An Exploration of Lenape Heritage and Visual Sovereignty
American surface design company Wolf-Gordon introduces achimwi , an exhibition and collection of high-performance wallcoverings marking the fourth installment of Wolf-Gordon Curatorial Projects. Initiated by Chief Creative Officer and Curator Marybeth Shaw to situate art and design within their broader political, social, and economic contexts, this year’s project was developed in collaboration with Lenape Center to highlight the enduring cultural legacy and visual sovereignty of the Lenape people.
Named for the Lenape word meaning “to tell a story,” achimwi presents works of the “Original People” through the distinct voices of contemporary Lenape artists. The collection is a reflection on culture, land and legacy, developed in collaboration with the Lenape Center to ensure these perspectives accurately represent a permanent presence within our shared cultural narrative.
“With achimwi, we are featuring exquisite mural and pattern designs derived from contemporary Lenape storytelling through art, from music to beadwork and painted narratives of land, nature and ritual,” says Marybeth Shaw, Chief Creative Officer of Marketing and Design at Wolf-Gordon. “As a company that has thrived on Manahatta since 1967, this collection is our way of situating our work within the layered history of the place we call home.”
The Lenape are the indigenous inhabitants of Lenapehoking, a territory encompassing present-day Manhattan (Manahatta) and the Mid-Atlantic states. Guided by the Eight Laws of Lenapehoking, they maintained a peaceful, matrilineal society grounded in environmental stewardship until contact with colonial powers that led to a genocide and multiple forced displacements west, far from their homeland. Today, their communities inhabit Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. Despite extreme persecution, the Lenape have maintained a resilient identity through proactive preservation of their culture and arts.
To bring achimwi to life, Wolf-Gordon worked with Lenape Center to identify four distinct creative voices – Ahchipaptunhe (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Annette Ketchum (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Joe Baker (Delaware Tribe of Indians), and Brent Michael Davids (Stockbridge-Munsee Community).
The achimwi Wallcoverings and Murals:
Tree and Garland: These two designs are derived from the bold, graphic motifs that Lenape elder Annette Ketchum sews into her elaborate beadwork. Wolf-Gordon Customs Lab utilized high-resolution photography and a specialized raised-ink process to replicate the three-dimensional, tactile quality of Ketchum’s ceremonial bandoliers, effectively archiving the tradition of regalia-making within contemporary wallcovering patterns.
Lenapehoking: This cartographic pattern by painter and designer Ahchipaptunhe is an abstraction of a series of towns in the Mid Atlantic that are still called by their Lenape name. Ahchipaptunhe began with aerial photos and roadmaps of the towns, and hand drafted the dominant physical features, resulting in a grid of beautiful geometries that transform the wall into a testament of sovereignty and historical continuity.
The Giving of Tobacco: This mural began as an original oil painting on canvas by Ahchipaptunhe that expresses the significance of traditional medicine. The composition employs a sophisticated interplay of color and light, abstracting organic forms into a serene and thought-provoking backdrop for modern interiors.
Messengers: In this large-scale mural, Joe Baker, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Lenape Center, utilizes the image of the chickadee—a messenger—to signify optimism. The composition balances Baker’s joyous paintings of the birds with an expansive, golden background, printed by Wolf-Gordon Customs Lab on silver Mylar, that provides a sense of atmospheric depth and peace.
Stomp: Derived from an original oil painting by Joe Baker, Stomp captures the rhythmic, gestural footwork of traditional social dance. The pattern translates the painterly energy of the brushstrokes into a repeating surface, echoing the cadence and movement of Lenape dance. Marks indicating foot stomps are printed with raised inks to enhance the pattern’s haptic effect in a space.
Touching Leaves Woman: Named in honor of Nora Thompson Dean, who dedicated her life to preserving Lenape language and culture, this work by internationally renowned composer Brent Michael Davids translates his hand-notated and drawn musical score for voice and bird roar instruments, into a rhythmic wallcovering pattern. The design bridges the gap between sound and surface, turning the structure of a musical composition into a visual cadence of language and memory. Wolf-Gordon Customs Lab has printed this large-scale pattern on Bildenwood veneer wallcovering.
Ultimately, achimwi gives a new kind of voice to the Lenape and invites the design community to recognize that the territories we inhabit are never neutral but are instead deeply embedded with the enduring stories and presence of those who came before us.
About Wolf-Gordon
Wolf-Gordon is an American design company dedicated to inspiring the creation of outstanding interiors. Founded in 1967 as a commercial wallcovering resource, our high-performing product line now includes CLAIR® PVC-free and natural wallcoverings, RAMPART® wall protection in four formulations, Scuffmaster® paint, Wink® dry-erase surfaces, GATHER® Acoustical materials, and textiles. Wolf-Gordon also works closely with clients to design and produce custom print concepts for signature, site-specific environments.
As the company celebrates 25 years of design partnerships, it continues to collaborate with leading international designers such as Laurinda Spear, Karim Rashid, Petra Blaisse, Grethe Sørensen, Boym Partners, Frank Tjepkema, Mae Engelgeer, Aliki van der Kruijs, and Hlynur Atlason, bringing fresh perspectives to the A&D community. In 2023, it launched Wolf-Gordon Curatorial Projects, a topical annual exhibition that situates design in its political, economic, and social contexts.
Wolf-Gordon account executives are based in major markets across the United States. Its internal account management team serves additional specifiers in more remote locations through a well-developed virtual process. Wolf-Gordon product samples are guaranteed to ship overnight anywhere in the continental US if ordered by 11 pm EST.
Wolf-Gordon is the parent company of two additional brands that serve the commercial and residential markets: Andor Willow, a supplier of thoughtfully-designed, easy-to-install wall and ceiling panels, as well as room dividers, in wood veneer, solid wood and acoustical materials; and, Look Walls & Interiors, a designer and manufacturer of custom digitally printed wallcoverings for commercial, hospitality and retail interiors nationwide.
About Lenape Center
Lenape Center, founded in 2009 in the Lenape homeland (Manhattan), is a Lenape-led whose mission is to continue Lenapehoking through community, culture, and the arts. It creates and sustains programs, exhibitions, workshops, performances, symposia, and agricultural projects that affirm the return and ongoing presence of Lenape people in their homeland.
Wolf-Gordon is honored to be among the partners of Lenape Center in its mission to tell its story.