As The Gund’s inaugural atrium commission, This Land, a site-specific installation by French-Anishinaabe artist Caroline Monnet, speaks about indigenous cultural identity in relation to the land. Monnet takes influence from her Anishinaabe cultural heritage, drawing from traditional designs found on birch bark baskets and beadwork to create the intricate patterns covering the glass panels of the atrium. Monnet has observed that her designs take on the appearance of QR codes, commenting, “The more I make them, the more they evolve into their own language, acting as microchips that transfer knowledge across generations, hoping to offer a glimpse back and a path forward.”

Wrapped around the glass enclosure of the museum atrium, the design intervenes in our aesthetic experience of the architectural space and the surrounding landscape. The copper color of the pattern acknowledges the rich mineral deposits in the Great Lakes region, calling to mind the extractive commercial industries built around copper since colonization. The pattern itself encodes a different history and ecological sensibility: one built on principles of continuity, tradition, and harmony. Inscribed on both the architecture and the surrounding landscape, the artwork intervenes in the history of this place, asking us to remember that Kenyon is built on the ancestral homeland of the Miami, Lenape, Wyandotte, and Shawnee peoples, among others. The disputed Treaty of Greenville (1795) and the forced removal of indigenous peoples from this region allowed for the founding of the College in the early 1800s. Ultimately, This Land challenges viewers to confront the complex and often painful realities of our shared history, while also celebrating the persistence and resilience of indigenous cultures.

Kenyon College acknowledges that the lands on which we live, work, celebrate, and heal are the ancestral homelands of the Miami, Lenape, Wyandotte, and Shawnee peoples, among others. The disputed Treaty of Greenville (1795) and the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from this region allowed for the founding of the College in the early 1800s. As a community, we are committed to confronting this dark past while also embracing through education and outreach the many Indigenous communities that continue to thrive in Ohio.