The Art of Installation: Bringing Clearly Indigenous to Muncie
On February 8, 2025, Minnetrista opened Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass. The exhibition had already been generating buzz throughout the area, and visitors were eager to experience the wonders Minnetrista brought to Muncie. Once the doors opened, the crowd began to rave about what they had seen. Accolades poured in immediately, and the staff took pride in offering this experience to the community.
Clearly Indigenous brings together 120 works of glass art by 29 artists, primarily from the Pacific Northwest and Southwest United States, as well as some pieces by artists from New Zealand and Australia. Putting together an exhibition of this scale is no easy feat, and we thank Dr. Letitia Chambers, former CEO of the Heard Museum, for making the exhibition available to us.
While Dr. Chambers originated the exhibition and selected the art for the traveling display, the responsibility of bringing it to Muncie and creating a display we could be proud of fell to our team. Installing any artwork is time-consuming, as we follow best practices for handling, storing, and displaying art. However, installing 120 works of glass art posed additional challenges.
Each piece of art had specific handling and mounting instructions, but the exhibition team was most concerned about two particular aspects.
The first piece was Charmed by Joe Feddersen (Colville; 1953–present). At first glance, the artwork appears simple: glass pendants hanging from fishing line. In reality, Charmed consists of 200 individual pendants of varying sizes and motifs that must be tied to the fishing line individually. The artist intended the piece to be random and unique at each venue. However, because several pendants had broken before arriving in Muncie, we had fewer than 200 to work with in creating our own design. Teams collaborated to tie the first few pendants from the top, and another team finished the task closer to the ground. It took a team of eight people two full days to hang Charmed.
The second challenging installation was Mystical Journey Prototype by Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo; 1946–2019). The piece is named Mystical Journey Prototype because it served as the prototype for a larger-scale artwork displayed at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The hanging 150-pound glass and metal framework on display at Minnetrista consists of two elements: a mother orca and her calf. Lifting and suspending such a heavy piece while ensuring proper alignment posed unique challenges. Before beginning, we devised a plan that involved using eye hooks, clips, and airplane wire. We then prepared the space by installing some of the hardware in the case while simultaneously running wires through the artwork itself. A few of us lifted the orcas while others completed the installation of the hardware at the top. Once in place, Mystical Journey Prototype was secured and posed no danger to itself, other artworks, or viewers.
Exhibition work is always challenging. Some challenges present valuable learning opportunities, while others leave us scratching our heads. Clearly Indigenous provided us with the chance to learn, try new skills, and collaborate even more effectively as a team. The end result is a beautiful display of incredible art that we are proud of, and we are confident that the Minnetrista community will appreciate the effort it took to bring it to life.
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass is open now through May 18, 2025.