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News

June 2026

A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’
(i hope it will stir your mind) 

Exhibition February 12–July 5, 2026 

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Photo credit: Kameron Herndon, courtesy Walker Art Center

Created in partnership with a team of collaborators, A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) foregrounds the Seneca notion of a “good mind.” Rooted in Rosy Simas’s (Seneca Nation of Indians, Heron clan) intentional practice, this transdisciplinary exhibition weaves together moving image, sound, and sculpture. It combines materials such as treaty cloth, deerskin, and traditional cornhusk-twined bottles into a space for considered contemplation and reflection.


For Simas, the installation serves as both a physical representation of her family and a reflection of Hodinöšyö:nih philosophies. Citing Anishinaabe writer Gerald Vizenor, Simas describes each element of the exhibition as an act of “survivance,” a reflection of the circular patterns of protection between herself and her ancestors. Integrating extensive research with lived experience, A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ cultivates peacemaking and community well-being in a time of deadly politics, racism, and bigotry.


Running February 12–July 5, 2026, this exhibition is the culmination of Simas’s two-year, cross-disciplinary residency at the Walker. Other components include a major new dance commission premiering in the McGuire Theater in May 2026 and a series of community engagement events throughout the run of the exhibition.


Walker Art Center Gallery admission is free on Thursday nights, 5 to 9 pm. Admission tickets are available at the Main Lobby desk. 

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May 2026

A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’
(i hope it will stir your mind) 

Performances May 13–16, 2026 

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Photo credit: Valerie Oliveiro

A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) is a dance work, an installation, and a community engagement project. From Rosy Simas’ (Seneca Nation of Indians, Heron clan) movement practice of deep listening to the earth, stars, ancestors, and each other comes a dynamic Native contemporary dance work that draws the audience into a space of relationality.

A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) weaves a mind of peace into every aspect of its creation—every stitch of the set, every movement, sound, and image is imbued with a “good mind” and a peacemaking state of being.

French composer François Richomme’s immersive sound score of sounds from Seneca lands bathes the audience and performers in a shared aural experience.

Simas’s abstract, transdisciplinary universe rejects false dichotomies between the traditional and contemporary, the sonic and somatic, the visual and the physical, even the separations between life and art.

These performances are the culmination of Simas’s two-year, cross-disciplinary residency at the Walker. Other components include visual art exhibition by Simas (on view February 12–July 5, 2026) and a series of community engagement events through July 2026. These events bring the community together to experience peace, rest, and actively engage in community actions that cultivate peace.

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Photo credit [top]: Weave, by Lila Hurwitz

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