Agard Synopsis

by Christopher D. Di Cicco

Nadema Agard organized and curated a collective art event with other women to explore their spirituality and femininity based on the question: Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe?

Agard, a Native-American from a mixed heritage of Lakota Sioux, Cherokee and the Powhatan Nations, stated that the exhibition was about “the finding and making” of connections through relationships. It brought together a number of women from differing cultures, religious traditions, and life experiences in order to find common ground based on the Virgin of Guadalupe. Each of the artists was asked to explore their relationship to the Virgin. The artists then used their unique perspectives, portraying the Virgin as an Earth Mother, a goddess, the feminine aspect of the Creator Spirit, the Corn Maiden, and as in Mary Ting’s work, “Gui-Lin”, the Chinese goddess of compassion. These archetypal explorations project a sense of unity around the topic of femininity and it’s expression across the borders of varying spiritual traditions serving to connect and heal fissures that are often associated with difference. The artists also sought to reclaim a symbol typically associated as Western or Catholic, which was used in the colonization of indigenous peoples by subverting its original meaning and opening it up to a larger context.

This event included a symposium and a panel discussion, as well as a performance and media presentation at the Henry Street Settlement: Abrons Arts Center in New York City, which will be available from Dec. 7, 2001-Feb. 2, 2002. Among other organizations sponsoring the show are the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian Center for Latino Initiatives, the American Indian Community House, and the NY State Council on the Arts.