California Continued—a major organizational initiative of the Autry Museum— consisted of a building renovation, the creation of a Native California garden, and two exhibition galleries, one for temporary exhibitions and one for a more long-term exhibition. It was the largest renovation in the institution’s history. The long-term exhibition, “Human Nature,” focuses on living Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in Native California communities, and the value of that knowledge for current residents of California. The exhibition investigates the ways in which culture and ecology come together in the California landscape, and how Native California knowledge can help inform contemporary environmental thinking.
Through four key California stories—Salmon, Fire, Desert, and Plants as Food and Medicine—the exhibition includes Native American objects and contemporary artworks, photography, soundscapes, and multimedia displays featuring present-day Native communities. As a long-term, core exhibition space, Human Nature was created through the use of full-scale paper and cardboard prototypes, and is designed to allow sections to be changed out over time so more stories of California can be integrated and shared.
Date: 2015 - 2017
Client: Autry Museum of the American West
Role: Creative Director
Funders: 2006 Clean Water Bond Act, Cindy and Alan Horn, Bank of America, and Marian and Ted Craver/Edison International
Footprint: 10,000 square feet
Museum Collaborators: Paige Bardolph, Alban Cooper, Josh Garrett-Davis, Erik Greenberg, Alan Konishi, Mark Lewis, Stacy Lieberman, Brenda Litzinger, Laura Purdy, Kathryn Radcliffe, Thomas Schirtz, Amy Scott, Rick West, Sarah Wilson, and Gene Wyrick.