Rosy Simas cultivates a ‘good mind’ with Walker Art Center commissions

Haudenosaunee artist Rosy Simas will debut two major commissions at the Walker Art Center early next year that channel what she calls a “good mind,” including one that helps revive the nearly lost practice of cornhusk twining.

The installation A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:' (i hope it will stir your mind will go on view February 12 through July 5, 2026, and is inspired by a cornhusk salt bottle once owned by Simas’ grandmother. It will be accompanied by the premiere of a performance work in May 2026 in the Walker’s McGuire Theater.

Simas said that the cornhusk bottle that inspired the installation has been in her family for more than 125 years. The artist was struck by the fact that the bottle is twined rather than braided. Cornhusk twining is a time-consuming practice, she said, taking up to 14 hours of work to make each bottle. A braided-and-sewn one would only take two.

For years, Simas has studied Haudenosaunee and Seneca history, as well as her own family lineage, and has been particularly interested in Seneca material culture—quillwork, beadwork and basketry—and how such mediums evolved from utilitarian uses to items sold to tourists visiting the Niagara Falls region.