Earlier this week, the Washington State History Museum debuted the 18th iteration of its In the Spirit Contemporary Native Arts Exhibition — and today, the organization shared which artists among the crop received awards from a specially chosen jury.

The exhibit annually encompasses a collection of works by Native American artists. The 2023 exhibit features 36 pieces from 26 selected creators. Those who won awards were selected by a panel of rotating jury members consisting of Native artists or subject experts, a release from the organization said. 

“We do our best to choose works that represent a highlight of the year’s pieces entered, but we take into consideration how the piece could be used in future exhibitions and whether or not the artist is already represented in the collection among other factors,” co-curators Todd Clark and Dr. Danica Sterud Miller, who also selected this year’s Purchase Prize winner, said in a joint statement. “We believe this year’s selection checked all of those boxes.”

The winners were, per the release: 

Carly Feddersen (Colville Confederated Tribes) — Best in Show for her woven waxed linen pictorial basket “Coyote and the Monster Who Ate Everyone.” 

Timothy O’Connell III (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe) — Spirit of the Northwest Award for his formline landscape painting “ʔəsxʷənáʔwəs skʷáči ʔaʔ cə cácu (cloudy day at the beach).”

Denise Emerson (Skokomish Enrolled and Navajo) — Honoring the Ancestors Award for her painted design “Skokomish People of the River Basket.” 

Alison Bremner (Tlingit) — Honoring Innovation Award and Purchase Prize Award for her Beanie Baby “Millennium Dreams” beadwork. 

To put on the exhibit, the museum every year works closely with a Native advisory committee to plan the exhibit and the accompanying In the Spirit Arts Market & Northwest Native Festival (which will be held this year from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Aug. 12), the release said. 

The In the Spirit exhibit will continue through Sept. 24. Get tickets here.