As part of the exhibition Quasi-Heartland, CAM commissioned Haegue Yang to create the Mound Vehicles which was inspired by the artist’s visit to Cahokia in 2024 and engages the St. Louis region’s precolonial history and the Mississippi River landscape. This room-sized installation features multiple sets of custom Venetian blinds—Yang’s signature medium—in blue and green hues, as well as casters and handles that allow the work to be “activated” and brought to life by facilitators who enact a series of choreographed movements to mobilize the sculpture.
This program links our contemporary moment, Yang’s Mound Vehicles, and the historic civilizations of Mississippian mound builder civilizations through a conversation between exhibition curator Misa Jeffereis and Dr. Angela Cooper, Site Services Specialist II for Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. The discussion will center concepts related to Cahokia and Mound Vehicles, including pilgrimage and procession, how museums and history sites shape our understanding of Indigenous experiences and perspectives, and how learning about the past shapes the present and future. Following the conversation, participants are invited to enjoy a reception with complimentary light bites and drinks available for purchase.
The evening also includes a pop-up shop highlighting Indigenous artists and cultural stewards based in St. Louis, as well as those whose relationships with the surrounding lands and waters predate and transcend colonial borders. Featured contributors include Lydia Cheshewalla, Kassie Kussman, Veronica Pipestem, Rico Rose, and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
Schedule
- 5:30 pm: Doors open to visit pop-up shop and galleries
- 6:15 pm: Conversation between Misa Jeffereis and Dr. Angela Cooper
- 7:00 pm: Reception
Registration is encouraged; please click here to sign up.
Accessibility Notes
- To request an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter for this event, please contact programs@camstl.org with as much prior notice possible to ensure availability.
- The conversation will take place in the Performance Space with ample seating.
About the Contributors
Misa Jeffereis is Associate Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, where she organized Haegue Yang: Quasi-Heartland amongst many other exhibitions. Jeffereis holds a Masters in Art History from Hunter College in New York.
Dr. Angela Cooper is the Site Services Specialist II at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. She is an alumna of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2009, University of Tulsa (TU) 2012 and 2018.
Lydia Cheshewalla is an Osage ephemeral artist from Oklahoma, living and working in motion throughout the Great Plains ecoregion. Through the creation of site-specific land art and ephemeral installations grounded in Indigenous land stewardship practices and kinship pedagogies, Lydia engages in multivocal conversations about place and relationship.
Kassie Kussman is a Cherokee metalsmith and artist whose work bridges Southeastern designs with contemporary form. Through her studio, Mean Right Hook, she transforms copper and silver into modern interpretations of ancestral patterns and symbols.
Veronica Pipestem is an enrolled citizen of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, an Osage headright holder, and is of Citizen and Prairie Band Potawatomi descent. Pipestem owns ItsimiVee, a cultural and natural resources firm that specializes in contract grant writing and in developing practical solutions for small and medium sized museums, cultural centers, and archives.
Rico Rose is an Indigenous community member of St. Louis, and a horticulturalist specializing in native plants and sustainable landscaping. They will provide information about Co-Horts of Sorts, a collaborative, community-centered project focused on sharing resources, building connections, and supporting place-based environmental and cultural work.
