Moss guest curator series celebrates the work of Native American artists
The Moss Arts Center continues its commitment to bring new perspectives to its performance lineup, welcoming activist, director, producer, and consultant Andre Bouchard as its independent performing arts curator for the 2024-25 season.
With a background in both Native and non-Native worlds, Bouchard — of Kootenai/Ojibwe/Pend d’Oreille/Salish descent — serves as an intercultural activist, working to build bridges and reverse the invisibility that marginalizes Native people in the United States. His collaboration with the Moss converges with three performances celebrating the work of Indigenous artists.
“Today, there is a groundswell of Native American creative work emerging into the world, and there is a movement that seeks to replace centuries of narratives, written from the frame of colonialism, with our own stories,” said Bouchard. “The storytellers that you will see in this series are part of that movement.”
“I’ve been fortunate to know Andre for more than 10 years, as a colleague in the national performing arts field and a friend,” said Moss Arts Center Director of Programming Margaret Lawrence. “He holds deep insight into the ways artists are taking the stage to voice important truths — and in fact, the Moss was honored to help commission ‘Welcome to Indian Country,’ produced by Bouchard in 2021. Andre has met with both Native and non-Native members of our community as he developed the series. I'm very excited to welcome these performances, their impactful engagement, and the meaningful dialogues these artists will spark at Virginia Tech and in our community.”
“The land on which Virginia Tech is built is storied, and I read about the great civilizations who built great mounds, the Tutelo and Monacan Tribes who still call this area home,” Bouchard said. “It was important that the content for this series go some way to fulfilling the needs for education in the community, the interests of the campus Native community, and the interests of the people of the land. There was deep reflection and significant dialogue to find how to do this job, of building this series — the right way — with intention and reflection.”
2024-25 Guest Curator Series
“Voices from the Urban Indigenous Campfire”
Monday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Poetry, creative writing, and rich stories interlace with this specially curated celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day featuring three Indigenous creatives. Award-winning poet Rena Priest (Lummi Nation, Washington State Poet Laureate 2021-23), first-person novelist Deborah Taffa (Quechan Nation, Laguna Pueblo; “Whiskey Tender”), and leading playwright Rhiana Yazzie (Navajo, 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award) represent voices reaching well beyond their own tribal affiliations. Alongside an invited member of the region’s Monacan nation, these distinguished writers delve into tribal identity and the beauty — and tremendous challenges — of keeping culture, land, and traditions close.
"In the Court of the Conqueror"
Thursday, April 24, and Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Cube
Writer, performance artist, and social justice advocate george emilio sanchez confronts the ways the courts have historically diminished the tribal sovereignty of Native nations, juxtaposing this against his experiences navigating generational trauma and Indigenous identity in an Ecuadorian immigrant household. Part history, part autobiography, “In the Court of the Conqueror” is a multidisciplinary experience reexamining place and its relationship to the past and present historical conflicts of Indigenous lands.
Native Comedy Jam
Saturday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Cube
This night of laughter and celebration blends humor, storytelling, and rich cultural backgrounds, all delivered by some of today’s most talented Indigenous comedic voices. “Comedy was brought up in conversation after conversation in the many meetings I did around Virginia Tech and in the community,” Bouchard said. “In this show we find three comics that have been working to break barriers for decades, and through their hard work have trailblazed for the current wave of Native comics.” Tickets go on sale in October.
Tickets
Tickets are now on sale for “Voices from the Urban Indigenous Campfire” and george emilio sanchez’s “In the Court of the Conqueror.” Each performance is $25 for general admission and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours. Tickets for Native Comedy Jam go on sale in October.
Venue and parking information
The performances will be held at the Moss Arts Center, located at 190 Alumni Mall. Convenient parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street and in downtown Blacksburg. Find more parking details online.
