Jeremy Dennis ’13 Curates Zuccaire Gallery Exhibition Exploring Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art

When Jeremy Dennis ’13 entered the State University of New York at Stony Brook as a freshman, he was a computer science major. However, halfway through his academic career, he switched his major to his passion — art. Since graduating, he has had a successful career as an artist, with his work exhibited around the country. He has been featured in the New York State Museum as part of the Contemporary Native American Art Collection. He has also received the Dreamstarter Award from Running Strong for American Indian Youth for his photography project, “On This Site.”

Throughout his art career, Dennis has worked to preserve and share his Shinnecock Nation’s ancestral history and contemporary culture with his community. He and his family established Ma’s House Art Studio during the pandemic. “I was doing residencies around the country, but that all stopped in 2020,” said Dennis. “We refurbished my grandmother’s house so we could start our own space on the Shinnecock Indian Nation territory in Southampton, New York, to share artists’ work in a safe space.”

Dennis, a 2017 40 Under Forty honoree, has remained connected to Stony Brook University since graduating, frequently returning to campus as a guest speaker in art classes. Most recently, he guest-curated the “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art” exhibition at Zuccaire Gallery, featuring 26 Indigenous artists from around the country. “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds” explores the connection between Indigenous language and contemporary art with artists’ work that engages with Algonquian languages spoken across Long Island and the Northeast, as well as other Indigenous languages. The exhibition also includes historical maps and archival materials borrowed from the Stony Brook Libraries’ Special Collections.

Dennis was recently at the gallery to moderate a panel with some of the artists. He sat down with Stony Brook Matters to discuss the exhibition, as well as how his time at Stony Brook helped shape his art career.

What was the inspiration behind this exhibition?

The biggest inspiration for me was the opportunity to tap into Stony Brook’s Algonquian Language Revitalization Project, part of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative. I was fortunate enough to take that class in the first semester it was offered, and I was amazed at how I was able to relearn our language. As a Native person, people often ask if we still speak the language, and I’m happy we’re turning that conversation around. I wanted to create a space where we can recognize how language intersects with lived experiences, while touching on themes of immigration, gender, family, love, trauma and intergenerational memory. I’m hoping this show will create a bridge between the Shinnecock community and Stony Brook, allowing people to learn about our history and perhaps inspiring Shinnecock youth to view Stony Brook as a destination for their education.

How were the artists and pieces chosen for the exhibition?

We have 26 artists who are featured in this collection. We reached out to artists in several ways. First, we put out an open call, which allows us to discover artists’ work we’ve never seen before and expand our network to include artists outside of our region. Since I wanted to highlight Shinnecock Indian Nation tribal members, I reached out to my community to get involved. And then, finally, we sourced some pieces from various locations around the country. Both the Tia Collection in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Gochman Family Collection in New York City lend their works to other galleries and museums, so we have some truly exceptional pieces from those collections. This is the first time I’ve curated a collection of this caliber, and I’m excited because it’s a full-circle moment for me to do it at Zuccaire.

How has Stony Brook shaped your career?

While studying art wasn’t my initial intention when I enrolled at Stony Brook, the mentors I had there encouraged me not only to pursue art but also to incorporate aspects of computer science into my art, mainly in the realms of editing, digital art, website design and production. Professor and photographer Gary Schneider, MFA student and teacher Andreas Rentsch and photography Professor Isak Berbic were all inspirations to me while I was at Stony Brook. In fact, I see Isak and Andres pretty frequently as we try to attend each other’s openings or shows. I also enjoy brainstorming with them on how we can collaborate in the future.

I truly enjoyed the critique aspect that I had at Stony Brook. Having people encourage me or suggest different things to try with my art is something that I found extremely valuable and still look for similar experiences. When I started artist residencies, I saw those environments to be identical to the academic environment, particularly in terms of encouragement and camaraderie among fellow artists. Opening Ma’s House was an extension of that, as I wanted to create a space similar to what I had at Stony Brook, where people could explore their heritage through art and share it with the public.

What was your time like at Stony Brook?

Being from the Shinnecock Indian Nation territory in Southampton, I loved how close Stony Brook was to home. It was important to me to live on campus while maintaining a connection to my family and cultural traditions at home. I would spend most of my time in studio art classes, which could be three hours long for each medium. Initially, I focused on printmaking, oil painting and the darkroom. In my senior year, I fell into photography and the 35mm format. Even though all of my art classes were long, it was a privilege to have access to the art spaces to work. I was part of the art club, where we helped curate shows at the campus galleries, as well as the biking club. The campus was great for riding our bikes around. I also spent a lot of my free time taking photos. I would set up scenes trying to imitate works by famous photographers using the campus as a backdrop.

What is a piece of advice you would give to students studying art or considering studying art?

I would say immerse yourself in art around campus. Check out the murals and sculptures. Head to the galleries — Zuccaire and the Wang Center always have excellent exhibitions. You don’t necessarily need to commit yourself to being an artist. Pursuing art as a hobby is just as satisfying and a great emotional outlet. If you’re stressed or frustrated, getting your feelings out on paper or an easel is a creative way to relax. And remember, art is something that brings us all together and allows us to think about content or history that we don’t usually expose ourselves to. It’s an opportunity to express ourselves and let those around us learn more about what’s important to us — be it our beliefs, heritage or just what’s on our minds. 

Learn more about the inspiration behind Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art below.

“Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art” will be on display at the Zuccaire Gallery at Stony Brook University through November 22, 2025. It is open Monday through Friday from noon to 4 pm and on evenings when Staller Center for the Arts has performances. For more information on hours, click here.

Upcoming Events:

Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: An Alumni Evening With Jeremy Dennis ’13 will be held on Friday, November 21, 2025, at 5:30 pm at the Zuccarie Gallery. This is free and open to all. Registration is required. Register here to attend.

-Christine McGrath

View some photos from Tyler Mooney of the exhibit.