Dyani White Hawk Exhibit

A quick post for today.

I went with several family members to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis yesterday. It was a free children’s day, so there were multiple activities set up for kids throughout the museum.

We started out with one of the museum’s current exhibits, Love Language by Dyani White Hawk. The artist’s ancestry is Lakota and European American and her multidisciplinary work is a mesmerizing blend of cultures, with her Native heritage front and center.

Because I was busy keeping track of small children, I only managed to take one photo, though it includes several of White Hawk’s pieces. (I had no time to photograph the labels for these pieces, so forgive me for the lack of titles.)

I was taken by all of White Hawk’s meticulous works, but especially with these tall columns filled with colorful geometric patterns. While these are patterns typical of Native beadwork, the columns also reminded me of digital art. They brought circuit boards to mind.

The connection between traditional fiber work and computers is not accidental. The first “computer” was a loom that used cards to create the pattern. Each bead in a beadwork pattern could represent a pixel on a computer screen.

We keep reworking what’s old into something new.

If you’ve got the time, I recommend visiting Dyani White Hawk’s exhibit. It will be on display until February 15, 2026 at the Walker.

You can also check out White Hawk’s work on her website. Check out the Gallery section.