Exhibition: Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance by Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos)

Siestreem returns to MAM more than a decade after her first exhibition, Ballast. In the years since, her practice has grown through the revitalization of traditional basket weaving knowledge, incorporating basket pattern motifs into bold, geometric paintings rooted in cultural continuity and ancestral practice, a powerful expression of Indigenous sovereignty. She describes her works as pieces that “safeguard their own stories [as] an act of love, refusal, and resistance.”
Siestreem has become one of the most recognized Indigenous artists working today, named a Hallie Ford Fellow in the Visual Arts in 2025 and elected that same year to the National Academy of Design in recognition of her contributions to contemporary American art. Her work is held in major collections including the Brooklyn Museum and the Portland Art Museum. MAM is honored to once again work with Siestreem, an artist in full stride, to present an exhibition that celebrates the breadth of her complete artistic vision.