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Wood Street Galleries is pleased to present kʼidéin yéi jeené (You're doing such a good job), a solo exhibition by Nicholas Galanin (b. 1979 Sitka, Alaska Lingít/Unangax̂). The exhibition will be on view July 26–September 29, 2024. Sampling works from the Lingít language, which is spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America, kʼidéin yéi jeené (You're doing such a good job) centers the love, safety, and connection experienced and shared within these communities. This single-channel video presents Galanin speaking off-camera in Lingít to his son, whose delighted expression fills the screen. The work criticizes and rejects the false historical narratives and generational trauma inflicted by settler-colonialism – the ongoing system of oppression based on genocide that continues to displace and eliminate Indigenous people and cultures, confining them to marginal existence. Instead, it centers and celebrates Indigenous families and communities, reflecting the light of their children against the shadows of punishment for practicing their cultures, ceremonies, and languages. The artist explains: “Our families continue to love and care for our children’s needs, despite generations of violent state-mandated denial of those needs, despite the effects of generational trauma on our families and communities, despite the continued refusal outside our communities to learn our history or our present.”

Nicholas Galanin (b. 1979 Sitka, Alaska Lingít /Unangax̂) is a multidisciplinary artist. Galanin’s work engages contemporary culture from his perspective rooted in connection to the land. He embeds incisive observation into his work, investigating intersections of cultural and concept in form, image, and sound. Galanin’s works embody critical thought as vessels of knowledge, culture, and technology – inherently political, generous, unflinching, and poetic. Galanin engages past, present, and future to expose intentionally obscured collective memory and barriers to the acquisition of knowledge. His works critique commodification of culture, while contributing to the continuum of Lingít art. Galanin employs materials and processes that expand dialogue on Indigenous artistic production, and how culture can be carried. His work is in numerous public and private collections and exhibited worldwide. Galanin apprenticed with master carvers, earned his BFA at London Guildhall University, and his MFA at Massey University, he lives and works with his family in Sitka, Alaska.

Nicholas Galanin: kʼidéin yéi jeené (You're doing such a good job) is curated by Anastasia James, Director of Galleries & Public Art and presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust with support from Peter Blum Gallery, New York. Special thanks to Davine Byon, Curatorial Assistant and Joshua Rievel, lead preparator.