Last Updated on November 19, 2023, 10:59 AM | Published: November 19, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is hosting a multimedia art installation now through April 28th, 2024. Preston Singletary’s “Raven and the Box of Daylight” is a mixed media walkthrough experience that immerses patrons in Indigenous art and culture.
The exhibit tells an origin story through the voice of the Tlingit (pronounced KLING-kit) People. The Tlingit are based in the Pacific Northwest.
OKCMOA Moderns Panel
In conjunction with that exhibit, OKCMOA’s Moderns event planning board hosted a panel discussion that focused on celebrating Indigenous art on November 16th, 2023.
The panel was moderated by Dr. heather ahtone (preferred capitalization.) ahtone serves as the Director of Curatorial Affairs at First Americans Museum and is a member of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The panel featured Molly Murphy Adams, of Oglala and Lakota descent, and Jordan Poorman Cocker, member of the Kiowa Tribe and Kingdom of Tonga.
‘Completely different’
“This exhibit is completely different than having something on a wall or on a pedestal,” ahtone said. “Storytelling is, at its core, a very human expression. This installation is immersive storytelling, and it’s not just Native curators and artists who think it’s important.”
“Every culture has their own story about how their Creator made them, but we’ve relied on a singular narrative for so long,” ahtone continued. “This installation is opening doors and allowing us the chance to think about diversity. There are so many lessons to be learned from this story and all Native stories. We don’t all come from the same genesis story.” ahtone commented.
Providing thoughts on the significance of the exhibit, Poorman Cocker said, “The first words we hear when we enter this exhibit are Tlingit. This experience is not just object-based, but also atmospheric. This exhibit finds ways to represent diverse knowledge systems in a collective yet gracious way,” she emphasized.
“Look at what happens when you have to argue with the government over everything you do. It’s suppression. We live in a time of incredible urgency and such deep importance for Indigenous cultures. We must continuously breathe life into these stories.”
“It’s amazing to see an experience like this, here in Oklahoma City. There’s so much dignity in being able to see yourself in art. I didn’t realize how much I needed that. I hope that there’s an investment in continuing this kind of storytelling in our community” Poorman Cocker said.
Collaborative effort
In adding her thoughts, Murphy Adams said “By seeing this exhibition come to full fruition, we’re able to see the investment of a project that was the result of five years of engagement. This was a collaborative effort from curators and the community. It’s been an amazing process to witness, and it serves as a blueprint for other projects,” said Murphy Adams. “The result is worth all that hard work. What we have now is not just putting static Indigenous art on a pedestal and setting it down in a museum. It’s multimedia storytelling. It’s magic, with a fair amount of fairy dust sprinkled in.”
In closing out the panel, ahtone praised the simplicity and subtle depth of the experience.
‘Immersive and sensual’
“There’s a casual elegance to this experience. It’s immersive and sensual, and you can’t go through it without at least feeling curious,” said ahtone. “The most amazing part is that we as patrons now embody the story. The artists who created it have seeded the story inside everyone who experiences it, and we carry it with us from then on. For that reason, we’re grateful to everyone who comes and experiences this installation.”
Moderns invite community and Museum of Art members to join them as they continue conversations about contemporary and Indigenous art. For more information on this program and the museum, visit okcmoa.com.
Adrienne Proctor is a theater and arts writer in Oklahoma City. She's been contributing to the arts reporting space since 2017.
