Explore our relationship with the land
By Laura Phelps
The landscape and environment that surround us are more than just a backdrop to everyday life; they are a living, breathing part of our stories.
“Spirit in the Land” and “Knowing the West”—two exhibitions coming to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens this winter and spring—focus on reimagining our relationship with the land by amplifying voices often left out of the narrative.
“Our connection to the land shapes our identity, our sense of belonging, and our traditions, and the stories that emerge from those relationships are deeply personal and far from neutral,” says Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs director and CEO at the Cummer Museum. “With these compelling exhibitions, we hope to bring marginalized voices to the center of the conversation to create a richer, more nuanced understanding of long-held and unchallenged views.”
“Spirit in the Land,” organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, the Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans director of the Nasher, opens at the Cummer Museum on November 9, 2024. It features contemporary works by 30 artists who examine today’s urgent ecological concerns and explore how our identities and natural environments are intertwined.
The featured artists explore how our relationship to land and water shapes us as individuals and communities. They also consider how our most cherished cultural traditions are rooted in the earth. The works reflect the restorative potential of humanity’s connection to nature and highlight how essential both biodiversity and cultural diversity are to our survival.
“Climate change hits marginalized communities the hardest, and yet environmental justice issues have been overlooked throughout history,” says Holly Keris, the J. Wayne & Delores Barr Weaver chief curator at the Cummer Museum. “The artists in ‘Spirit in the Land’ give a voice to those affected communities. They show us how nature holds our cultural memories, provides a sanctuary, and offers spiritual healing. By looking at how land and water bring us together, the exhibition shows how we are all connected to the Earth.”
“Spirit in the Land” also explores the ways in which our inner spaces mirror our outer ones in works that both celebrate the profound beauty of our world and mourn its loss, and with it, vanishing histories of people and place.
