Hold to This Earth: Works by Contemporary Indigenous North American Artists from Tia Collection: Exhibition Guide

Hold to This Earth includes sculpture, ceramics, fibre art, photography, painting and film. It offers an insight into the broad range of artwork being made by Indigenous North American artists today. 38 cross-generational artists are represented, from the globally recognised to emerging voices. They amplify ancient cultural traditions and forge new paths to describe contemporary Indigenous experiences. A unifying thread is the enduring relationship between land, people and memory.

The exhibition title comes from Defend Sacred Mountains, a series of prints displayed as part of the exhibition by artist, activist and teacher Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds. His work is a call to action demanding the protection of sacred sites for future generations.

Tia Collection is a global art collection dedicated to supporting artists and institutions through acquisitions, loans, commissions and exhibitions. Based in Santa Fe and London, it features more than 1500 artists and lends around 100 artworks to museums worldwide every year. Founded in 2007, the Collection maintains a devoted focus on
contemporary Indigenous practices.

This exhibition has been shaped through collaboration with Indigenous artists and advisors whose voices and perspectives are reflected throughout the works presented here. While these works are shown in the UK, they remain connected to the lands, cultures, and communities from which they emerge. We thank the artists, advisors, and contributors whose generosity, insight, and experience helped bring these conversations to audiences here. We are grateful to Tia Collection for their vision, care, and deep knowledge of these works, and for the collaborative guidance that informed the development of
this exhibition.