Dyani White Hawk’s Love Language reviewed in Hyperallergic
Photos by Eric Mueller courtesy of Walker Art Center.
Sheila Dickinson for Hyperallergic reviews Dyani White Hawk’s retrospective, Love Language, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 18, 2025 through February 15, 2026). She notes the inclusive nature of the exhibition “invites viewers into the vibrant cultural legacies of Native art, and connections to land, lineage, and community.” Unpacking the exhibition’s thematic sections — See, Honor, Nurture, and Celebrate – she notes how they “collectively serve as both artistic imperatives and ethical calls to action.”
Applauding the curators’ vision and relationships with White Hawk, Dickinson writes that Love Language “serves as a blueprint for ethical curation, one that centers Indigenous voices without diluting their complexities.” She gives an example of the work LISTEN, which consists of ten monitors paired with headphones that amplify the voices of Indigenous women speaking in their native languages while surrounded by their ancestral lands. Dickinson also situates the exhibition in relation to Indigenous histories and the Walker’s contentious institutional history with Indigenous communities.
Calling the exhibition space a “sacred refuge” and “space for healing” amidst Operation Metro Surge, a federal occupation by ICE across the Twin Cities, Dickinson adds that the exhibition offers “a reminder that Indigenous resilience persists in everyday acts of collectivity.”
Love Language is curated by Siri Engberg and Tarah Hogue (Métis Nation citizen). The exhibition travels to Remai Modern in Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada (April 25 through October 4, 2026).