Join us for our artist discussion about their work and who they are as artists. There will be a live Q&A at the end of each discussion.

Saturn Dougherty – Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Saturn Dougherty is a Cherokee/Chippewa/Puerto Rican interdisciplinary artist whose art explores self-reflective ideas about their mixed identity and how this shapes their interactions with the world around them. Growing up, they learned about Native art and traditions through their grandmother, an award-winning Gourd artist, but within Louisville, they had no Native community they could call home. When they moved to Chicago to pursue their art careers, they were suddenly surrounded by a Native community that helped them relearn many Native traditions and form themselves as contemporary Native artists.

They merge traditional Native American materials and ideas with contemporary art practices. Creating photographic sculptures and hand drums, as well as beadwork pieces, and an ongoing documentary series that focuses on contemporary Native artists, their practice is grounded in the concepts of Land Back and Native Futurism. Their art stands as a testament to the enduring presence of Native people and their traditions. They are a published poet, an award-winning film editor and choreographer, and a BFA candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They co-lead the Indigenous Students Association and work with Turtle Island Chicago, a collaborative group of Native students in Chicago.

Ruth Keyes – Born in Buffalo and raised on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, Ruth is a mixed media artist that explores the intersection of femininity, indigeneity, and culture; drawing from experiences growing up on the Seneca Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. She grew up drawing from a young age and she was raised in a traditional, tight knit Seneca community. As a child, she grew up speaking her Native language and was immersed in her own culture in every single way. It wasn’t until she moved to Chicago in 2023, that she was in a non-native environment. This sparked a change in her work, using her art as a way of healing and reconnection to her community and culture.

Her upbringing is what heavily inspires her work and the community role she currently engages in. During her second semester at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she reestablished the Indigenous Students Association. From 2023 to now, she currently serves as a community organizer and activist highlighting how important it is for Native and Indigenous artists and people to be in community with one another. Through this involvement within the community, it has opened doors for her. Good Medicine Gang made their debut on the MCA Stage with artist, Elisa Harkins. They got to perform 2 Muscogee Creek hymns on stage, with drums they all handmade themselves in a previous workshop. This experience was an amazing way to decolonize a space like the museum and served as a very pivotal role in her art career.

When working with multiple mediums, I explore these different relationships between materials while also thinking about how my community work fuels my creative work. Using different experiences to intertwine ideas of femininity, nature, and indigeneity to show my work in a beautiful way.

This is a free discussion series open to our members, friends, and visitors. This program was partially funded by a grant from the Evanston Arts Council .

For more information about this program, please contact: info@gichigamiin-museum.org | (847) 475-0911 | www.gichigamiin-museum.org/events/

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Tags: Artist Talk with Saturn Dougherty and Ruth Keyes, Evanston, Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, Ruth Keyes, Saturn Dougherty