Our August presentation of Virtual Art Talks, moderated by Heard Museum Collections Coordinator Olivia Barney (Diné), centers conversation around the U.S. Indian Boarding Schools and the efforts of artists like Marcus Dunn, who aim to explore the narratives around attendees who were affected by the government’s system of assimilation through forced attendance and education of vulnerable Indigenous youth.

Artist Bio:

Marcus Dunn (b. 1986, United States) has exhibited his work at the Florence County Museum in Florence, S.C., SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Ga., and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. He is a 2022 South Arts Southern Prize recipient for North Carolina. His work consists of small and large-scale paintings concerning memory and cultural identity. His heritage is Tuscarora and non-Native descent. He is currently living and working in Laurinburg, N.C. He is an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. Prior to earning an M.F.A. in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design, he earned a B.F.A. in studio art at the Institute of American Indian Arts.