The Block Museum’s latest exhibition showcases the powerful influence of Indigenous culture in the works of Northern Cheyenne artist Jordan Ann Craig.
The Block Museum’s showcase of Jordan Ann Craig’s work is the rising artist’s largest institutional exhibition to date.
Rooted in her Indigenous heritage and the vast landscape of the American Southwest, Northern Cheyenne artist Jordan Ann Craig draws inspiration from nature and cultural traditions. She reinterprets beadwork, pottery, textiles and the land through largescale abstract paintings, blending geometric abstraction with cultural symbolism to bridge past and present. Her bold patterns, complemented by intricate designs, subtle color palettes and playful, thought-provoking titles like “Too Slow, Go Back To Crow, 2024” and “Baby You’re So Blue, 2021,” create a layered visual experience that invites personal reflection and interpretation.
Now, Craig’s work is receiving its largest midwest institutional showcase to date at Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art. Titled it takes a long time to stay here—drawn from a poem by Northern Cheyenne poet m.s. RedCherries—the exhibition brings together seven of Craig’s large-scale paintings for the first time, showcasing an immersive exploration of pattern, color and form.
“Craig’s work challenges the binary perceptions of Indigenous art as either purely historical or solely contemporary,” explains Jacqueline Lopez, 2024-25 Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow at The Block Museum of Art. “By drawing on foundational designs and reinterpreting them with her unique artistic voice, Craig demonstrates that Indigenous art is neither static nor confined to the past.”
Through this landmark show, Craig continues to expand the boundaries of Indigenous artistic expression while creating space for reflection on identity, place and cultural continuity. Jan. 25-Apr. 13, The Block Museum, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, blockmuseum.northwestern.edu
Photography by: PHOTO COURTESY OF JORDAN ANN CRAIG AND HALES, LONDON AND NEW YORK
