Exploring time, bodies, and resistance: Snake House curators bring new perspectives to the DeVos Art Museum

The DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University opens its latest exhibition on October 16th, 2025, titled SAME AS NEVER [anything to get out of here, right?], a time-based media showcase curated by Vermont-based collaborative Snake House. DeVos Director and Curator Emily Lanctot was joined in conversation by two of Snake House’s members, Kate Donnelly and Sumru Tekin, to discuss how the partnership came to be and what visitors can expect.

Lanctot first connected with Tekin years ago while studying in Vermont and had followed the collaborative work of Snake House with growing interest. When the opportunity arose to bring their curatorial approach to Marquette, she invited them to assemble an exhibition that would invite local audiences into unfamiliar territory. Unlike past shows, this exhibition is composed almost entirely of video and performance-based works, art that prioritizes lived experience and the physical body as narrative tools.

The curators explained that Snake House operates less like an institution and more like an ongoing conversation among artists. Their curatorial process for SAME AS NEVER began not with a thesis but with existing relationships, artists they had already been in dialogue with over time. Only after revisiting these creative exchanges did they begin shaping a theme around what emerged naturally: resistance, identity-making, and the fluidity of self.

Emily Lanctot

Featuring works by Piper Hill, Zerek Kempf, and Shori Sims, the show examines how the body becomes both subject and instrument, which pushes against expectations tied to gender, race, and personal history. All three artists work in video, frequently placing themselves within their own imagery. Their approaches vary, from intimate gestures to constructed narratives, but each tests the limits of what it means to be seen, and to see oneself, on one’s own terms.

Watch the trailer for a game from artist Piper Hill:

Donnelly and Tekin noted that Snake House gravitated toward time-based media not only for its capacity to hold memory and transformation, but for the way it requires patience. Rather than searching for a single explanation, visitors are encouraged to experience the works slowly, without pressure to decode or “solve” them.

Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Lanctot and two of the Snake House VT curators:

Lanctot hopes local audiences will approach the exhibition with openness, seeing it as a space for connection rather than certainty. Whether in a crowded reception or a solitary viewing, she believes such encounters can widen one’s sense of self—and make room for questions that linger long after leaving the gallery.

The exhibition runs October 16 through December 15, with preview and discussion events inviting the community to engage directly with the curators and artists. As Snake House sees it, art is less a presentation than an invitation, one that is best answered with curiosity.

Find more information about the SAME AS NEVER exhibit and future events at the DeVos Art Museum's website, and to learn more about Snake House, visit their website here.