“Double Exposure,” a new exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, highlights the work of 20th‑century Indigenous photographers and filmmakers, including Edward S. Curtis, Marianne Nicolson, Tracy Rector, and Will Wilson. On view through Sept. 9, the show explores how these artists represented Indigenous people, cultures, and landscapes across different periods and media.
At the center of the exhibition is the work of Edward S. Curtis, long recognized for his influential and controversial images of the American West and its Native nations. The presentation gathers more than 150 of Curtis’s photographs, offering a broad view of his aesthetic practice and the ways his images shaped popular perceptions of Indigenous life in the early 20th century.
Beyond prints, the exhibition features a number of supporting materials that shed light on Curtis’s methods and public presence. A selection of lantern slides reveals how he staged multimedia lectures that combined still images with storytelling, while a group of early audio field recordings captured on wax cylinders provides rare sonic traces of the people and languages Curtis encountered. The museum also screens Curtis’s feature film In the Land of the Head Hunters (1914), a dramatized portrayal filmed in what is now British Columbia, which offers an early, complex example of cinematic engagement with Indigenous subjects.
“Double Exposure” pairs Curtis’s historical work with contemporary projects by Indigenous artists who respond to, reframe, and challenge earlier visual narratives. Marianne Nicolson’s photographs and installations address ongoing cultural connections to place and ceremony, while Will Wilson’s portraits and conceptual projects investigate identity, documentation, and the politics of representation. Tracy Rector contributes work that combines film and community practices, interrogating memory, intergenerational knowledge, and mechanisms of storytelling.
The exhibition is accompanied by a robust public program designed to deepen conversation and learning. On July 11, the museum presents Through Her Eyes: Indigenous Shorts, a curated screening of short films by Native American women directors assembled by Longhouse Media and artist Tracy Rector. The shorts foreground women’s perspectives and contemporary approaches to filmmaking within Indigenous communities.
In addition to film programs, the museum is hosting the Summer Institute for Educators: Indigenous Voices: Past, Present, Future. This three‑day intensive workshop brings together local artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners to offer teachers practical tools and historical context for bringing Indigenous voices into the classroom. The workshop emphasizes community engagement, ethical approaches to teaching about Indigenous histories, and strategies for integrating contemporary Indigenous art into curricula.
Throughout the run of “Double Exposure,” the museum offers gallery talks, artist conversations, and educational events that encourage visitors to consider the histories and legacies of photographic representation. By presenting historical materials alongside contemporary responses, the exhibition invites a critical dialogue about who controls visual narratives and how Indigenous artists reclaim and reinterpret images of their communities.
Visitors can expect to encounter a mix of archival prints, contemporary photographs, film screenings, sound recordings, and installation work. The exhibition’s juxtaposition of Curtis’s canonical images with contemporary Indigenous practices highlights continuity and change—revealing how photography and film have been used both to objectify and to empower. The combined presentation fosters a nuanced understanding of the power of visual media to shape cultural memory and identity.
“Double Exposure” aims to be both an art experience and an educational opportunity, prompting visitors to reflect on the ethics of documentary representation while celebrating the creative resiliency of Indigenous artists. The exhibition demonstrates how historical archives and new artistic practices can be brought into conversation to challenge misconceptions and to illuminate living cultures and perspectives.
For those interested in film, photography, history, or Indigenous cultural expression, “Double Exposure” offers a rich program of works and events that center Indigenous voices and artistic agency. The exhibition encourages close looking and listening, and it underscores the ongoing importance of contemporary Indigenous artists in shaping how communities are seen and understood.