Evening Grand Entry

A Minnesota-based artist and curator of Sicangu Lakota, German, and Welsh ancestry, Dyani White Hawk is known for merging histories of modern abstract painting with abstract traditions in Lakota art. White Hawk’s works echo her American upbringing and her Indigenous ancestors’ mediums and modes for making visual art. She noted that her approach “places Native arts front and center, to implore people to think critically about how we talk about intersections of our artistic histories and to honor the legacies and lineages of Indigenous women and relatives who have shaped the ongoing artistic history of this land.” The title of her dazzling abstract geometric painting Evening Grand Entry is a reference to the spectacular moment at the beginning of a powwow when the audience stands as an elder leads a parade of dancers into a round arena. While participants hold flags that represent the tribes in attendance, drums beat out the grand entry song and the dancers join in an opening dance.