Once Upon a Shore

Curated by Heid E. Erdrich

With Artists, Cole Redhorse Taylor, Tashia Hart, Jonathan Thunder, Gwen Nell Westerman & Courtney M. Leonard

on view January 25, 2025 - January 4, 2026

Once Upon A Shore creates a water's edge meeting place where authors, illustrators, artists, and guests converge to share stories. From the pre-history of Dakota country, to dogs headed to a pow wow, this exhibition tells stories for visitors of all ages from an Indigenous perspective. The authors in Once Upon a Shore are also visual artists. Their work includes paintings, beadwork, photographs, and textiles. Also featured in the exhibition are digital and installation artists who tell stories with their imagery, or whose work is informed by literature. Literary works presented in the exhibition include children's books, fiction, history, poetry and a cookbook. 

The multidisciplinary artists of Once Upon A Shore are all members of Native Nations who have strong relationships to bodies of water. Dakota artists and writers make reference to the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in their work, while Ojibwe artists and writers reference Lake Superior and other bodies of water in Minnesota. An artist from the Shinnecock people of Long Island considers the story of sands and shores familiar to us all. 

Artists and authors include Tashia Hart, Courtney M. Leonard, Cole Redhorse Taylor, Jonathan Thunder, and Minnesota’s Poet Laureate, Gwen Nell Westerman. 

Upcoming Programs

Support Comes From

This exhibition project is presented by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, a nonprofit mission-driven art museum located on the shores of the Upper Mississippi River. MMAM gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from generous contributions from foundations, corporations, individuals, members and volunteers.