Native American Art and Representation

Weaving is Life (2005-2007) was co-curated by noted Navajo weaver D.Y. Begay and Dr. Jennifer McLerran (Kennedy Museum of Art curator 2001–2007). The exhibition featured works from multiple generations of artists from four different families of Navajo weavers. Artists represented were Grace Henderson Nez, Mary Henderson Begay, and Gloria Begay from Ganado, Arizona; Glenabah Hardy, Irene Clark, and Teresa Clark from Crystal, New Mexico; Lillie T. Taylor, Rosie Taylor, Diane Taylor, and Amber and Twyla Gene from the Indian Wells, Arizona, community; and D.Y. Begay from Tselani, Arizona. The following is an excerpt from the catalog:

“Weaving is Life adheres to the goal of Edwin Kennedy to use his extensive collection of Navajo textiles as an educational tool to perpetuate Navajo weaving traditions. The Kennedy Museum of Art enthusiastically embraced the idea of using Native people in the planning and decision making to ensure that the exhibition accurately tells the stories of the weavers, using their words, their voices. This productive collaboration between non-Native museum art specialists and Navajo weavers is a natural bridge for research, teaching, and passing on the knowledge and significance of these historical weavings.”