Celebrate Beach Museum of Art's 30 years with a spotlight on contemporary Osage art

Kansas State University's Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art is celebrating 30 years of serving Kansas and the region by launching a new exhibition on Aug. 18 featuring works by three contemporary Osage artists who consider the significance of land, language and culture in shaping ideas about home.

"Home/Land: Wahzhazhe Artists Speak" features paintings, prints, textiles, ceramics, photography and poetry by Wahzhazhe (wah-zhah-zhay)/Osage artists Norman Akers, Anita Fields and Ryan RedCorn. By sharing their stories, the artists invite others to reflect on how history and landscape shape their own notions of home, land and belonging. Learn more about the artists on the museum's website.

"Language, culture and history impact how each of us thinks about home and homeland," said Aileen June Wang, curator of the exhibition. "As citizens of the Wahzhazhe/Osage Nation, Anita, Norman and Ryan offer powerful personal perspectives about home, belonging and resilience in the context of their tribal history and ancestral connection to a large region that includes present-day Kansas.

"'Home/Land' is the result of my deep dive into Wahzhazhe culture and history, inspired by my admiration for these three artists. Their ideas resonated with me as a third-generation Chinese Filipino and an immigrant in Kansas. I hope that this exhibition shows how we can connect with one another through human experiences that transcend ethnic and cultural differences."

The "Home/Land" exhibition opens Aug. 18 in the museum's Marion Pelton Gallery and the Archie and Dorothy Hyle Family Gallery. The exhibition runs through July 24, 2027. It is part of the initiative Home Is Where We Are: Art of First Americans, led by the Beach Museum of Art. Spanning institutions across the Great Plains, it marks a coordinated focus on contemporary Indigenous art. Each participating organization presents a distinct project that contributes to a broader collective effort amplifying Indigenous perspectives. Participating institutions in Kansas include the Chapman Center for Rural Studies, Kansas Studies Institute, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Mid-America All-Indian Museum, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Salina Art Center, Ulrich Museum of Art, and Volland, A Place for Art and Community — together positioning the region as a destination for experiencing the art of First Americans.

"At the Beach Museum, we believe art can teach us to listen differently," said Kent Michael Smith, museum director. "'Home/Land' offers our community a rare and meaningful opportunity to experience the work of three extraordinary contemporary Osage artists whose voices deepen our understanding of land, history, identity and belonging.

"As the museum marks 30 years of serving Kansas and the region, this exhibition reminds us that the stories of this place are not only historical; they are living, present and still unfolding."

The exhibition is presented bilingually in English and Wahzhazhe, made possible through the translation work of Chris Côté. Visitors will also experience art and commentary by Akers, Fields and RedCorn in response to the question, "What inspires your work?"

This exhibition was also made possible through the generosity of the following partners: Kansas State University's Chapman Center for Rural Studies, Department of Social Transformation Studies and Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies; and the Kansas Studies Institute at Johnson County Community College.

Learn more about 'Home/Land' with free public events

Community members are invited to participate in the following events to further engage with the themes presented in the "Home/Land" exhibition:

• Monday, Oct. 12 — Home/Land: Art, Culture, and Place-Making. A partnership between the K-State Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance and the Beach Museum of Art on Indigenous Peoples Day. Online programs are available from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and an in-person event will take place from 5-7 p.m. Registration is required and will be available on the museum's website in September.
  
  
• Thursday, Oct. 29 — Indigenous Recordings Listening Party. From 5:30-7 p.m., DJ Bad Alaskan (Aleut/Unangax̂ tribe of Alaska) and Beach Museum of Art "Librarian of Wonder" Thomas Bell will lead participants through an auditory experience of traditional and contemporary Indigenous music.

The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art is at 701 Beach Lane at the southeast corner of the K-State campus in Manhattan. Opened in 1996, the museum is dedicated to connecting regional art, culture and communities, with a mission to collect, preserve, research and present the visual art of Kansas and the surrounding region.

Through exhibitions, educational programs, and campus and community partnerships, the Beach Museum of Art serves as a vital cultural resource for students, scholars and the broader public. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Admission is free, and free parking is available adjacent to the building. Visit the museum's website for information about exhibitions, educational offerings, news and how you can support the museum. View special programs on the museum's YouTube channel and learn more about programs and events through the calendar.