Art History Assistant Professor Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse is co-editor of a new book published by University of Washington Press: Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast. In addition to editing this volume with colleague Aldona Jonaitis, Bunn-Marcuse contributed the introduction and a chapter titled "From Behind-the-Scenes to the Front of the House: Here & Now: Native Artists Inspired at the Burke Museum." Key themes in the book "include discussions of cultural heritage protections and Native sovereignty; re-centering women and their critical role in transmitting cultural knowledge; reflecting on decolonization work in museums; and examining how artworks function as living documents."*
Sonny Assu, a First Nations artist from British Columbia has said, "Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast is a definitive collection of writings that bring a conscious narrative of the past, present and future of Indigenous art. This collection of essays illustrates the thriving cultures that unsettle, entertain, inform, and challenge how art and culture from this diverse region are viewed and understood."* Chadwick Allen — UW Professor of English, Adjunct Professor of American Indian Studies, Co-Director of the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (CAIIS), and Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement — had this to say about the book: "Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast models best practices for Indigenous art studies — and for Indigenous studies broadly. Together, accomplished Native and non-Native curators, scholars, and artist-intellectuals innovate methodological approaches while confronting ongoing legacies of settler colonialisms and academic appropriations. As a bonus, the book is beautifully designed and illustrated."*
In addition to teaching in the School of Art + Art History + Design, Bunn-Marcuse is Curator of Northwest Native American Art and Director of the Bill Holm Center at the Burke Museum. She previously co-edited In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum, which is also from UW Press. Bunn-Marcuse is working on a forthcoming digital publication: Ka̱ns Hiłile (Making it Right) — A Collaborative Reframing of Kwakiutl Film and Audio Recordings with Franz Boas, 1930. She was recently appointed to the 2020–2021 cohort of American Indian and Indigenous Studies Scholars at UW, which will provide support and feedback for this publication.
*All quotes are from the UW Press pages for this book.