(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Artist Bently Spang (Enrolled Member of the Tsitsistas/Suhtai Nation) brings the latest iteration of his groundbreaking Tekcno Powwow Jr.²: To the Second Power to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University—New Brunswick on Sunday, October 12, 2025 from 11:00am to 3:00pm. It takes place outdoors on Voorhees Mall, adjacent to the museum. The event is part of the museum's dynamic fall schedule, featuring more than 30 free public programs.
Visitors of all ages have opportunities to engage with Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always, the unprecedented survey of contemporary Native American art, as well as other exhibitions and program series. Visit zimmerli.rutgers.edu/events for all details, including parking and registration information.
"As we continue the major exhibition Indigenous Identities through the end of the year, we are excited to welcome more artists for a new slate of programs," said Zimmerli director Maura Reilly. "We especially look forward to Bently Spang's Tekcno Powwow, our signature event this fall, which explores how cultures interact and influence each other. It fuses traditional drums and a DJ, plus powwow and break dance—but it's so much more than a performance. It'll be a truly multi-sensorial experience for the crowd."
Spang is an internationally known multi-disciplinary artist, curator, educator and writer. He was a guest during the Zimmerli's Indigenous Arts and Culture series in 2023 and his mixed-media sculpture Modern Warrior Series: War Shirt #3—The Great Divide is currently on view in Indigenous Identities. Since Spang debuted the Tekcno Powwow series in 2004, it has been a one-of-a-kind experience at each venue.
Comprising over 100 works across a range of media—Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always explores the multiplicities of indigeneity through the diverse practices of 97 artists, representing 74 Indigenous nations and communities across the United States.
Additional exhibition-related programs offer opportunities to engage with featured artists and other visitors:
* Virtual Artist Talks resume on Zoom, on select Mondays, featuring: Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq/Athabascan), on November 3 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm.
* Art Together, the Zimmerli's free, drop-in family art workshop series, returns for a new season on Sunday, October 12, with a project inspired by the exhibition from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
* SparkNight spotlights Indigenous Identities on Thursdays, Nov. 6, Celebrating Native American Heritage Month, and December 4 with a performance by artist Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache and Diné), whose My Soul Remainer, a video collaboration with Nanobah Becker, is on view in the exhibition from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
* On Thursday, November 13, Curating Indigenous Art: A Panel Conversation features esteemed curators: Candice Hopkins (Carcross/Tagish First Nation), Executive Director of Forge Project; Jami Powell (Citizen of the Osage Nation), Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College; and Lara Evans (Cherokee Nation), Interim CEO and President of the First People's Fund from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
* Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natalie Diaz (Enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community) presents a public reading on Wednesday, November 19, followed by a Q&A and reception. In collaboration with the Writers at Rutgers Reading Series from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.
Longtime favorite series also return this fall:
* Curated and led by Rutgers student educators, Highlights Tours take place on select Sundays, October 19, November 2 and December 14, and Saturdays, October 11, November 15 and December 6 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
* Yoga in the Galleries meets Wednesdays, October 15 and November 19 from 10:00am to 11:00am.
* The popular bilingual activities at Último Domingo (Last Sunday) continue on October 26, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration; and November 23 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
* SparkNight Art Parties return on November 6, Celebrating Native American Heritage Month, and December 4, with a performance by artist Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache and Diné) from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
* Families are invited to get creative at Art Together—the museum's free drop-in workshops—on select Sundays: October 12, November. 9 and December 7 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum houses more than 70,000 works of art, with strengths in the Art of the Americas, European Art, Soviet Nonconformist Art and Arts of Eurasia, and Original Illustrations for Children's Literature. The permanent collections include works in all mediums, spanning from antiquity to the present day, providing representative examples of the museum's research and teaching message at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which stands among America's highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities.
Admission is free to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. The museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street (at George Street) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Zimmerli is a short walk from the NJ Transit train station in New Brunswick, midway between New York City and Philadelphia.
The Zimmerli Art Museum is open Wednesday and Friday, 11:00am to 6:00pm; Thursday, 11:00am to 8:00pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5:00pm. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday, as well as major holidays and the month of August. For the most current information, including parking and accessibility, visit zimmerli.rutgers.edu.
The Zimmerli's operations, exhibitions, and programs are funded in part by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and income from the Avenir Endowment Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Endowment Fund. Additional support comes from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the donors, members, and friends of the museum.
