By Helen Reichert

Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors

Exhibit at the Denver Art Museum

Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation), mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People): Resurgence of the People, 2019. Acrylic paint on canvas, 132 × 264 in.

This is the first major US show for artist Kent Monkman, who positively appropriates traditional Western art styles from romantic artists such as Paul Kane and Thomas Cole. The Cree artist has had multiple works displayed at the DAM in the past, but this is the largest collection of Monkman’s works ever presented in the United States. In his works, Monkman focuses on themes such as colonization, sexuality, and resilience. But Monkman’s main goal is to ask viewers a simple question: Who gets to write history by creating art?

One character to keep an eye out for in the exhibit is Monkman’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, who appears in many of his works as a way for Monkman to reverse the colonial gaze. While some of Monkman’s works contain elements of humor, it is hard to deny the power each work holds in inspecting colonialism and the portrayal of our Native population in Western art. 

The exhibition contains 41 works completed by Monkman and is on display at the Denver Art Museum now until August 17, 2025. If you are lucky enough to stop by on a Tuesday, make sure to stick around for the spotlight talks where specially trained docents will be available to answer questions and share the stories behind works of art. 

¡Viva La Causa! Long Live the Cause! The Art of Change

Exhibit at History Colorado

Photo by Juan Fuentes

It has long been questioned if art has the power to create social change. While I will not attempt to answer this question here, I do find it important to note that it is undeniable that art does have the ability to empower people of all different identities and inspire people to act. 

This is the same argument that is made in History Colorado’s exhibition ¡Viva La Causa!, which highlights works of art made during two specific movements: the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and ʼ70s and the Black Lives Matter movement of the early 2020s (which continues today). By focusing on these two intertwined social movements, it is possible to make connections between the past and present, especially through the museum’s focus on Colorado’s place within these moments of artistic protest. 

On display now until October 5, 2025, and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, this exhibit is more important than ever in understanding the role of art in creating and supporting change.

The Future is Present, the Harbinger is Home: Selections from Prospect.6 New Orleans

Exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Shannon Alonzo's Three Whistles and a Howl also on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art  Denver

Biennials have been a staple of the contemporary art world since the Venice Biennale in 1895. Since then, biennials have grown in popularity, with the Biennial Foundation listing over 270 active biennials on their Directory of Biennials. 

Prospect is a New Orleans-based triennial whose goal is to “bring new art to an old city.” It was founded after Hurricane Katrina on the question, “What could the role of artists be in rebuilding the city?” Thus, many of the works commissioned for Prospect focus on the role of the environment in impacting the community and explore what the idea of “home” can mean to different people. 

The title is important for several reasons. It explores the idea that New Orleans is both a harbinger (a place that is situated in the future and is a display of what the world will look like) as well as a home and palace of community and celebration. This is clear in the chosen works, which at times feel both alien in their form, yet familiar in material and creation.

This exhibit marks the first time a selection of works from Prospect has been shown outside of New Orleans, and its focus on the environment is as important now as it was in 2008 when the biennial began. Featuring over 60 works from 19 artists in a wide variety of mediums, the exhibit is a showcase of the diversity that is present within the contemporary art world and is on view now until August 24, 2025.