Arts + Literature Laboratory presents Strong Unrelenting Spirits featuring the work of the Tom Jones on view Tuesday, July 7 through Saturday, August 29, 2026. This exhibition was organized by the community curation project, LAB^4.
A reception will be held on Friday, July 10, 2026 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Strong Unrelenting Spirits is a body of work rooted in Ho-Chunk identity and resilience. For more than 25 years, Tom Jones has been engaged in an ongoing photographic series documenting members of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Through portraiture, Jones offers both tribal members and broader audiences a perspective from within the Ho-Chunk community, celebrating the pride, strength, and beauty of his people while challenging their frequent absence from mainstream cultural narratives.
A formative childhood experience serves as a foundation for this work. During a healing ceremony led by Sioux medicine man Robert Stead on the Rosebud Reservation, Jones witnessed luminous orbs appearing as women sang to invite the spirits into the gathering. Drawing from this memory, Jones embellishes his photographs with hand-beaded Ho-Chunk floral designs, symbolizing ancestors who continue to watch over and guide their descendants. By combining photography and beadwork, Strong Unrelenting Spirits honors the enduring presence of Ho-Chunk culture and expands contemporary conversations around portraiture, memory, and Indigenous visibility.
Strong Unrelenting Spirits
Tom Jones (Professor of Photography, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an artist, curator and educator. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Photography and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. Jones’ artwork is a commentary on identity, culture appropriation, experience and perception of Native America. He continues to work on an ongoing photographic essay on the contemporary life of his tribe, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Jones co-authored the book “People of the Big Voice, Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1943.” He is the co-curator for the exhibition and contributing author to the book, “For a Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw” for the National Museum of the American Indian. He recently curated a show on Ho-Chunk baskets for the Museum of Wisconsin Art. His artwork is in numerous private and public collections, most notably: National Gallery of Art, National Museum of the... Read More
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Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.
Our galleries are normally open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.
We will be closed Saturday, June 13 for a private event.