Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan who saved the building from demolition in 1979. Later exterior and ceremonial interior spaces were cleaned, restored, and conserved. In 1990, Moynihan sponsored the law that renamed the building after Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. Starting from 1994 Museum of the American Indian occupies two floors of the building sharing it with U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the National Archives. There is an excellent permanent exhibition, Infinity of Nations, displays over 700 Native American from different continent. You can read more about Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House and The National Museum of the American Indian in my blog.
This spring and summer the museum
is the final stop for the first large-scale traveling exhibition of
contemporary Native American fashion. “Native Fashion Now”. The show features the work of 67 Native American
designers. One of the main themes of the
exhibit is the way that Native artists mix their heritage and tradition with
other cultures and technology.
“New York City is a
fashion capital of the world and the works shown in this exhibition belong on
this stage,” said Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the National Museum of the
American Indian. “Native voice is powerful and Native couture is a megaphone.
These designers’ works demonstrate to visitors the contemporary strength of Native iconographies and sensibilities.”
“We wanted to shake up the preconceived notions of Native
American art and creative expression,” says curator Karen Kramer, who conceived
the show. “It’s not buckskin and beads and feather headdresses.”
Among the dozens of notable designers included in “Native
Fashion Now” are Lloyd “Kiva” New (Cherokee), the first Native designer to
create a successful high-fashion brand; Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), who in
2003 worked with fashion icon Donna Karan to create a bold collaborative
couture collection and went on to launch his own fashion line,
VO; Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), who is known for her role on the popular show Project Runway and for her fashion line (...)
VO; Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), who is known for her role on the popular show Project Runway and for her fashion line (...)
The exhibition opened Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, in the museum’s
East Gallery and runs through Sept. 4. The
National Museum of the American Indian is open
10 AM–5 PM daily, Thursdays to 8 PM and
admission is free.
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