As part of the 2025 Harvard Arts Festival, this installation references the recent archeologic excavations near the location of the 17th century Harvard Indian College. The soil and other material deposits beneath the site evidence a continuum of interconnected processes that began as a settler-colonial project, unfolding across time and space into our present moment—transformed, but embedded.

Designed in partnership with the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP), this geotextile structure references a theoretical volume of extracted earth, and presents it above ground as a critical activation of public space. The installation’s associated program of events, films, and discussions engaged the indigenous history of the site, mythologies of Harvard’s origin, and the myth (un)making functions of archeology.

STRATA was presented in partnership with HUNAP and was designed and built by Ignacio Lira Montez, Victoria Suárez, and Eric Rannestad as part of Malkit Shoshan’s Fall 2024 course: ‘Interdisciplinary Art and Design Practices’ at @harvardgsd. Special thanks to James Walkingstick and Kabl Wilkerson for their perspectives, enthusiasm, and insight. Funding provided by Harvard Arts and Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard University.