Cannupa Hanska Luger, a multidisciplinary artist of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Austrian, and Norwegian descent, talks about the artist’s role in society. Luger writes: “In a world polarized politically, economically, racially, and sexually, we are forced to question our trust. However, our trust is the mortar that binds our intelligence. We need one another now more than ever. But, how do we see eye to eye with human groups we don’t trust? Enter the artist. If we can subvert the idea that art is an object, a noun, then we can reinstate the truth that art is a verb, an action. In developing processes that include society as a medium, the act of making builds communities that are embedded in the object of these processes. It connects people that may not engage with one another to create work together. Thus the role of artist is bridge builder.”

For more information, visit artsdesign.berkeley.edu.

Presented by the UC Berkeley Arts Research Center.