His work includes Wiikiaami, an installation designed as a contemporary “wigwam” in Columbia, Indiana, for which he won the inaugural J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize.
The copper-clad form was inspired by the dwellings of the Miyaamia, the indigenous people of central Indiana. Sitting near the Saarinen and Saarinen-designed First Christian Church, it was displayed as part of Exhibit Columbus 2016-17.
Cornelius is an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He is the recipient of awards and honours, including an Artist-in-Residence Fellowship from the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, where he created a visual translation of the Oneida cosmology.
Cornelius holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has previously taught at the University of Virginia.
To learn more about his work, visit studio:indigenous or read his interview with METROPOLIS.
Instagram: @christcornelius