‘History is happening right now’: Indigenous art being showcased in Madison

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Native

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – History in the making. That’s what one art gallery is showcasing on Madison’s east side.

All of the art is created by nine different Indigenous artists from around the upper Midwest. The work can be seen in the Marzen Art Gallery.

“Art history is happening right now,” Integrated Art Group general manager Jason Levy said. “We’re fortunate enough to get some of these powers assembled in the same space.”

The art is curated by an art gallery from Duluth, Minnesota: The Rabbit, Bird and Bear.

“They said that there’s not very many galleries in Madison that showcase indigenous art,” The Rabbit, Bird and Bear owner and CEO Michelle LeBeau said.

It’s a visual medium Madisonians don’t get to see every day.

“I want them to be blown away by it,” Levy said. “I want them to know that there are Indigenous artists creating contemporary work right now.”

Being blown away is just one of the reactions Levy wants people to feel from the art. The main feeling he wants people to feel is a sense of healing.

“There’s been a rise in the interest of how art can heal and provide a healing environment,” Levy said.

The meaning behind the art serves a broader purpose. The nine artists are working with healthcare clients in Madison, and across the nation, by showing their art in hospitals to bring a sense of comfort and healing.

“When they can find something that can either bring them peace, calm or even just a distractions for yourself or the family in those environments, we try to do that in a sensitive, articulate kind of way that gives dialogue to develop a space, so it feels comforting,” Levy said.

For Indigenous artists like Christopher Sweet, having his work make an impact in Madison means a little more.

“I was born and raised in Wisconsin,” Sweet said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in this area and it’s just really great to be, you know, a part of this.”

You can check out the work of the Indigenous artists yourself. The Marzen Art Gallery will have the exhibition on display through Dec. 15.

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New exhibit to spotlight Kānaka ʻōiwi artists | University of Hawaiʻi System News

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Native

Hometown Radio Interview: Taylor Kennedy, Taken By Taylor Photography [AUDIO]

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Taylor Kennedy is a photographer who owns and operates Taken by Taylor Photography. She spent time in the Tide Studio talking with Andy Harris, and she shared how her family has been an inspiration for her photography (especially family portraits and maternity shoots), how she collaborates with her clients before, during and after a photo shoot, and how she helps them overcome shy or self-conscious feelings while on camera. She reminisced about her experience capturing the Strictly Business networking event on Oct. 4 at Kingsmill Resort, and also looked ahead to how potential clients can book her for the holiday season. Listen here:

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Disclosure: Hometown Radio interviews are conducted by 92.3FM The Tide. WYDaily.com does not endorse any products, services, companies, or claims mentioned during the interview.

Ribbon cutting held for sculpture honoring patients of Deaconess Hospice

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

The sculpture will illustrate water, the sky and a celestial background.

studio job’s sculptures add a whimsical touch to mika’s apocalypse calypso music video

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

From the Outskirts of Philly to the Fashion Capitals

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Written by Sofiia Mikadze, ’24

Originally eyeing a small Southern school, Elizabeth Kooman’s first encounter with the University of Richmond was a game-changer. “I fell in love with our beautiful campus right away,” Kooman, now a senior, said. The small class sizes and nearby family sealed the deal for this marketing and art enthusiast.

Kooman’s love for art finds its pinnacle in photography, but her artistic exploration extends beyond the lens. A standout moment as part of her art minor was the “Cowgirl Project” in sculpture class. Initiated with a pair of worn teal boots from a resale boutique, the endeavor evolved into a reflection on heritage and family, inspired by her mother’s upbringing on a farm. Through dried flowers and old family photos, she creatively reflected on her family history and manifested the connection to a simpler country life.

Balancing her artistic side with a passion for marketing, Kooman discovered her calling early in high school business courses. At Richmond, marketing professor Bill Bergman’s Communications and Society seminar opened a new realm of possibilities, especially through lectures about influencer collaborations. As his research assistant, she contributes to crafting top-notch presentations for the Robins School of Business faculty meetings, but her impact extends beyond the college campus, as she supports community-based partnership projects, such as a website revamp for a charity “Wish for More Birthdays” that donates 100% of its proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

Last summer Kooman had an internship in the public relations department at Kenneth Cole. She found herself navigating the fast-paced world of fashion in the heart of New York City. Living in a Brooklyn student building and commuting to Chelsea on the West Side, her time at Kenneth Cole turned into a Devil Wears Prada-like summer. She quickly immersed herself in influencer-based strategies, gaining insights into behind-the-scenes processes, influencer packages, and audience targeting.

Despite Kenneth Cole’s shift to an online, licensed model that reduced the company’s scale, the close-knit group of interns contributed significantly, particularly in developing the social impact project “Kenneth Cole Voice Wear.” Focused on supporting social movements, her Gen Z perspective led to impactful designs now available on the brand’s website. As the internship concluded, Kooman and her peers turned into influencers for Kenneth Cole’s campaigns, as a proof of the tangible impact that her team’s hands-on strategy produced.

Reflecting on her time at Kenneth Cole, she notes, “The hands-on experience helped me realize what I want to do.” Kooman envisions herself in the dynamic world of branding. Large fashion players and creative agencies are sources of inspiration, embodying her dream of making brands stand out.

“Follow your heart and your passions,” she said. While she didn’t follow in her parents’ footsteps to banking and finance, her pursuit of what makes her happy and fulfilled is a guiding principle. “Don’t let the opinions of others get in the way of what you want to do,” she said.

Kooman’s journey is a symphony of art, marketing, fashion, and uncompromised dedication; it’s a testament to the power of following one’s passion and crafting a unique path. As she prepares to step into the dynamic world of branding, the fashion capitals and hidden corners of the world await the mark of this young and ambitious branding enthusiast from the serene outskirts of her home in Philadelphia.

Colorado Best in Show Photography Contest

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Competition …

Deadline to submit photos is December 31, 2023

PUBLISHED ON November 13, 2023

The Colorado Department of Agriculture encourages you to share your ag photos in its 2023 Colorado Best in Show Photography Contest. Submissions are due December 31. (Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash)

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Only a few more weeks left to submit your very best photos of Colorado agriculture. Whatever season, mood, or place, we want to see what agriculture really means to you.

The best images of Colorado agriculture come from those who work in ag and those who celebrate ag, and that’s where you come in! For more than 20 years, the Department of Agriculture has widely shared images submitted by photographers of all skill levels through our annual photo contest, which then become part of our photo library.

Colorado is a massive state, covering 66.3 million acres–and nearly half of that land is farmland. We want to highlight our vibrant agriculture industry in every corner and every community, and photographers statewide are valuable partners. If you have a love of Colorado agriculture, we hope you’ll share your photos with us. We award three top prizes, but consider any photo that helps tell the story of agriculture to be a winner!

The deadline to submit photos is December 31, 2023. To submit photos and for more information, go here.

— Colorado Department of Agriculture

Portraits of America

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Photography

After developing a career in professional photography that has taken him around the globe, William Taufic '77 returned to his hometown to showcase the power of diversity. — After developing a career in professional photography that has taken him around the globe, William Taufic ’77 returned to his hometown to showcase the power of diversity.

William Taufic ’77 grew up in Austin, Minnesota, a small meat-packing town best known for being the birthplace of SPAM.

Yet when he returned to his hometown in 2017 after spending decades developing a career as a professional photographer that took him around the world, he was struck by how much the community had changed. A substantial number of immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers have made Austin their home, hailing from countries such as South Sudan, Mexico, Benin, Myanmar, and numerous others. Together they have created a community rich with diversity, where more than 40 languages are spoken.

“What’s more, the town has welcomed the newcomers from all over the world with open arms, helping them to become part of the community and eventually new Americans,” Taufic writes on his photography site. “I am the son of an immigrant, who was the son of immigrants. Most of us here in our beloved United States of America, unless you have Native American roots, are immigrants. Unfortunately, in recent years we have become not so united.”

Several of the photographs in the “Our Austin, Our America” exhibit, which features portraits of community members paired with personal narratives.

What he saw in the way that Austin has embraced its diversity inspired him to create a photography project titled “Our Austin, Our America” that features portraits of community members paired with personal narratives. The Minnesota State Capitol Art Gallery displayed his exhibit through this fall, and Taufic published a book highlighting the project that is available for purchase online at Sweet Reads, a locally owned bookstore in Austin, and at the Minnesota Historical Society.

“I am really hopeful that what I have done will help other communities understand that there is nothing to fear — the more you welcome people regardless of the color of their skin, the more likely that your community will be successful and diverse and have a richer culture,” he says.

“I am really hopeful that what I have done will help other communities understand that there is nothing to fear — the more you welcome people regardless of the color of their skin, the more likely that your community will be successful and diverse and have a richer culture.”

William Taufic ’77

The roots of Taufic’s appreciation for multiculturalism and diversity begin with his family, with his father’s parents migrating from Lebanon to Brazil. Taufic’s father would himself later immigrate to the United States. That link to global engagement continued to Taufic’s own time at St. Olaf during the 1970s.

During a biology lab during his sophomore year, while counting fruit flies for a genetics project, his professor, Arnold Petersen, approached him with a question: “I’m going to take some students to Liberia next summer to do an independent research project. Would you like to join us?” For Taufic, the answer was easy.

William Taufic '77 with his exhibit at the Minnesota State Capitol Art Gallery. — William Taufic ’77 with his exhibit at the Minnesota State Capitol Art Gallery.

He spent the rest of his year planning a psychology memory experiment in Liberia with a group of other students from the University of Minnesota Student Project for Amity Among Nations (SPAN). He also collaborated with a psychology fellow from Rockefeller University in New York, Michael Cole, and spent the summer of 1975 traveling across villages in northern Liberia collecting data for the research. Taufic documented his time there by taking photographs — lots and lots of photographs. Once he returned to campus, his work was displayed in a photography show, co-sponsored by St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Art A. Malcolm “Mac” Gimse ’58, in the old student center. It was also printed by the Minneapolis Tribune for a story on the SPAN organization.

Little did Taufic know that this would lead to his first post-St. Olaf career opportunity.

“Three weeks before I graduated, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” he says. Then he received a call from his uncle, who knew a photographer in New York who was hiring. Taufic sent him a letter and some photographs from Liberia. Three days later, he received a call from the photographer. A week after graduation, he was living at the YMCA on New York’s 34^th Street.

That initial job led to work assisting many known fashion, still-life, and corporate photographers, and then eventually to his own successful business as a corporate annual report photographer. It is a career that has led Taufic to travel across all 50 states in the U.S and more than 40 countries, doing work for Fortune 500 companies like United Technologies, Xerox, JP Morgan, UBS, Chubb, and many more. The world became his studio.

The book highlighting the project is available for purchase online at Sweet Reads, a locally owned bookstore in Austin, and at the Minnesota Historical Society.

After that initial 2017 visit to Austin, Taufic spent the next three years living in Austin, where he worked closely with community leaders like former mayor Bonnie Rietz and retired Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun. He presented his work to the city of Austin in August 2022 in a photography exhibit and a coffee table book.

“I am just so very grateful that I have been blessed with the ability and opportunity to do this work. It has made a difference in the world, in Minnesota, in Austin,” Taufic says. “People are wanting to come to Austin to see what is going on.”

Glacier Symphony hosts celebration of Native American Heritage Month through music and art

Nov 13, 2023 By Admin in Native

One of Glacier Symphony’s most culturally rich and art-filled shows of the season is coming to the Wachholz College Center on Nov. 18 and 19.

The Glacier Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Zoltek, will present multiple powerful orchestral pieces, including a premiere of a new Montana composition “The Hunting Moon,” and additional layers of concert entertainment during Vision Spirit Land.

Many Native artists are featured in Vision Spirit Land and include University of Montana professor and Salish Kootenai poet, Heather Cahoon, Blackfeet artist and Montana’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, Keven Kickingwoman, and Missoula-based 3D-collage artist, Monica Gilles-BringsYellow. New Mexico-based world flutist, Suzanne Teng, will be performing with the orchestra.

Glacier Symphony will also be bringing in Westwater Arts from Los Angeles, California, an immersive visual concert experience company that will provide visuals of Native peoples, sacred natural spaces and National Parks choreographed to the concert music.

The inclusion of the photo-choreography by Westwater Arts was an integral part of planning this concert program and art-music synergy, meant to add a very relevant and beautiful visual experience for the audiences.

Performances are Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. at the Wachholz College Center on the Flathead Valley Community College campus.

The program will begin with two ceremonial songs sung by Montana Blackfeet artist and 2023 Montana Teacher of the Year, Kevin Kickingwoman, to welcome the audience and give thanks and blessings to the concert. The first piece played by the symphony will be “Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The song will be accompanied by photo-choreography, projected on special screens above the orchestra, by Westwater Arts, called “Visions,” and include historic images of Native Peoples of various regions of North America, including Montana, photographed by Edward S. Curtis. This will be the first of three such pieces with projections during the concert.

Ticket pricing for adults starts at $39, college students $15 and children under age 18 start at $12. Sponsors include Glacier Bank, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Freedom Bank, and the Kalispell Grand Hotel.

For more information, call (406) 407-7000 or for tickets visit glaciersymphony.org

THE WORLD premiere of “The Hunting Moon” by Glacier Symphony artistic director and conductor, John Zoltek is featured during the concert. This new work is a poem cycle for speaker, flute soloist and orchestra that is based on the poetry of Montana Native American poet and professor Heather Cahoon, who is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The music incorporates spoken poetry from Cahoon’s work and includes a Native American flute solo performed by New Mexico-based flutist, Suzanne Teng. The song contains 11 separate movements which incorporate nearly 15 poems and additional excerpts from Cahoon’s published works.

Zoltek has used these poems as an inspirational springboard to create a colorful and unique orchestral work that is atmospheric and dynamic.

“The Hunting Moon is my artistic response as a composer of European ethnicity to the evocative image world of Heather Cahoon’s poetry and my own experience living in this beautiful area we all now call home,” Zoltek said. “I am honored to work with Heather on this special project and I thank her for being receptive to this idea, lending me the use of her poems to set to music, and sharing her thoughts and advice.”

The poems are rich in natural imagery and speak to Native American spirituality, wildlife, reservation living, and Flathead Valley scenery.

Cahoon said it was an honor to know her poetry inspired Zoltek to respond in his art form and create a concert.

“I can hardly wait to hear — and to feel — my poems reinterpreted as music, as a literal symphony of vibrational frequencies that enter the ear as well as the rest of the body,” Cahoon said. “I’m also looking forward to hearing the Salish words that Maestro Zoltek has written into the performance. It’s going to be quite powerful to hear the language that has been spoken in this area for thousands and thousands of years and I’m so pleased that Maestro Zoltek has incorporated it into the performance.”

The solo flutist represents the musical voice of the poet, which will be paired with the narrated poems during the concert.

Suzanne Teng, who plays a wide variety of world flutes, including the Native American flute, excels in improvisation, an attribute that will be showcased in “The Hunting Moon.” The poetic text will be projected above the orchestra so that the audience can follow along with the narration and make connections between Zoltek’s composition and Cahoon’s text.

After intermission, the concert continues with two more photo-choreography projection pieces by Westwater Arts: “Reflections of the Spirit,” with music by Samuel Barber and “National Park Suite” set to music by Antonin Dvorak. The photography and film clips will feature spaces sacred to the First Peoples of the Americas and a brilliant overview of our shared National Parks. The concert will conclude with the final movement from Dvorak’s ninth symphony.

A pre-concert and intermission art exhibition will feature the artwork of Monica Gilles-BringsYellow, who created artwork specifically for the Vibes and Visions 41st season theme.

AHEAD OF the performances, Glacier Symphony and the Dick Idol Gallery in Whitefish host a preconcert soiree for the opening of an exhibition of rising star Monica Gilles-BringsYellow, the artist behind Glacier Symphony’s 41st season theme artwork. The event is Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Guests will enjoy a private performance by Vision Spirit Land guest artist, and flutist Suzanne Teng, wine and tasty bites provided by The Salty Calf, and an opportunity to mingle with the inspiration behind Maestro Zoltek’s new composition, poet Heather Cahoon.

Tickets are limited, with proceeds benefiting the Glacier Symphony, Orchestra, and Chorale’s concert and youth music programming. Tickets are $100 each.