LENFEST OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT SERIES; NATIVE ART & ANCESTRAL INSPIRATION: DRAWING ENDURANCE

LENFEST OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT SERIES/KAMEN GALLERY

NATIVE ART & ANCESTRAL INSPIRATION: DRAWING ENDURANCE
POP-UP EXHIBIT
KAMEN GALLERY/LENFEST HALL

Thursday, September 4- Monday, December 15, 2025. Kamen Gallery is open to the public 9am-9pm daily

FEATURING ETHAN BROWN, PAMUNKEY ARTIST

Ethan Brown is a citizen of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and homesteads on the Pamunkey Reservation in King William, Virginia. A self-taught artist in multiple mediums such as oil painting, gourd art, sculpture and film. His work has a strong basis in Indigenous storytelling, and is often inspired by Pamunkey history and culture.

Brown created the experimental short films "Tsenacommacah" (2020), and First Landings (2022), and contributed to the "Emmynominated" short documentary Connecting Currents- Pamunkey River: Lifeblood of our People (2020). His most recent project, the short personal documentary "Pamunkey Portrait" (2025), premiered at the Acimowin Indigenous Film Festival in June 2025. His works can be found in the permanent collections of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

FEATURING HARVEY MARKOWITZ, W&L PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ANTHROPOLOGY

The Pop-Up Exhibit highlights select works from Harvey Markowitz's collection focusing on Native American artists, notably including beadwork from the Lakota Sioux of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations, modern paintings by Navajo artist Leland Holiday, and traditional baskets made by citizens of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

These works emphasize longstanding cultural values and environmental connections shared by Indigenous peoples across North America. By curating a collection in this way, Markowitz aligns with contemporary best practices that emphasize cultural relativism and present Native communities as vibrant, diverse and living cultures rather than as relics of a distant past. This approach fosters a deeper, more respectful understanding of Native values and their enduring relevance.

The featured collection draws on deep histories and relationships among Native cultures and their lands, offering a tangible connection to Indigenous heritage and modern artistic expression.

Markowitz is a professor emeritus of anthropology who, alongside Professor Joseph Guse, has co-led a spring term course at W&L taking students to the Oglala Pine Ridge and Tohono O'odham reservations-providing immersive and experiential learning in contemporary Indigenous communities.

In addition to his curatorial and educational work, Markowitz is an established scholar, with publications including: "Converting the Rosebud: Catholic Mission and the Lakotas, 1886-1916;" editor of "Seeing Red-Hollywood's Pixeled Skins: American Indians and Film;" "American Indians: Ready Reference;" and "American Indian Biographies."

Ticket Information

Showtimes: September 4- December 15, 2025

Where: Stan Kamen Gallery

This exhibit is free to the public.