Mona Cliff Art Exhibition Reception

In Aniiih, Mona Cliff examines how Indigenous identity is authored across generations, carried forward through disruption and choice, and defined by decisions about what is kept and transformed. The exhibition engages histories of forced assimilation and imposed religious conversion as forces that continue to inform the present.

Material carries Cliff’s work forward. Beadwork, textile, and adornment are crafted through generational knowledge. Printed bead patterns and layered textiles translate these practices into a contemporary form while maintaining their role as carriers of knowledge.

Beaded and fabric covered gas masks extend Cliff’s work into the present. A contemporary object associated with protection is transformed through beadwork and textile into a form of cultural armor, where survival, adornment, and identity operate together.

Across Aniiih, the work shows how people move through these conditions and carry identity forward.