Shelley Niro: 500 years of itching — the first major retrospective of the work of multimedia artist Shelley Niro (Six Nations Reserve, Bay of Quinte Mohawk, Turtle Clan, b. 1954) — is presented at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York. For over 50 years, Niro has been creating art based on Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) philosophies, a deep understanding of history, and a woman-centered worldview.
Accessible, humorous, and peppered with popular culture references, Niro’s art delves into the timeless cultural knowledge and generational stories of his Six Nations Kanyen’kehá:ka community to provide purpose and healing. In her practice, she works in a variety of artistic mediums, including painting, photography, mixed media and film.
Shelley Niro uses humor and wit to probe the joy, pain and contradictions of Indigenous existence, and she delivers hard truths with a smile. Her inclusion of Indigenous peoples, including family members, in much of her work allows us to see indigeneity in its complexity while addressing themes of empowerment, matrilineal kinship and dispossession. . The museum is very pleased to celebrate Niro’s art through this exhibition.
Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo, Hopi, Tewa, Navajo), director of the National Museum of the American Indian
On Saturday, June 17 at 1 p.m. (ET), the museum will host a special screening of Niro’s latest feature film, cafe girl (Canada, 2023). The film is based on a play by Kenneth T. Williams about retired Canadian Senator Lillian Dyck, the first Indigenous female senator and first Chinese female senator. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Niro.
The exhibit is curated by David Penney, the National Museum of the American Indian’s associate director for museum research, scholarship, and public engagement; Melissa Bennett, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Hamilton; and Greg Hill, multidisciplinary artist, curator and art consultant.
Shelly Niro: 500 years of itching is on view through January 1, 2024 in New York City.
For more information, visit americanindian.si.edu.
Organized and disseminated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the National Museum of the American Indian and with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada. Major support for the project is provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
