Objects and Power is a group exhibition that examines the systems surrounding collections, investigating how history is told through the processes of acquiring and presenting art, artifacts, and texts. Objects and Power features ten artists whose work examines the roots of collecting and museums; instances of extraction, theft, and erasure; themes of Indigeneity, access, and ownership; and examples of artists and community groups telling stories and giving value to objects on their own terms.

Exhibiting Artists: Morehshin Allahyari, Maya Tihtiyas Attean (member of the Penobscot Nation), Samuel Levi Jones, SaraNoa Mark, Nyeema Morgan, Gala Porras-Kim, Michael Rakowitz, Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), Stephanie Syjuco, William Villalongo

Objects and Power was developed to serve as a living laboratory, with themes woven throughout the curriculum at Maine College of Art & Design. The work featured in the exhibition opens up a series of conversations about the role and responsibilities of institutional collections. Objects and Power challenges audiences to question one’s role in the process of making and invites agency in navigating art world systems.

Generous support for the exhibition was provided through the Jeremy Moser and Laura Kittle Fund.