For our first special program at our new Soho exhibition, we welcomed two remarkable artists for a panel discussion in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Alan Michelson, Midden, 2021
Single-channel 4K video, color, sound, oyster shells 
12 mins, 17 secs
3.75 X 6.5 X 29 ft
Courtesy of the artist
Installation view, 14th Gwangju Biennale (2023)
Image courtesy of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation
Photo: Seungman Park

Megan Cope, Kinyingarra Guwinyanba, 2022 
Burogari (Cyprus Pine), Kinyinyarra (Sydney Rock Oyster) shell and stainless-steel trace wire
Photographer: Cian Sanders
Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane

International Indigenous artists Megan Cope and Alan Michelson discussed their artistic practices, shared examples of their work, and joined Climate Museum director Miranda Massie in conversation about art, colonial legacies, and the climate crisis.

Megan Cope is a Quandamooka artist from Moreton Bay/North Stradbroke Island in South East Queensland, Australia. Cope’s site-specific sculptural installations, public art practice, and paintings investigate issues relating to colonial histories, the environment, and mapping practices. Her most recent work is a monumental installation at the Sydney Opera House. 

Alan Michelson is a New York-based artist, curator, writer, lecturer, and Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River. For over 30 years, he has been a leading practitioner of a socially engaged, critically aware, site-specific art grounded in local context and informed by the retrieval of repressed histories. Michelson’s recent shows include Greater New York at MoMA PS1, Enmeshed at the Tate Modern, and the 14th Gwangju Biennale.