Beacon Gallery Presents: Portraits In Red, Missing & Murdered Indigenous People, an exhibition of Massachusetts-based artist Nayana Lafond. This solo exhibition runs February 17 to April 16, 2023, and will focus on the tragic history of indigenous people according to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (NIWRC), through LaFond's detailed monochromatic paintings.
BOSTON, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Beacon Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition Nayana LaFond: Missing & Murdered Indigenous People, featuring the work of central Massachusetts-based artist Nayana Lafond. This solo exhibition will run from February 17 to April 16, 2023, and focuses on the tragic history of indigenous people according to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (NIWRC), through LaFond's detailed monochromatic paintings. Each painting honors either an individual lost to violence or an activist bringing awareness to the erasure of indigenous communities across the United States.
"These families, survivors, and activists are often not heard… and I do not wish to speak for another person or family and their deeply personal experiences within this horrific crisis," says LaFond. "I am seeking to provide a space and facilitation for those that are and have been silenced, so when you look at my paintings I ask the viewer to listen to what they tell you."
The focus of this latest exhibition is to create awareness, give much-needed visibility to all the families devastated by loss and injustice, and raise funds to support this cause.
Original paintings and prints will be available for sale and all profits from catalogue sales will be donated to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (NIWRC).
About the Artist
Nayana LaFond (b. 1981; who is of Anishinaabe, Mi'kmaq & other indigenous descent) is a full-time multidisciplinary artist and mother who resides in Massachusetts with her daughter Adelaide. She attended Greenfield Community College and Massachusetts College of Art for photography but left before graduation to independently pursue her passions for art and curation. LaFond has been a curator and community arts organizer for over 20 years including her role as the former founding Chief Curator for The Whitney Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, MA for 8 years. She also sits on several arts organization boards, including Artist Organized Art, and is an advisor for The Native Youth Empowerment Foundation.
LaFond's work can be found in private collections and institutions worldwide. Her work often deals with issues related to trauma and violence including her experiences as a domestic violence and leukemia survivor, and she began the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls/People Painting Project (MMIWG/P Project) in 2020. In addition to being a painter and photographer, Nayana is also a sculptor. Her sculpture Zoongide'e ( about domestic abuse), a metal, plexiglass, and concrete wetu (Wigwam) was on display in Boston's Fenway neighborhood as part of the Be The Change public art initiative for the summer and fall of 2022.
About Beacon Gallery
Beacon Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Boston's South End, providing a platform for emerging and established artists to deliver thought-provoking solo and group shows, and community-building events. As a partner to greater Boston's artistic community, Beacon Gallery is committed to producing thoughtfully curated exhibitions that showcase original conceptual art and share compelling messages and unique perspectives. It aims to make art accessible to the general public, as well as collectors and institutions locally, nationally, and globally. For more information go to our website and follow us on Instagram.
Media Contact
Beacon Gallery, Beacon Gallery, 8572771700, [email protected]
SOURCE Beacon Gallery
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