This two-part exhibition unites, for the first time, the stories of Mary Edmonia Lewis, the first internationally acclaimed Black and Anishinaabe sculptor, and that of her brother, Samuel W. Lewis—a Bozeman-based performer, entrepreneur, and community leader who was central to Edmonia’s success.

The second exhibition installment centers on the life and work of Edmonia Lewis. Inaugurating Tinworks’ newly restored Mill Building on the Ida campus is a major commission by Auriea Harvey who, like Edmonia Lewis, is a Black, Catholic, expatriate artist living in Rome. Harvey’s immersive installation, Edmonia Triumphalis, memorializes an imaginary journey by Edmonia to visit her brother in Bozeman, a journey she was never able to make in her lifetime.

The work features a triumphal arch constructed from local rammed earth and a monumental fountain inspired by Edmonia Lewis’s classical and baroque influences. Through researchbased storytelling and sculptural innovation, Harvey bridges Rome and Montana, illuminating the global networks that underpinned the siblings’ lives. Other artists whose work will be presented in the Mill building, including Sanford Biggers, Andrea Carlson, Kelly Church, and Athena LaTocha, likewise consider how ancient traditions from North America, Northern Africa, and the Mediterranean remain vital to the practices of contemporary artists.

Chisel & Razor, Act I will be presented from June 19–October 31, 2026.

In addition to the works on view at Tinworks Art’s campus, Chisel & Razor will be a citywide celebration in partnership with Montana State University College of Arts & Architecture. Stay tuned for further details on programming.

The exhibition is curated by Dr. Melissa Ragain in collaboration with a group of advisors, including Dr. Tiya Miles, 2011 MacArthur Fellow, author, and Professor of History at Harvard University who also serves on Tinworks Art’s Board of Directors; MSU Professor of Native American Studies Dr. Anita Moore-Nall; Montana-based filmmaker Nnamdi Kanaga; MSU professor in Sociology & Anthropology Dr. Jelani Mahiri; Montana-based artist Emily Gonzales; Montana-based writer Dr. Betsy Quammen; and Montana-based writer Dr. Anthony W. Wood.

Tinworks Art gratefully acknowledges the generous support of VIA Art Fund for the production and exhibition of Edmonia Triumphalis by Auriea Harvey, and the Vilcek Foundation for their support of Sunflowers, to follow the wheat by Agnes Denes, an ongoing ecological intervention in Tinworks’ field. Major program support for Tinworks Art is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Tinworks Founding Director’s Council. Additional support is provided by coal tax revenues allocated to Montana’s Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund.