Woven Being Curator Tour with Jordan Poorman Cocker

Zhegagoynak, the place now known as Chicagoland, is a vital center for Indigenous art, past and present.

Through the perspectives of four collaborating artists with connections to Zhegagoynak—Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe/European descent), Kelly Church (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Tribe of Pottawatomi/Ottawa), Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), and Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) — the exhibition explores confluences that continue to shape Indigenous creative practices in the region and beyond.

Join us for a special exhibition tour led by Jordan Poorman Cocker, Terra Foundation Guest Co-Curator for .

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Block Exhibition Tours offer an overview of our current exhibitions with a member of the Block Museum team, and an opportunity for questions and conversation.

Participation level – light, participants may choose to share thoughts and questions during the tour.

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The Block Museum of Art acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.

Image: Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, born 1974), Breath of Life…The First Song, 2023; sound component, 2024 Vintage “Calumet” cans, elm bark, elk hide, and poplar and oak dowels, with harvested cherry, Osage orange, sassafras and twisted wood, copper BB’'s, pebbles, and paint. Collection of the artist.

An enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe, Jordan Poorman Cocker is the Curator of Indigenous Art at the Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AR and The Block's 2021-2024 Terra Foundation Guest Co-Curator of Indigenous Art. Jordan holds a Bachelor of Design from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, with a focus on spatial design and Indigenous design theory. She received a Masters of Museum and Heritage Practice from Victoria University of Wellington in 2017, where her practicum included the study of Indigenous museum practices with the National Museum of New Zealand. She is a PhD. candidate with Auckland University of Technology. Her Indigenous curatorial methodology and approach utilizes oral histories, multivocality and Indigenous knowledge systems to explore intergenerational relationships within Indigenous Art Forms from community-based lenses.

Host or Publisher The Block Museum of Art