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By Native News Online Staff

September 10, 2023

CHICAGO — The Center for Native Futures, a fine arts organization operated by Chicago-based Native American artists, will have its grand opening for its art gallery in the heart of downtown Chicago this coming weekend.

Located across the street from the Calder’s Flamingo sculpture at Federal Square, at 56 West Adams, the Center for Native Futures (CfNF) will open its doors to the public on Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 4 pm – CDT. The grand opening celebration will last until 7 pm – CDT and will resume on Sunday at 12 noon until 4 pm – CDT. (Note: A private reception will be held for the Native American community at 3 pm – CDT).

The new art gallery promotes Native arts, artists, and writers, who have been culturally displaced and underrepresented through exhibitions, residencies, programs, conferences, and partnerships. By offering a platform for these artists and writers, CfNF also challenges the definition and assumptions of “Native Arts” and encourages Indigenous Futurists.

“This initiative has been a long time coming and the outpour of support is a clear indication that the city wants more contemporary Native art,” Monica Rickert-Bolter (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation), CfNF’s co-founder and director of operations said. “CfNF is an investment in the community and a reaffirmation of the need for Indigenous artists for future generations.”

The inaugural “Native Futures” exhibition promises to showcase the creative brilliance of more than a dozen established and emerging Native artists hailing from the Great Lakes region. This impressive collection will include works by CfNF co-founders Noelle Garcia, Kelly Church, Jason Wesaw, Tom Jones, Holly Wilson, John Hitchcock, Camille Billie, June Carpenter, Codak Smith, Le’Ana Asher, Dakota Mace, Ji Hae Yepa-Pappan, Chelsea Big Horn, Lydia Cheshewalla, Hattie Lee, and the TIES poets. Additionally, the event will shine a spotlight on women-owned businesses and feature a special guest performance by Lakota hip-hop artist Frank Waln.

“We’re designing a foundation for working with Native artists and exhibiting their artwork within Chicago,” Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo), CfNF’s Co-Founder and Director of Exhibition & Programs elaborated. “Indigenous Futurism isn’t only limited to science fiction; through art, we’re turning visions into reality.”

The art gallery’s mission is to champion Native arts, artists, and writers who have historically been marginalized or displaced. This is accomplished through exhibitions, residencies, programs, conferences, and partnerships. By providing a platform for these talented individuals, CfNF aims to challenge preconceived notions of “Native Arts” and inspire Indigenous Futurists.

The co-founders of CfNF, who are accomplished artists and writers themselves, include Andrea Carlson (Ojibwe), Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo), Chris Pappan (Kanza/Osage/Lakota), Monica Rickert-Bolter (Potawatomi), Patrick Del Percio (Cherokee descent), and River Kerstetter (Wisconsin Oneida). Each of them has revitalized their respective cultural practices, preserving traditional art forms while seamlessly integrating modern materials and styles into their work.

Founded in 2020, the art center has hosted virtual artist talks and poetry readings, advised institutions and organizations, and nurtured artists within the Urban Native Community. In partnership with the Terra Foundation for American Art and MacArthur Foundation.

The art gallery will be open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.

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The College of Lake County is expanding its approach to the arts with its first artist-in-residence, Mundelein-native Cristina Chopalli. She is one of four artists showing works at “Home,” the fall art exhibition on display through Sept. 21 in the Robert T. Wright Gallery of Art at the college’s Grayslake Campus.

Chopalli always knew she’d create art. After getting her master’s in fine arts degree in creative writing, her method was originally supposed to be through words. After graduating, she began writing a memoir and traumatic parts became difficult for her to write. So, she paused the project and turned to painting.

With no formal training, Chopalli soon entered her paintings for gallery exhibitions and made it her full-time career. Her paintings feature layers of brightly colored acrylic paints, overlapping together to form familiar shapes and figures with bold lines. She says she’s always surprised by what she finds in the paint.

“The sprawling canvas fills with colors, movement and joy,” Chopalli said about her latest painting. “After a couple of hours, the colors and shapes enter into a meditative flow and combinations blossom.”

Chopalli describes her work as intuitive. She starts by painting what she feels without overthinking it. Many of her works come to her during meditation or in a dream.

As an artist-in-residence, Chopalli set up her art studio at CLC’s Grayslake Campus. She has a number of works in the exhibition, but the one she’s creating during her residency at CLC is wider than she is tall, bursting with colors and organic shapes.

Along with the opportunity to showcase her work, Chopalli has enjoyed her time at CLC because she has the chance to speak to interested students about her work and their career goals.

“I enjoy exchanging thoughts on all types of art with college students and faculty who stop by while I work,” Chopalli said.

“I’m hopeful to have a good variety of my work together because it really has a collective narrative. When people see my work, for me, what’s important is that they find whatever it is that they’re looking for. There is not just one message or right or wrong.”

“The “Home’ exhibition offers a diverse group of artists with unique takes on the metaphorical idea of home,” art gallery curator Ann Rintz said.

“It features nonobjective, abstract and realistic art by four artists of various backgrounds and at different stages of their creative careers. I find that diversity creates a more dynamic exhibition.”

The other artists taking part in the exhibition include Taehoon Kim, Michael Litewski and Ilse Miller.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Sculptor, fashion designer, performance artist, and writer Rose B. Simpson breathes new life into the traditional Pueblo Native American pottery technique.

Real and raw are words acclaimed mixed-media Tewa artist Rose B. Simpson uses to describe her work, which ranges from ceramic sculpture, metals, and fashion to performance, music, writing, and custom cars. A skilled metalwork and spray-paint artist, she is most known for adapting traditional Pueblo Native American pottery techniques. Her diverse and unconventional figurative sculptures frequently feature an uneasy beauty and incorporate elements from popular culture. The former lead singer of the Native American punk band Chocolate Helicopter, Simpson also played in the hip-hop group Garbage Pail Kidz. 

“My work,” she told Hyperallergic in a 2020 article, “is intended to translate our humanity back to ourselves. I hope that I can educate some people on issues of unconsciousness around race, gender, and history, and I hope to honor lived experiences of those who have suffered post-colonial stress disorder.”

Simpson was raised on the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, where she lives with her 6-year-old daughter, and she was homeschooled as a young girl by her artist mother, Roxanne. Additional early artistic inspiration came from her great-uncle Michael Naranjo, a blind sculptor; and her great-aunt Nora Naranjo-Morse, a contemporary artist. Simpson attended the Santa Fe Indian School in high school; there her passion was illustrating the yearbook with comic renditions of her classmates. She received an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts.

“For me,” Simpson says, “it’s about living a life of challenge and the creative, psychological, and spiritual adventure of creating art — and I’m here for it.”

We caught up with her while she worked in her studio in Española, New Mexico.

Daughter, 2021, ceramic with glaze, wood, leather, steel, twine, grout, and studio stones, 20.5″ x 16″ x 9.5″.

C&I: How have the Tewa artists from New Mexico, especially your mother, influenced your work?

Rose B. Simpson: You don’t know what you have until you are not in it anymore. I was homeschooled from fourth grade until age 13 and grew up with a variety of artists, most notably my mom, as well as friends and other relatives who were orbiting the creative access. My mom is a profound ceramic sculptor and, along with several aunts and uncles, is one of the first contemporary artists in the pueblo. She was one of the first artists to develop this kind of small-scale figurative ceramics with a narrative. I didn’t know as a young girl what it meant to be a Tewa person. It wasn’t until I moved away to Rhode Island to go to school that I was able to get some perspective. 

C&I: You seem to be drawn to female and androgynous subjects. Does this have to do with your mother as a role model and your now being the single mother of a daughter?

Simpson: Because I’m now a mom, my concept of empowerment has changed. I’m still fresh in the motherhood journey. My concept of empowerment as a queer person was rooted in patriarchy, which in the past meant that if you were feminine, you were weak, and if you were masculine, you were strong. I didn’t feel safe being feminine, but now giving birth to a daughter and being a single parent to a colicky baby was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Being a nurturer, putting yourself aside for another person, is true power, and I think that my work has changed because of it. I also focus on the facets of my own existence, which tends to be more feminine in nature.

Femme, 2020, ceramic, metal, and mixed media, 30″ x 12″ x 12″.

C&I: Your earlier work seems to be much more adorned with jewelry and armorlike embellishments. How has your style changed over the last five years?

Simpson: That’s an interesting question. I was putting together a slideshow for a keynote address I was making in Cincinnati, and when I put together the show and was looking back at my older work, I realized what I was putting into those pieces were power objects — objects of intention. As I start to become more empowered, my work is changing because I need less protection and do not feel as vulnerable as I once did. Also, a lot of my pieces are now wearing necklaces and earrings as an aesthetic decision.

I did an interview with Women’s Wear Daily and the magazine asked me about my “fashion sense.” I thought a moment and said, “I don’t wear anything that impedes me from jumping a fence to get away from the cops.” But I have recently been putting on a necklace to work, which now reflects my self-worth — not just what I do, but how I value myself.

C&I: Tell us about Maria, your 1985 El Camino painted in the black-on-black, gloss-and-matte geometric Tewa style that celebrated artist Maria Martinez helped make famous. 

Simpson: After studying in Rhode Island, I went back home to Española, known as the lowrider capital of the country, to study automotive design. Cars have always been a power object to me. I didn’t have the safest of upbringings, and the car became a surrogate parent and my freedom when I was able to get my driver’s license at 14.

Maria was a crumpled mess when I got her, and I had to do all the bodywork at school in Española. After welding, hammering, and putting her back together, I went from priming to the final coat of paint. The pivotal moment came about 10 years ago when we were harvesting our crops and used the El Camino to transport the beans and corn and then realized that Maria had become a vessel. The black-on-black gloss paint came next, but as anyone who has a classic car knows, the work is never finished. 

Heights I (original), 2022, clay, glaze, twine, and silver, overall: 54″ x 12″ x 10″.

C&I: Tell us about your “slap-slab” technique, which seems to embrace imperfection and intuition.

Simpson: When I went to graduate school at Rhode Island School of Design, I received an incredible critique from a visiting artist who had seen one of my shows. She told me if I wasn’t there to do challenging work, it would be a waste of time. I was in a constant struggle between being seen as who I was and being accepted. In a class I decided to throw the clay sideways on a table or mat until it was very thin, maybe one-sixteenth of an inch. I then tear off small pieces and attach them to each other, kind of resembling papier-mâché.

C&I: You are incredibly well-educated, in both art and literature. Why has this been important to you? 

Simpson: I think that education has been so important to me because I was homeschooled. My mom hated my graduations. I think that her disinterest in Western education made me choose to attend school even more. It was amazing for me to be able to choose from this buffet of classes, and I couldn’t get enough. I went on to get a master’s in creative nonfiction writing. I wanted to learn and understand Indigenous aesthetics and write that text for Indigenous students, but I realized aesthetics or beauty in this life was my story through my art.

See Rose B. Simpson’s newly installed series Counterculture at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Later this year, she’ll have a one-woman show at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco.

This article appears in our October 2023 issue, available on newsstands or through our C&I Shop.

ALEXANDRIA — Brilliant late-morning sunlight broke from behind a bank of clouds, prompting Tim Deane to smile as he shared what brought him to the Andersontown Powwow from eastern Tennessee.

“I’ve been here for the past 10, maybe 12 years, and … it’s got a good feel about it,” Deane said as he attached feathers to a large cane. “(There are) lots of great people here, great drums, folks that will come here and dance, who actually know their stuff.”

Deane practiced his craft outside a 10-foot-tall teepee as passersby peeked inside at his collection of Native American artifacts and other memorabilia. He began collecting items and getting involved in Native American culture demonstrations more than 30 years ago.

“My kids began to dance, my wife began to dance, I began to dance and sing,” Deane said. “That’s where things began with me.”

As his collection grew and he continued to attend Native American gatherings and festivals, Deane said a sense of purpose began to develop for him. There was a message he wanted to make sure he shared with his friends and those he met at these events.

“They had lost their past, and if you lose your past, you will lose your way,” he said.

This year’s Andersontown Powwow, hosted for the second time at Beulah Park as a water infrastructure project at Anderson’s Athletic Park made that facility unusable for the event, featured many traditional favorites.

Among them were Native American dancing and drum demonstrations, a market featuring native-inspired kids crafts, and interactive talks featuring native birds and food demonstrations.

Organizers said in the days leading up to the weekend event, powwow participants fanned out across the county to bring cultural awareness programs to elementary schools in Anderson, South Madison and other districts.

“It educates our children on their community’s heritage,” said Debbie Webb, chairwoman for the Anderson Powwow. “It exposes them to different cultures, so they can understand the traditions and the things that are important to different cultures.”

Jim Sawgrass, a member of the Florida Muskogee tribe, returned for this year’s event to reprise his popular presentation involving stories emphasizing his Creek Indian ancestry. Dressed in hybrid post-European regalia, Sawgrass cooked chicken, vegetables and peppers over a small campfire as he waited to give a talk about the instruments and weapons assembled beneath a nearby tent.

“If we don’t pay attention and learn our history — the right history — then we’ll forget it, and we’ll repeat it again,” Sawgrass said. “This is a celebration of life, of an ongoing culture that didn’t stop when Columbus came. It didn’t stop when John Wayne showed up in the movies. It evolved, and it’s still evolving today.”

Webb said this year’s powwow carried special significance as it coincided with the year-long celebration of the county’s bicentennial. Among the featured native artists was Michael Pace, a descendant of Chief William Anderson of the Delaware tribe for whom the city of Anderson is named.

Pace and Dwight Gallian, a longtime historical interpreter at Conner Prairie, gave talks detailing the lives and times of settlers who arrived in the area in the early 1800s.

“It’s a chance for people to see people honoring their own heritage and celebrating that,” she said.

The Haskell Indian Art Market was off to a successful start Saturday. Artists from tribes across the country united at Haskell Indian Nations University to show off their artwork, including pottery, metalwork, beadwork and beyond, with hundreds of Lawrence community members in attendance.

In this episode of Lawrence Times TV, you’ll meet four of the exhibiting artists and hear how their Native heritage inspires them.

The annual art market resumes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 at the Haskell Pow Wow grounds, 2535 West Perimeter Road.

See a photo gallery from Saturday:

Jordan Winter (she/her), a contributor to The Lawrence Times, is a 2019 KU grad with degrees in journalism and political science.

Check out her work at jrdnwntr.com. See more of her work for the Times here.

Jordan Winter/Lawrence Times

by Jordan Winter

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The Paper Plains Zine Fest brought together more than 100 creators from across the Midwest Saturday and Sunday to share their artwork, build community, and engage in workshops and education sessions throughout Lawrence.

August Rudisell/Lawrence Times

by Lawrence Times

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It was another successful Clear the Shelter Day for the Lawrence Humane Society Saturday as 99 cats and 64 dogs went to their new furever homes. And adoption fees will be half off Sunday for the animals who are still there.

by Jordan Winter

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If you find an injured animal outdoors this summer, will you know what to do? Watch this episode of Lawrence Times TV to learn from the experts.

by Jordan Winter

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This episode of Lawrence Times TV gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Douglas County election headquarters, just hours before they announced the results of Tuesday’s primary election.

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Latest Lawrence news:

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by Lawrence Times

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A substance that was leaking from a rail car in Lawrence was determined not to be a danger to the community, according to a news release from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

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Tobacco companies risked the nation’s health by investing in food companies and deploying tactics to deepen consumer appetite for exceptionally palatable foods packed with addictive sugar, sodium and fat, KU researchers said in a new study.

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Artistically speaking, this fall is the season of cultural history.

With Indigenous portraiture and beadwork, explorations of Somali dance, underground Soviet and Eastern Bloc art and more, galleries across the Twin Cities are using art as an entry point into discussions of community and identity. And through painting, photography, glass, even religious icons and book covers, the styles are just as diverse as their subjects.

Here are some of the many gallery shows and exhibitions coming up this fall in St. Paul and the greater Twin Cities.

September

Openings

Monthlong, “A Rumble in the Twins: Love Conquers All” — Night Club Gallery, St. Paul: The downtown modern gallery presents this collaborative show by artists Nathan Hollis and Gabrielle K. Brown. The exhibition closes Oct. 1, and the duo is hosting a live reception/performance at 3 p.m. that day. Free; 340 N. Wabasha St.

Monthlong, “Mankato Community Collage” — Coffee Hag, Mankato: A bit further afield, but this show features a large collage that artist Josh Madson created from more than 800 portraits of Mankato residents he took this summer. On view at the Coffee Hag through Sept. 30; 329 N. Riverfront Dr., Mankato.

Sept./Oct., “Sacred Klown” — Friedli Gallery, St. Paul: “In modern times we can speak to our brothers and sisters all over the world. We are not gone, we remain, and we contribute as we always have. We flourish as we reclaim,” writes the Indigenous artist Shaun Chosa, whose paintings and portraits will be exhibited at the Friedli Gallery. Free; 943 W. Seventh St.

Sept. 11, “Dhaanto” and “Saturday Mornings and The Faces We Remember” — Public Functionary, Minneapolis: Dual exhibitions focus on community-centered dance history. “Dhaanto” by Yasmin Yassin explores a troupe based out of the the Somali Museum of Minnesota, and “Saturday Mornings” by Za’Nia Coleman examines the legacy and impact of Hollywood Studio of Dance in North Minneapolis. Both galleries run through Sept. 30 and include various public events, too. Free; Northrup King Building: 1500 Jackson St. N.E., Minneapolis.

Last chances

Go before Sept. 17, “ReVisión: Art in the Americas” closes — Minneapolis Institute of Art: This exhibition, organized by the Denver Art Museum, links ancient and contemporary cultures with nearly 130 objects from the museum’s Ancient and Latin American collections. Tickets required: $20 for general admission; free for youth and members at the “contributor” level or higher. 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Go before Sept. 17, “Towards a Common Future: Banners for Solidarity” — Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis: Textile artist Rachel Breen’s banners are inspired by worker movements worldwide, including the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in the early 1900s. The show is part of the Wakpa Triennial, a monthslong art festival hosted by Public Art St. Paul. Free; 333 E. River Pkwy., Minneapolis.

Events

Sept. 30, Open House — Second Shift Studio Space, St. Paul: From 6 to 8 p.m., see the work of the gallery’s four incoming residents. The East Side arts organization is geared toward providing resources to women and gender-nonconforming artists. Free; 1128 Payne Ave.

October

Openings

Oct. 2–8, book cover design by Patrick Redmond — Merriam Park library, St. Paul: A quick exhibition of more than 50 published book covers by local designer Patrick Redmond as part of National Design Week. Free at the Merriam Park branch of the St. Paul Public Library; 1831 Marshall Ave.

Oct. 6, “Urban Cadence” — Weisman Art Museum: This exhibition of photos and videos by African artists explores city life and industrialization in Lagos, Nigeria, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Oct. 22, “In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now” — Mia: More than 150 photographs of Indigenous communities across North America, by Native photographers across generations. Tickets required: $20 for general admission; free for youth and members at the “contributor” level or higher.

Last Chances

Go before Oct. 22, Leningrad Underground: Unofficial Artists of the Soviet Era — The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis: During the Soviet era, censorship was heavy, but an underground arts scene still persisted in the city of Leningrad. Nonconformist artists and dissidents were shunned and punished but continued making the work shown in this exhibition at TMORA. Museum entrance is $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, $5 for students, free for kids and members; 5500 Stevens Ave., Minneapolis.

NOVEMBER

Openings

Nov. 3, “We Are Still Here” — Friedli Gallery: The third annual Indigenous arts showcase moves to the Friedli this year. Artists can apply to be included in the show through Sept. 15; the exhibition is juried by a group of local Indigenous community leaders and elders.

Nov. 4, “Hazel Belvo: For Love” — Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul: Gallery shows finally return to the downtown museum after years of window exhibitions! Kicking things off is this retrospective of Belvo’s seven decades of paintings and drawings. Free; 350 N. Robert St.

Nov. 9, “Fooling the Eye: Optics of Vasarely and Kuhn” — Cafesjian Art Trust, Shoreview: The third exhibition at the new Shoreview museum juxtaposes two artists skilled in perception tricks: pioneering “op art” painter Victor Vasarely and modern glass artist Jon Kuhn. Entry is free, but timed tickets are required — and, if the museum’s expertly curated Highlights show was any indication, will sell out quickly. 4600 Churchill St., Shoreview.

Nov. 11, “Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Eastern Bloc, 1960s–1980s” — Walker Art Center, Minneapolis: Works by nearly 100 artists from East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia, including less frequently exhibited women and LGBTQ+ artists, show creative responses to authoritarian power and ideology. Included with museum ticket: $18 for general admission; $16 for seniors; $12 for students; free for kids, teens and Walker members. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis.

Nov. 11, Once Upon a Mansion: ASI’s 73rd Holiday Experience — American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis: The American Swedish Institute’s annual holiday celebration and market also contains plenty of art, including an installation by Tia Keobounpheng, immersive Finnish fairy tale rooms by Anita Jain and objects from the collection of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. Entrance to the American Swedish Institute is $13 for adults, $10 for seniors, $6 for youth; it’s free for members and for the general public after 3 p.m. Thursdays; 2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis.

Last chances

Go before Nov. 26, “Icons of the Late Empire: Story and Art” — The Museum of Russian Art: Religious icons were ubiquitous in the Russian Empire and remain central to Eastern Christianity and the Orthodox church. Icons from the 19th century, according to the Museum of Russian Art, are particularly under-explored — making this exhibition, composed of objects from the collection of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Minn., particularly interesting.

All season

“Among Friends: The Generosity of Judy and Ken Dayton” — Walker: Longtime Walker trustee Judy Dayton and her husband, former department store CEO Ken Dayton, amassed a sizable private art collection, which was donated to the Walker after Judy died in 2021. This exhibition contains artworks by prominent 20th century American artists including Alexander Calder, Agnes Martin and Andy Warhol. Included with museum ticket price.

Three murals inside the former Ontario Reformatory are likely the work of noted Ojibwe artist Richard Bedwash, believes the retired curator of the Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG). 

She joins a chorus of voices calling for the work to be saved from further decay.

The murals, which have been unprotected for decades and show obvious signs of deterioration, deserve to be conserved and made available for all to see, says Judith Nasby, founder director and retired curator of the gallery.

“It would be meaningful to the public in Guelph to have these paintings preserved. They represent the long history of the correctional centre in Guelph,” said Nasby.

“(They’re) an example of the desire of an incarcerated artist to express his spirituality in such a bold and dramatic way, and with such an effort to make these paintings on walls that really weren’t made for having a mural painted on.”

Bedwash’s work has appeared in exhibits throughout North America, including a 2017 exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum titled Anishinaabeg: Art & Power. His works are also included in the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Aboriginal Art Collection.

“It comes down to two things … respect and trust,” said local heritage advocate P. Brian Skerrett, who feels it’s “tremendously important” for the murals to be preserved. “I don’t think that artwork was respected and as a result, we don’t earn any trust.

“Our institutions speak for us sometimes and when our institutions fail, as we’ve seen to our peril, it reflects badly on all of us.”

At the prompting of a social worker, Nasby visited Bedwash at the reformatory while he was an inmate during the mid-1970s. He had been drawing on scraps of paper, so she brought him some larger sheets and other supplies.

Nasby was so impressed by his artwork, she commissioned Bedwash to complete 19 pieces for the gallery. Those works remain in the AGG’s collection, confirms executive director Shauna McCabe.

“I thought it was very important that we have this work in the collection and that he was able to give me an interview,” said Nasby, noting she spoke with Bedwash about the inspiration behind each of those works. “Then we framed them all and we produced an exhibition.

“This was his first proper, public exhibition.”

Nasby said the social worker told her Bedwash had completed three murals, but she wasn’t allowed to see them because of jail security. However, she’s confident the images shown in a video uploaded to YouTube by ‘Edge of Our Youth’ are likely the work of Bedwash. 

The 2021 video shows unidentified individuals touring inside the jail building, which isn’t accessible to the public. The murals are shown at about the video’s 29-minute mark.

As the trespassers make their way through the lower assembly hall, the murals can be clearly seen on the walls. The videographer pauses on each so viewers can get a good look. 

The paint was chipped and the state of the paintings appeared decaying.

A 2018 strategic conservation plan for the property states the murals are not considered a heritage attribute and references a 2009 conservation plan that identifies them as “graffiti or murals.” It recommends the paintings be “assessed and documented” but not preserved.

When asked what the province’s plan is for the artwork, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Ontario, which manages provincial real estate assets, provided the following comments but didn’t answer the question.

“The Indigenous art located in the lower assembly hall at the former Guelph Correctional Centre is located in a building that is not designated heritage. The art is painted directly onto structural and load barring [sic] walls. As such, it is not possible to remove or relocate, as any attempts to remove these pieces would carry the risk of further damage to the murals, the building, or potentially, the workers,” wrote Catherine Tardik.

“Based on the information gathered by Infrastructure Ontario through assessment and consultation with the Government Art Collection/Archives of Ontario, the art inside the GCC Assembly does not warrant inclusion into the Ontario Art Catalogue.  

“The report highlights that the style of the paintings is typical of Indigenous, or Indigenous inspired works, from the 1970s or 1980s and the artists are unknown.”

Fellow Ojibwe artist Freddie Taylor was an inmate in Guelph during the mid-1970s and says he was in the room when the murals were painted. He’s certain Bedwash was a major contributor to them, but other Indigenous inmates may have been involved – Ronald Cooper, Tona Mason and Ken George Batisse.

“They all belonged to The Native Sons group,” said Taylor, who co-founded the group which was allowed to use a lower assembly hall room for a variety of culturally significant activities.

“The native people never had any sort of program. The white people had church and AA (alcoholics anonymous) and all that other stuff. We wanted a group just for natives only,” he added. “It was for the native people to share their stories and everything, get a meeting going for themself.”

Whether the murals are the work of Bedwash alone or a collective of Indigenous artists, Taylor feels they should be preserved and made publicly accessible.

“They won’t last on that wall much longer – they’ll peel right off,” Taylor said, who took part in a phone interview from the Whetung Ojibwa Centre near Peterborough. “I would like the public to go see them. That’s what it’s all about.”

Two of the murals appear to be of a style similar to known works by Bedwash, though a third differs significantly.

According to numerous online artist biographies, Bedwash was born in the community of Hillsport, near Thunder Bay in 1936 or 1937 and attended a residential school. He died in 2007.

Nasby wrote an article about Bedwash’s art and life which was published in a Guelph University News Bulletin in 1977. In it she describes the “rich Ojibwe heritage” he was surrounded by growing up.

“Richard’s ‘spiritual signature’ in Ojibwe is the turtle, which is characterized in their mythology as a messenger,” she wrote. “Through this medium, Richard keeps alive the folklore of his people.”

The reformatory was decommissioned in 2001 and the property has been vacant since 2014, when the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services completely left the site. 

With no identified uses for it, the provincial government has declared the property to be surplus.

What remains of the reformatory property, including the buildings, is currently in the midst of a cultural heritage district study, which could lead to city council approving protections for the site under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.

However, Skerrett, who was chair of Heritage Guelph during much of the lead-up to the study’s launch earlier this year, wishes a more encompassing level of protection was given to the murals when council approved a Part IV designation for identified features last year.

The murals aren’t one of those protected features and Skerrett believes a Part V designation won’t save them.

“Heritage Guelph was never given the opportunity to tour that building. One of our complaints at the time was that it would be impossible for us to determine whether there was heritage value in the building if we weren’t given access to it,” said Skerret.

“It’s actually the murals on the wall that would confer heritage value on the lower assembly hall.”

Heritage evaluation is considered a precursor to selling the property.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Ole Miss last year, Amy Webb took root in Water Valley, Miss., to cultivate both creative works of her own and spaces for community artists to showcase interdisciplinary work.

In her work, the Meridian, Miss., native illuminates nocturnal landscapes, utilizing vivid colors contrasted with dull tones to invoke a sense of both eeriness and tranquility within viewers. 

Webb’s hallmark feature is her use of light, a common thread that she has woven throughout her latest works that focus on reflection within urban landscapes. 

“My paintings of those scenes are kind of trying to invoke the spiritual nature of that time you get to be with yourself and your thoughts and maybe the anxiety or the gratitude you might feel at the end of a long day,” Webb said. 

By taking part in UM Art’s “We’ve Always Been Here,” a show featuring the visual work of BFA alumni from the university who identify as queer, Webb aims to highlight the importance of LGBTQ+ perspectives. 

“Queer people have always been here, whether they’re visible or not,” Webb said. “I think it’s just a reminder that I want students to feel safe on campus and people to be aware when they think, speak and act that queer people have always been here.”

Aside from painting in her studio, Webb can be found working at the End of All Music, Oxford’s independent record store, and immersed in the outdoors as a farmer at Yokna Bottoms Farm.

“It’s really important to me that I get that time outside and have a kind of physically active job. It helps me come to the studio feeling refreshed, and it does a great service to my mental health year-round,” Webb said. “So, I think that job kind of helps a lot in my artistic practice.”

Prior to attending Ole Miss, Webb spent time working at the Gumtree Museum of Art in Tupelo, Miss., and establishing her own identity as an artist by participating in the Secret Art Show. Within this collaborative community, the budding creative gained the confidence to pursue art professionally and inspire others to do the same. 

“When I came to Oxford, there were times when I felt like art circles were a bit inaccessible to someone outside of academia,” Webb said. “Then, I met a small group of friends who were putting on these art shows that were similar to the Secret Art Shows I attended in Tupelo that included spoken word poetry, live music and artists.” 

Soon after, the small artist collective bloomed into a widespread community called QUASAR. Now referred to as IRIS Arts Community, the Oxford-based nonprofit literature and arts community regularly hosts live music, art shows and poetry readings on the last Sunday of each month at Heartbreak Coffee.

“I want IRIS to be a platform for creative people to just share their work with friends and their community to build confidence and have a place to express all of that,” Webb said. 

IRIS Arts Community will hold its next gathering from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at Heartbreak Coffee on the Square. More information about IRIS Arts Community and Amy Webb can be found on their Instagram profiles. 

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – Sealaska Heritage Institute’s (SHI) longtime chair is retiring from its board of trustees.

Tlingit leader Slath Jaa Klaa Lákooti (Marlene Johnson), who has served on SHI’s board since 1990 and as its chair since 2011, will cede her seat to the noted Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary.

Johnson has helped lead SHI into a period of tremendous growth and especially championed a focus on revitalization of Native languages, said SHI President Rosita Worl.

“Marlene provided the leadership at the board level as SHI’s programs moved from “preservation” of Southeast Alaska Native culture to the ‘revitalization and enhancement of Native culture, language and arts.’ The vitality of Native cultures has never been more apparent than it is today, thanks to her leadership that endured 33 years,” Worl said.

“I appreciate and am thankful for all of the years I was able to serve on SHI’s board,” Johnson said. “I appreciate the institute’s staff and all their hard work and the progress they’ve made. I hope they continue their success and growth.”

The SHI board appointed its trustee Vicki Soboleff, a member of the Haida tribe and the Sealaska board of directors, for the role of chair.

“I am humbled and honored to serve in this role, following Marlene’s legacy of leadership,” said Soboleff. “She has tirelessly served her people, community and state for the last 50 plus years. I look forward to continuing the important work of SHI, leaning on the knowledge and guidance of those who came before us.”

“I always wanted to do a study of the youth who were members of Vicki’s dance group 25 years ago as I was convinced that their participation in these cultural activities greatly enhanced a positive Native identity during a period in which Native identity continued to be challenged and that it further led to academic achievement,” Worl said.  “Our evaluations of culture-based education today support this thesis.”

Singletary is an internationally renowned Northwest Coast artist known especially for his innovative and creative works of art in glass.

His sculptures deal with themes of Tlingit legends and traditional designs.

“SHI is fortunate to have one of his glass screens in our clan house, and art historians have noted it will be known as his iconic piece,” Worl said. “Preston also has been a long-time supporter of SHI and serves on our Native Artist Committee, which guides our art programs.”

Above: Soboleff (Photo courtesy of SHI)

Soboleff is an artist, performer, mentor and teacher who was born in Seattle and raised in Ketchikan.

She formed the youth dance group Lda Kut Naax Sati Yatx’i (All Nations’ Children) in 1995 with the goal of promoting self-esteem, confidence and leadership abilities among the members through emphasis on prevention, academics and sobriety.

Under her leadership, the group grew to over 100 members, with many youth graduates moving on to college.

Some of the group’s graduates now work with Native youth and are leaders in their communities.

Soboleff handed leadership of the group to former member Barbara Dude in Aug. 2015, and now participates as advisor.

  In 2016, she received the Governor’s Award for the Arts — Margaret Nick Cooke Award for Alaska Native Arts and Languages.

Soboleff moved to Washington in July 2017 with her family.

In 2018 she continued her work with youth through the Washington Tlingit and Haida, ultimately starting the youth dance group X̲aat’áay ‘Wáadluwaan G̲aagáay (All Nations’ Children in Haida), which is a cousin group to LdaKat Naax Sati Yatx’i (All Nations’ Children in Tlingit).

In 2019, she received the Tlingit and Haida President’s Everyday Hero Award — Culture Bearer.

She received instruction in the Haida language from Nora and Robert Cogo, and she was taught Haida basketry, moccasin making and traditional beadwork by the world-renowned master weaver Selina Peratrovich, Julia Fawcett and Beatrice Starkweather respectively.

Her Haida grandmother, Vesta Johnson, also taught her beginning Haida language, Haida songs and dance and button-blanket making.

She also trained in Haida basketry under the world-renowned master weaver Delores Churchill and Janice Criswell.

She received training in Ravenstail weaving from Cheryl Samuel and Kay Parker and completed a Tlingit language course with Ken Austin.

Above: Preston Singletary (Photo courtesy of SHI)

Preston Singletary’s art has become synonymous with the relationship between Tlingit culture and fine art.

His glass sculptures deal with themes of Tlingit legends and traditional designs, while also using music to shape his contemporary perspective of Native culture.

Singletary started blowing glass in 1982 at the Glass Eye studios in Seattle, where he grew up and continues to work and live.

He developed his skills as a production glass maker and attended the Pilchuck Glass School.

Singletary began working at the glass studio of Benjamin Moore, where he broadened his skills by assisting Dante Marioni, Richard Royal, Dan Dailey and Lino Tagliapietra.

It was there where Singletary started to develop his own work.

In 1993, he traveled for work to Sweden where he was influenced by Scandinavian design and met his future wife, Åsa Sandlund.

In 2000, Singletary received an honorary name from Elder Joe David (Nuu Chah Nulth), and in 2009 Singletary received an honorary doctorate degree from University of Puget Sound.

Forty years of glass making, creating music and working together with Elders has put him in a position of being a keeper of cultural knowledge, while forging new directions in new materials and concepts of Indigenous arts.

Now recognized internationally, Singletary’s works are included in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts; the Seattle Art Museum; the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm, Sweden; the National Museum of Scotland; The British Museum; the National Museum of the American Indian; as well as two solo exhibitions that toured multiple venues originating with the Museum of Glass in Washington.