Join us online for an artist talk with John Willis and Austin Bryant, whose works are on display as a part of the Manifest Destiny exhibition.
In his projects A View from the Rez and Mni Wiconi, John Willis showcase his long-term engagement with the land of Pine Ridge and Standing Rock by revealing how the landscape itself becomes both witness and participant in the struggles and continuities of Native life. Across both projects, Willis shows that land is not simply a place to stand but a relationship--one defined by stewardship, struggle, and the unbroken connection between people and the places that sustain them.
Austin Bryant's project Where They Still Remain serves as a memorial to the African American and Wampanoag indigenous communities on the island of Martha's Vineyard. These two groups have had their histories intertwined on the island as they have faced centuries of displacement and oppression--often finding stability only in each other and the land on which they persist. Through his photography alongside archival photographs and texts, Bryant aims to evoke the countless lives and stories lost to time and systematic erasure.
About the artists:
John Willis (MFA R.I.S.D., 1986, Professor of Photography, Emeritus, Marlboro College) co-founded the In-Sight Photography Project and Exposures Cross-Cultural Youth Arts Program. Community engagement and volunteer work are central to Willis's personal photography and teaching, as he explores various ways of collaborating with subjects in the tradition of socially concerned photographers. John has taught students of all ages, from kindergarteners to nursing home residents. George F. Thompson Press has published five books of John's work.
Willis's awards include a 2010 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and an Open Society Institute Community Engagement Grant, among many others. His work is represented in numerous public collections worldwide.
Since Marlboro College closed in 2020, John has split his time between teaching at various institutions--including R.I.S.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UMASS Dartmouth, and ME Media and working with non-profits that collaborate with indigenous communities in the Dakotas and Khmer youth in Cambodia.
Austin Bryant is a photographer and writer based in Boston, Massachusetts. His work concerns communities of color and the landscape on which they remain. Through intimate connections with both people and place, he aims to memorialize the histories that have been forsaken or systematically erased.