Headlining our 2026 programme is a major presentation of work by contemporary Indigenous American artists from Tia Collection. 

The first group exhibition staged in the prestigious Underground Gallery in its twenty-year history, it brings together over 60 works by more than 30 artists, whose practices are rooted in deep relationships to land, cultural memory and community.

This exhibition offers a rare encounter with contemporary Indigenous North American art that is unprecedented in Europe. Spanning numerous regions and genres, it features a richly diverse range of sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography, film and painting. 

Artists including Rose B. Simpson, Jeffrey Gibson, Nicholas Galanin, Raven Chacon, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Marie Watt, Emmi Whitehorse, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, George Morrison, Bob Haozous, Yatika Starr Fields, Tyrrell Tapaha, Eric-Paul Riege and Raven Halfmoon explore identity, resilience and the enduring connections between body and place. Their work confronts ongoing histories of colonialism, erasure and displacement, while also celebrating creativity, sovereignty and Indigenous futurisms.

With works drawn from across 50 years and multiple generations, the exhibition highlights both established voices and emerging artists who are shaping contemporary art today. Materials such as clay, hide, wool, beads and natural pigments become carriers of powerful stories, memory and tradition, rooted in a haptic connection to the earth. Newer modes of expression and understanding growing out of digital culture also speak to the shifting landscapes of Indigenous life in the 21st century.

A fascinating range of artworks explore aspects of these ideas from wide-ranging viewpoints. Rose B. Simpson’s Tonantzin (2021) is a potent ceramic figure linked to the matrilineal traditions of Santa Clara Pueblo. It takes its name from a pre-Columbian Aztec mother goddess and holds in its hand a piece of clay formed by the artist’s daughter, expressing a fundamental, ancient and bodily relationship to material. Ancestral Map of Return (2023) by Nicholas Galanin is a star map painted on deer hide that honours Indigenous individuals held in institutional collections and offers a poignant reflection on lineage, belonging and cultural continuity.

Michael Namingha’s Altered Landscapes #13 (2021, 2025) is a sculptural photograph that documents wildfire smoke over New Mexico. It points to the environmental change that resonates globally and presents urgent questions around environmental justice at a regional, national and international level. Presenting this artwork in a European context carries important responsibilities. The exhibition has been shaped through dialogue with Indigenous artists, advisors and Tia Collection to ensure culturally respectful presentation, while inviting UK audiences to engage deeply with perspectives often underrepresented in European institutions.

Founded in 2007 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and now with an expanded presence in London, Tia Collection is a global art collection committed to supporting artists and cultural institutions internationally. Through acquisitions, commissions, museum loans, scholarship, and philanthropic initiatives, it champions and amplifies historically marginalised voices and preserves vital artistic legacies, contributing to a more expansive and inclusive understanding of art history.

Tia Collection began with, and has maintained, a devoted focus on contemporary Indigenous American art, and has evolved into a dynamic platform where modern, contemporary, and broader Indigenous artistic traditions meaningfully intersect. Its mission extends beyond stewardship, building bridges, honouring artistic excellence in all its forms, and ensuring that the transformative power of creative expression reaches audiences worldwide.

A fully illustrated catalogue will offer newly commissioned essays exploring land relations, material practices, sovereignty and Indigenous futures, providing an important resource for scholars, artists and audiences. YSP’s related public programme of events will develop a deeper understanding of contemporary Indigenous North American art within a UK and European context, where it has rarely been shown, and will emphasise its breadth, diversity and importance.