STANDING STRONG

Standing Strong is a long-term multimedia project that combines photography and augmented reality to confront colonial narratives while highlighting Indigenous sovereignty and futurism. Featured in the ENCODED unsanctioned AR exhibition, the work activated both public and institutional spaces, most notably The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, transforming how audiences experience and understand Indigenous peoples.

Challenge

Mainstream art and historical institutions have historically presented Indigenous peoples through a fixed, colonial lens, often erasing contemporary movements and voices. Inspired by the 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, this project emerged from the urgent need for Indigenous communities to reclaim control over our own stories during moments of resistance and beyond.

Solution

Standing Strong became a living platform for self-authored storytelling, using emerging technology as a tool for reclamation rather than spectacle. By overlaying augmented reality experiences onto self-made portraits, the project reintroduced Indigenous images into public view, disrupting traditional art spaces and inviting audiences to engage with visuals of resilience on Indigenous terms.

Over its iterations, the project has grown into a vehicle for collective transformation, uplifting collaborators voices and influence how history, protest, and legacy are experienced and remembered.