indigenous art
First peoples' creations
Indigenous art refers to creative works produced by the original inhabitants of a region, reflecting their cultural traditions, spiritual beliefs, and historical experiences.
The term encompasses diverse forms—painting, sculpture, textiles, carving, beadwork—across cultures from Aboriginal Australian dot paintings to Navajo weaving to Inuit soapstone carvings.
Indigenous art often carries ceremonial or storytelling functions beyond Western notions of aesthetic display.
The museum's indigenous art collection spans five continents.
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- folk artTraditional community-made creativity
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- talking circlesRepetitive, pointless speech
- dream timeAboriginal creation epoch
weaving · ceremony · medicine wheel · pottery · clan symbols · oral traditions · sculpture · beadwork · kachina · artist collectives · oral histories · land back · mythological figures · spirit animals · tribal identity · cosmology · basketry · ancestral knowledge
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- artfine art, Renaissance, painters, masterpieces, paint
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- cultural traditionsflamenco, tango, kabuki, hula, capoeira
- world artAfrican art, American art, Asian art, Chinese art, European art
- World ArtsAfrican art, Asian art, European art, Indian art, Japanese art
indigenous artcontemporary art
Creative works from today
modern art · avant-garde art · digital art · conceptual art · postmodern art