlessly? What happens when we finally tell the full story of American creativity?
This conversation, moderated by scholar and curator Leah Triplett, brings together themes of tradition, continuity, and innovation in Indigenous art—illuminating how Native artists have shaped American visual culture for centuries, often without credit or recognition.
In collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Artists on Art lecture series, this event celebrates how contemporary artists expand our understanding of American art history by insisting we look deeper, question assumptions, and make space for voices that have always been here.
Dyani White Hawk (b. 1976)
She Gives (Quiet Strength VII) (2020)
Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 120 in.
Museum Purchase
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Where is it happening?
128 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19102
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherPAFA The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
