‘The reason that we can do the things we do and work across practices like food justice, land remediation, Indigenous language revitalization, critical writing, and contemporary art – all from Indigenous perspectives – is because we are not a museum. We chose not to inherit this model,’ stated the Carcross/Tagish First Nation curator and educator upon accepting the Skowhegan Vanguard Award this October. Hopkins was speaking as executive director and chief curator at Forge Project, New York, which this year transitioned from a private foundation to a nonprofit, with an Indigenous steering council including artists Sky Hopinka and Jeffrey Gibson. While Forge holds its own collection, its programme is one led not by exhibitions but residencies, community days, discussion events and collaborative meals, shaping what an art institution can become from an Indigenous perspective. Meanwhile, Hopkins also secured a $175,000 grant, including $25,000 for climate action, from the Teiger Foundation, curated a show at the Nanaimo Art Gallery in her home territory of British Columbia and continued as Fellow in Indigenous Art History and Curatorial Studies at CCS Bard.