Join us for Bletcher Hour, the Gallery’s monthly critical reading group. Readings explore key themes of the exhibitions and current events, with the intent to deepen our understanding of the artworks and their context within our community. 

This month we will be reading the introduction and first chapter of As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. In this book, Simpson locates Indigenous political resurgence as a practice rooted in uniquely Indigenous theorizing, writing, organizing, and thinking. She makes clear that its goal can no longer be cultural resurgence as a mechanism for inclusion in a multicultural mosaic. Instead, she calls for unapologetic, place-based Indigenous alternatives to the destructive logics of the settler colonial state, including heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalist exploitation. This book was recommended by artist Tania Willard, who's exhibition Practices of Suffusion is on display in our Upstairs Gallery until January 11th, 2025. 

This program is free to attend. Please contact Heather Kehoe, Program & Event Coordinator, to register. Readings are sent as PDFs in advance of the event. If you cannot make it in person, online attendance options are available.