This Land, Shared Sky

The artwork

In this first-time collaboration between Marie Watt (Seneca Nation) and Chicago artist Nick Cave, This Land, Shared Sky brings together materials, traditions, and stories from Black and Indigenous communities. Over multiple floors in the Museum’s main lobby spaces, the large-scale installation combines hand-strung beadwork, sculptural jingles. Its flowing netted forms shift with light and movement. Inspired by conversations about migration, belonging, and shared history, the work invites visitors to consider the connections between people, place, and community.

Location: Museum | Hope and Change Lobby

Marie Watt is an artist whose work draws on history, biography, and Indigenous knowledge systems. A member of the Seneca Nation, she often works with textiles—especially blankets—as carriers of memory and lived experience. Her practice centers on materials that hold personal and collective histories, shaped through use, exchange, and community.

Nick Cave is an artist known for his Soundsuits —elaborate sculptural works that combine textiles, found objects, and performance. Originally conceived in response to the Rodney King beating, the suits have evolved into larger installations that fill entire spaces. His work often blends fashion, sculpture, and movement, with an emphasis on material, sound, and presence.