Brooklyn Museum to launch Hopi kachina doll exhibit this fall

PROSPECT HEIGHTS – THIS OCTOBER, THE Brooklyn Museum will open the new exhibit “Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World” at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. According to the museum, it will be the first exhibition to examine the kachina doll tradition from the perspective of girls and women from the Arizona Hopi tribe.

Carved of cottonwood and painted with distinctive designs, kachina dolls represent Katsinam, spirits who bring moisture and balance. They are traditionally given to girls and women to mark important life events.

Featuring more than 120 works dating from the 1800s to the present, “Blessings” presents historical belongings in conversation with crafts and artworks, including fifty-three kachina dolls and several ceremonial outfits, as well as contemporary ceramics, baskets, jewelry and textiles made by Hopi women. The presentation also highlights photography and interviews offering reflections on the experience of growing up Hopi.

According to a press release from the museum, the exhibition traces the key phases of a Hopi woman’s life, from infancy through marriage, and examines the spiritual relationship between the Katsinam and women within their communities, as well as the resiliency and creativity of Hopi artists who have shared the tribe’s traditions with the wider world.

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