Named after the Duwamish chief Sealth, Seattle has deep Native roots dating back 10,000 years. Discover where to celebrate the city’s first peoples and original culture at longhouses, museums, and more.

For a primer on a storied tribe in the Puget Sound region, stop by West Seattle’s Duwamish Longhouse* (4705 W Marginal Way), a traditional cedar post-and-beam structure that serves as a community center and free exhibition space. In Magnolia, Daybreak Star Center (5011 Bernie Whitebear Way) also features Native art and community events—but for all Seattle-area tribes—at Discovery Park. It also hosts the Indian Days Pow Wow (July), when the public is welcome to watch performers from local tribes, partake in a salmon dinner, and browse Native crafts.

Make sure to stop by Eighth Generation* (1406 First Ave), an art and lifestyle brand owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe. Their beautiful wool blankets, accessories, homewares, and more make the perfect keepsake and are one hundred percent Native-designed. And for a modern take on Native cuisine, order eats from Off The Rez, a food truck that dishes up frybread “tacos” slathered in toppings ranging from chicken chili verde to pulled pork. (You’ll also find Off the Rez offering their tasty wares at the Burke Museum cafe.)

Burke Museum* (4300 15th Ave NE), the state’s oldest public museum, reopened in a brand new facility in late 2019. The museum explores the past, present and future of Northwest native peoples.  Set on the University of Washington campus, its collection includes a 37-foot story pole and ancient cedar-bark hats dating back 420 years. Nearby stands the longhouse-style facility włbaltxw — Intellectual House (4249 Whitman Ct), the school’s gathering space for the Native American community.

Finally, see art in action at Lake Union Park near the Center for Wooden Boats* (1010 Valley St). Youths gather here for summer canoe-building workshops to learn millennia-old techniques that transform single logs into artfully decorated hulls.

*Visit Seattle Partner

Details

By Neely Bardwell

July 21, 2023

This month in Indian Country, there is a unique array of events for the community to enjoy. There are powwows, an event honoring Native veterans, a chance to discover your ancestors, and several art-centered events. Consider heading to New York for a powwow, or Missouri for multiple advocacy based art exhibitions at the museums! 

Here is Native News Online’s weekly round-up of arts, culture and entertainment offerings around Indian Country. 

Bear Mountain Powwow

Jully 22 – 23, 2023

Bear Mountain, NY

The Bear Mountain Pow Wow is a full contest Pow Wow that is organized by the Redhawk Indigenous Arts Council located in the Northeastern part of the country. Attracting over 500 Native American artists, educators, singers, dancers and performing groups from across the Americas, the event is open to everyone. There will be over 40 artist booths selling crafts, jewelry, food and more.  

If you’re wanting to learn more about the Native communities living in the tristate area, representatives from Lakota, Navajo, Mohawk, Seneca, Cherokee, Aztec, Mayan, Samoan, Hawaiian and many more will be there.

To buy tickets, please click here. 

Finding Native American Ancestors

July 22, 2023, 2 – 3 pm CDT

Fort Worth, TX

If you’re interested in learning about your family tree, this Fort Worth History Center will aid you in how to get started researching your family tree and finding Native ancestors using available record resources in Ancestry Library Edition, the National Archives, and the Oklahoma Historical Society. There will also be help in ascertaining when Native ancestry may have entered the family tree. 

National Gathering of American Indian Veterans

July 21-23, 2023

Wheaton, IL 

Presented by the Trickster Gallery, the National Gathering of American Indian Veterans at Cantigny Park honors veterans and military personnel of all cultures, eras, and branches in a Native way. There will be powwow-style dancing and performances to honor our veterans. 

Art and other items from veteran artists and other traditional vendors will be available for purchase. This event is free and open to the public and anyone who would like to join us in honoring all those in the United States military.

Friday Evening there will be a Community Feast and on Saturday there will be the National Gathering of American Indian Veterans Conference. To conclude the event, on Sunday there will be brunch and a concert.

Exhibition – Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass

July 20, 2023 at 10 am 

Wichita, KS

The groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind exhibition Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass celebrates Native artists working in a dynamic medium. The show features 115 works of art by 29 Native American artists and four Pacific Rim artists. It also includes work by legendary glass art innovator Dale Chihuly, who worked with artist and educator Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee) to set up the first hot shop at the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1974.

The pliable, translucent material of glass is ideal for Native artists looking to re-interpret traditional stories and express contemporary issues affecting tribal societies. The artworks on view include totems, animal sculptures, ceremonial regalia, baskets, and masks, all of which honor past artistic traditions while exploring contemporary concerns. Vessels and baskets traditionally made of grass or clay, for instance, are now beautifully rendered in glass.

The exhibition includes artists who were the first Native Americans known to blow glass and create glass art, including Larry Ahvakana (Iñupiaq), Carl Ponca (Osage), and Tony Jojola (Isleta Pueblo). It also features the second generation of Native glass artists, such as Dan Friday (Lummi), and others who have established careers in other media but have also designed glass.

Exhibition – “Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes”

Open trough August 11, open 10 am – 4 pm

Miami, MO

The public is invited to view the free exhibition Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center at Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park. This exhibition brings together 12 contemporary Native American visual artists who reclaim their right to represent their identities as Native Americans. Images and styles are created from traditional, contemporary and mass culture forms. The exhibition intends to counteract the disappearance of Native portrayals using humor, emotion or shock to help the audience question stereotypes. It embraces Native Americans’ power to replace stereotypical images that permeate the current pop culture landscape. 

Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s–1970s

July 21, 2023, 10 am – 9 pm

St. Louis, MO

Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s–1970s, is the first ticketed exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum to focus on modern Native American art. Expanding the narrative of mid-century abstraction, the exhibition highlights groundbreaking paintings, sculptures, textiles and works on paper that challenged stereotypical expectations of Native American art during the postwar era.

Artists featured include Fritz Scholder, Lloyd Kiva New and Linda Lomahaftewa. This exhibition deepens the knowledge of the audience by highlighting many women artists whose work remains largely unknown even among specialists.

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About The Author

Author: Neely BardwellEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neely Bardwell (descendant of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indian) is a staff reporter for Native News Online. Bardwell is also a student at Michigan State University where she is majoring in policy and minoring in Native American studies.

The 24th annual summer Northwoods Art Tour will take place July 28-29-30, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Some of the Northwoods’ finest artists and artist-owned galleries are allowing visitors a behind-the-scenes view of how their work is created. The annual Northwoods Art Tour provides a rare opportunity for the public to discover where many Northwoods artists live and work, view their processes and inspirations, and purchase art directly from them.
The tour map takes visitors on a drive through some of the prettiest back roads of Northern Wisconsin beginning in Lincoln County at the southern tip of the tour in Irma and Tomahawk.

Chapel Art Gallery in Irma
Linda DeBroux, a potter who owns Chapel Art Gallery on the side of Irma Hill, is new to the tour this year. She will open her studio to display years worth of permanent artwork displayed behind the red doors, as well as functional and decorative wheel-thrown pottery which will be available for purchase. Located at N6639 Cty. Rd. H in Irma, the studio is easily accessible from Hwy. 51. Turn east on Hwy. J for 1/4 mile, then turn north on Hwy. H to the first place on the left.

Swallow Haven Studio in Irma
Andrea Fenner is a pastel artist also located on Hwy. H in Irma. Her studio, Swallow Haven Studio, is located at N7944 Cty. Rd. H in Irma, further north of the Chapel Art Gallery. If this is the first stop on your self-guided tour, take Hwy. 51 to Hwy. S. Follow Hwy. S until it intersects with Hwy. H, then turn left (south) to reach Swallow Haven Studio. Visitors will enjoy a peek into her studio perched atop a ledge overlooking a native trout stream surrounded by the beauty of the Northwoods. Her work features landscapes and animal pastels.

Tomahawk-area artists
Two Tomahawk-area artists are participating in the tour this summer. The first, Shayna Kelley, is a teacher, artist, and the owner of The Fifth Element Gallery at 124 W. Wisconsin Ave., 2nd Floor, in downtown Tomahawk above Sideways Wine & Craft Beer. [Note: Access via stairs only.] Kelley is new to the tour this year and is a contemporary multi media artist. Her multifaceted space showcases local artists’ artwork (in addition to her own), along with art and yoga classes, and an open studio space. She provides a place for artists to discuss, discover, and create art.
Lisa Krueger uses watercolor, pastel, acrylic, mixed media, and alcohol ink to create her artwork. She will again open her studio, Oak View Studio, to visitors at W3985 Oak View Rd. in rural Tomahawk. Her studio is in the peaceful backwoods of Tomahawk where large oaks welcome guests. Her original creations and paintings range from vibrantly colored images to soft, subtle hues on canvas. Her studio is also open year-round by appointment.

37 artists to visit
A total of 37 artists are participating in this year’s Northwoods Art Tour, and visitors are welcome to follow their own free, self-guided tour to explore, discover, engage, shop, and enjoy original artwork and the artists who created it, on one or even all three of the tour days. Many artists will provide demonstrations and are also open to engaging conversations with the public. Learn about what inspires their art, their creative process, and how they go from imagining their work to finishing a piece.
Betty Christian’s unique jewelry designs in silver, copper, and gold are featured in her Rhinelander studio. Heading north on Hwy 17, check out Eagle River, where there is a cluster of five artists showcasing art quilting, unique wood-turned pieces, sterling silver jewelry, ceramics, stonework, and upcycled art pieces.
On Hwy 70, going west, there are several more artists in St. Germain, including a potter and printmaker and a hand weaver. Continue west to Hwy 51 and take a detour south and then west at Hazelhurst to see Jenny Gibson’s 100 year old sock machine, Phyllis Schuit’s quilted wall-hangings with hand embroidery, and David Barnhill’s nature photography.
Over in the Lac du Flambeau area, Christine Alfery’s studio features contemporary fine art, and at La De Da Gourds, Karen Caldwell sells hard-shell gourds. Lisa Opfer is a new member who creates whimsical pottery, and Jillayne and Jeff Waite create unique garden art and unusual indoor sculptures. Jack Stayer of Sand Lake Trading Co. creates stained & fused art glass, and Bob Kovar is a wildlife and landscape photographer.
In Boulder Junction, Sara Muender, owner of Moondeer Gallery, is a multimedia artist. Mary Burns of the Manitowish River Studio weaves on a unique hand-jacquard loom and has a new exhibit “Women and Water: Woven Portraits from around the World.”
Steve Klemann’s Land O’ Lakes area studio showcases his handcrafted furniture and is worth the drive. And that’s not all. There are more studios on the tour in the Boulder Junction, Mercer, and Manitowish area
Brochures with studio descriptions, driving directions, and a map are available at area businesses, chambers of commerce, and online at northwoodsarttour.com.

Jane Semple Umsted, a Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma tribal member and Durant resident, has been appointed to the Institute of American Indian Arts Board of Trustees.

The fourth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (21-24 July) is returning to the regions north of New York City this summer with more than 130 participating venues, an exponential jump from its inaugural 23-participant event in 2020.

The idyllic art experience, spearheaded by curator, fair director and Stoneleaf Retreat artist residency co-founder Helen Toomer, combines extended hours at major institutional destinations like Dia Beacon and Storm King Art Center with spotlight events at local non-profits, pop-up spaces and commercial galleries. The event welcomes thousands of visitors each year, and the latest iteration will feature a plethora of screenings, open studios, performances and workshops.

Despite the region getting hit with record-breaking floods in the last month, the Hudson Valley art scene is poised for a rich and ambitious weekend—so rich, in fact, that the logistics can prove overwhelming. “It’s impossible to do everything,” Toomer told Artnet News. “This event was created to shine a light on the incredible organisations in the region and to solidify lasting connections with those visiting to come back.”

For those planning an adventure upstate, here are some must-sees for the days ahead.

Mother in Law’s
140 Church Avenue, Germantown, New York

Mother-in-Law’s is an experimental, installation-forward project space in Germantown directed by Kathleen Vance and Daniel Aycock of Hudson-based Front Room Gallery, alongside artist Jessica Hargreaves. Set in a converted carriage house, Mother-in-Law’s programming foregrounds the mesmeric, mixed-media visions of women-identified artists. For Upstate Art Weekend, the space is pairing Darkening Skies, an immersive audiovisual screening by artists Pamela Lonongobardi, Craig Dogonski and Suusan Knippenberg, with an outdoor exhibition, Par.ley, curated by the team behind New York gallery Field Projects.

Par.ley, which takes place on the grounds surrounding the carriage house, investigates the push-and-pull between the natural and constructed, examining “different methods of living with and parallel from nature”. From noon to 6pm on 21, 22 and 23 July, artist Lauren Cohen will also operate a yard sale at the site featuring ceramic objects curated by the Field Projects team.

Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Bard’s in-house museum specialises in exhibitions foregrounding marginalised voices and heady, conceptual ideas. Indian Theater; Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969 (until 26 November) is the first large-scale exhibition to centre performance as the genesis of contemporary Indigenous artistic inquiry. The exhibition brings together more than 100 works by over 40 artists and collectives, melding new and historic materials and methods in an expansive display.

During Upstate Art Weekend, a series of performances will take place at the museum. At 6pm and 8pm on 22 July, artists Emily Johnson (Yup’il Nation) and Jeffrey Gibson (Missisippi Band of Choctaw Indians) will take the stage. The following day at 2 pm, Johnson and Gibson will be in conversation at Bard’s Collection Teaching Gallery, moderated by curator Candice Hopkins (Carcross/Tagish First Nation). Registration for these and other weekend events is available on the museum’s website.

ArtPort Kingston
The Cornell Steamboat Building, 108 East Strand, Kingston, New York

Built along the Rondout Creek, this contemporary art gallery and curatorial project space in Kingston is housed in a former steamboat machine shop. Its left-of-centre programming has been making waves in the area since opening in 2020, and the team behind ArtPort—Laurie De Chiara and Stefan Saffer—are extending that attitude to Upstate Art Weekend. Starting 21 July, ArtPort will be hosting Joy Ride, a high-colour exhibition featuring Didi Rojas, Arnaldo Morales, Lady Labor and Traci Johnson, among others. Joy Ride will coincide with the opening of this year’s ArtStream, an outdoor exhibition of sculptural artworks by local artists

ArtStream takes place along the Point Rail Trail, inviting viewers to engage with the works as they interact with the natural landscape. On 22 July, from 2pm to 5pm, the ArtPort team will celebrate the launch of both shows at the nearby Artbuoy Cafe in an event that involves giant inflatable artworks and bubble machines. On 23 July, from 3pm to 5pm, ArtPort will also be hosting a yogic movement and tantric perfume experience conceived by artist and polymath Kelly Heaton.

The Post Office
158 West Main Street, Port Ewen, Ulster County, New York

Artists Rachel de Joode, Kate Steciw and Letha Wilson will be showing new works at the former Port Ewen post office during this year’s Upstate Art Weekend. Each participating artist’s practice addresses the “photographic object”, using sculptural image-making techniques to trouble the line between these seemingly disparate media. Combining transcendental landscapes, found imagery and post-studio interventionist gestures, the three artists demonstrate the full breadth of their contributions to the “photo matter” genre. The Post Office is open from 2pm to 6pm all four days of Upstate Art Weekend.

The School by Jack Shainman Gallery
25 Broad Street, Kinderhook, New York

The School is a 30,000 sq. ft former high school in Kinderhook that Manhattan dealer Jack Shainman turned into a kunsthalle of sorts in 2013, to present large-scale exhibitions that highlight artists working within and outside of the gallery’s programme. For Upstate Art Weekend, the venue will be exhibiting Michael Snow: Life Survey (1955-2020), chronicling the late artist’s wide-ranging career, which defied genre, medium, or taxonomy.

Born in Toronto in 1928, Snow made a name for himself blending jazz improvisation with Modernist design, taking a “try this, try that” approach to creative communication. At 1pm on 22 July, The School will host a screening of Snow’s 45-minute masterpiece Wavelength (1967). Visitors can also register in advance for a private exhibition tour with Irem Ikizler, associate director of Jack Shainman Gallery, starting at 3pm.

• Upstate Art Weekend 2023, 21-24 July, various venues in New York State

Bright colors. Dark subjects.

Jim Denomie’s vivid paintings tell stories of colonialism, oil pipelines, violence. Stories the artist himself wasn’t aware of until adulthood.

So it goes for a Native American assimilated into white culture through the machinery that culture has designed to do so. Indian Urban Relocation. The generational trauma of Indian Boarding Schools. Popular culture. A public education system centered on white nationalism.

Learning his history and culture, and acquiring the artistic tools necessary to express what he was feeling visually, would come later for Denomie (Ojibwe, Lac Courte Oreilles Band, 1955–2022).

After dropping out of high school.

He recognized traditional schooling wasn’t for him and asked his counselor to help him attend a school focused on arts education. She thought that was a dead end. He said he’d drop out if she didn’t. She didn’t care.

After a near 20-year stretch of aimless partying and alcoholism.

After working long days in construction and trying to raise a family.

Jim Denomie, paragon of the late bloomer.

He sobered up in 1989, got a GED, and the next year enrolled at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where he had and would spend most of his life. Like millions of others, he found himself at college, Denomie just happened to be in his mid-30s when doing so.

On campus, he became involved with the Native American community, connecting to the heritage he hadn’t previously. Future parents raised in the horrors of the boarding school era, like Denomie’s–oftentimes the scars are too deep, the attempts at cultural erasure too successful, to pass customary ways along.

At the University of Minnesota he would learn about his past and establish a future. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Indian studies. What he learned was painful, and then, candidly, pissed him off. Broken treaties, genocide and the like.

He simultaneously pursued his boyhood desire of artmaking, the one amputated by the counselor. In 1995 he also secured a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and began pursing his painting career.

The culmination of his dual journeys into Native American history and fine art can be seen now through March 24, 2024, during “The Lyrical Artwork of Jim Denomie,” an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art highlighting Denomie’s singular vision and signature style over the second half of his career (2007–22).

Color

Denomie could be described as a colorist. His primary attraction was to color and he noticed it everywhere–sunsets, birds, fish, frogs, minerals. He often told the story of how color theory was his most important, transformative class at university.

Pinks, purples, fuchsia.

His palate is deep and rich with nonrepresentational hues recalling the Fauves of the early 20^th century.

Denomie’s paintings routinely engage with art history. The Last Supper. Manet. Nighthawks. Vincent van Gogh boxing Mike Tyson.

“Beyond his formal education, Jim was a lifelong student,” Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Project Coordinator at the Minneapolis Institute of Art Nicole Soukup told Forbes.com. “He was a regular museum visitor to not only the Minneapolis Institute of Art, but museums across the country. His sketchbooks list artists and artworks he saw at museums like Brooklyn, The Met, etc. His studio was filled with exhibition catalogues and books.”

While his work has the freedom and visionary quality of self-taught or folk artists, Denomie doesn’t belong to that category. He was highly trained. Deeply studied.

Spiritual, yes.

Indigenous, yes.

Descending from Western art traditions, also, yes.

The nudes, the color, the continuation of art historical movements descended from Europe by an artist not similarly descended recall the paintings of Bob Thompson and Robert Colescott. Denomie and Colescott further share a bawdiness and absurdity.

Denomie’s art has acutely been descried as “surreal, satirical,” “a Far Side cartoon painted by Hieronymus Bosch.” Bingo.

“If you look at his oeuvre, you can see tropes from the history of European art—like the Arcadian landscape. Of course, he gave it his own spin,” Soukup explains. “However, in works like Standing Rock—2016, you see the classic landscape as a stage-like setting. Jim used elements like a river and pipeline to lead the viewer’s eye from foreground to mid-ground. The rounding hills create a clear horizon line. Using a tight framework allowed Jim to focus on the hyper-layered vignettes and details in his genre and history paintings.”

The painting recalls Bosch or Bruegel. It’s stuffed with figures and action, often bizarre and macabre. Donald Trump gropes an Indigenous lady justice. Oil pipelines, Cerberus, Klansmen, swastikas, military vehicles, helicopters, people, animals, a tipi encampment, porta potties.

Denomie’s “Standing Rock” series explores his response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Reservation in 2016–17. Following the exhibition of his “Standing Rock” series at the esteemed Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis which represented Denomie since 2007 and has as a specialty representing Native American artists, Soukup asked the artist, “What would an exhibition at Mia look like?”

“The Lyrical Artwork of Jim Denomie”

It looks big, colorful, confrontational.

Figures everywhere.

Nudes.

Men and women with deer heads who came to him in dreams.

Spiritual. Mystical.

Witches.

Denomie liked witches. Even dated one.

Sturgeons, frogs, pileated woodpeckers.

Drawing inspiration from lived experiences, pop culture, Anishinaabe–what many Ojibwe prefer to call themselves–traditions, and American histories, Denomie’s work forwards provocative stories of being Native in America.

“The boundary between Jim’s portrayal of Anishinaabe traditions and beliefs, what he saw in his dreams, and what is realized on the canvas is a thin, porous line. If visitors are familiar with Anishinaabe beliefs, they may find elements in nearly every work of art,” Soukup said. “For those of us like myself who are not Native, we can readily see the spirits that fill the skies and landscapes. A notable example is the spirits in the sky pouring water onto the Earth in the painting Standing Rock–2016.”

Despite the emotional weight of his subject matter, visitors will be excused from chuckling here and there. Denomie, as with many contemporary Native American artists, brings a rapier’s wit and highly attuned sense of humor into his paintings.

The exhibition features approximately 60 artworks, some well-known, others never before seen in public. On display together for the first time are his large-scale paintings, unfinished works, rare sculpture and sketchbooks.

And a curious series of assemblages.

“The funny thing about Jim is that he was always making something out of the hundreds of trinkets and bobbles that filled the tables in his studio and garage,” Soukup said. “Jim worked across media, but rarely showed sculpture. He filled his studio with these masks and painted found objects. I think he found humor and joy in making them. For example, Diabetic Spirit, or the untitled (fish) made from his shoe and five-iron. Right before he passed, Jim was dynamically returning to sculpture.”

Cancer took Denomie’s life in late winter 2022. He and Soukup were deep into planning the exhibition, a process he was highly engaged with from the start. No one expected him to go so quick. The show was intended as a mid-career survey.

Denomie’s artmaking started late and ended early, in between, a prince of a man and an extraordinary artist.

The Blue Lizard Native American Gallery will present an exclusive showing of pottery, paintings and collectibles by internationally acclaimed southwestern artist, Lawrence Vargas.

The artist will be in residence Aug. 11-13 at the Blue Lizard Native American Gallery in downtown Sandpoint.

“We are extremely excited to host Lawrence and his wife and business partner, Terry, here in Sandpoint,” says gallery owner Roger Disbrow. “This is an incredible opportunity to experience the warmth and genius of a multi-cultural native artist whose work is admired and collected across the globe.”

Vargas will be in the gallery to greet visitors, tell stories and sign artwork each day of his residency from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“Part of Lawrence’s mission is making sure that his art is accessible to everyone,” says Terry Vargas. “You will want to visit, get inspired, and experience the stories that Lawrence puts into every piece. It may be that you will see your own story there.”

Vargas’ work is offered in a wide range, from one-of-a-kind collector’s pieces and limited editions to gifts, reflection journals, puzzles and keepsakes. Vargas says, “We believe there should be no boundaries when it comes to loving and owning art.” 

This is the Vargas’ second trip to Sandpoint, and they return by popular demand of their collectors and friends.

“To meet Lawrence is to find a friend and inspiration, and perhaps a newfound appreciation of Southwest art,” Disbrow said.

Proud of his multicultural ancestry, Vargas’ inspirations come from his rich and varied lineage. The influence of early Aztec and Mayan beginnings as well as his roots in Mexico, Spain, and South America emerge as a unique blending of cultures expressed through art.

This “mestizo,” or mix, of cultures intertwined with his New Mexican ancestry are reflected in his distinctive artistic style, which is sought out by collectors worldwide. He fondly remembers the “cuentos” (stories) that his parents and grandparents shared through their oral traditions, and he shares his heartfelt reflections of those cuentos through his artwork.

A new suite of photo and video works is the centrepiece of the latest exhibition by Meryl McMaster, opening July 22 at Remai Modern. Titled bloodline, the exhibition includes works from throughout McMaster’s career and brings viewers up to date on her current explorations of family histories, in particular those of her nêhiyawak (Plains Cree) female forebears from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in present-day western Canada.

McMaster is celebrated for her large-scale photographic works that reflect her mixed Indigenous and settler ancestry. Her imagined self-portraits combine elaborate costumes, performance, and sweeping landscapes.

McMaster’s newest series, nôhkominak âcimowina / Stories of My Grandmothers is inspired by her paternal grandmothers, whose lives span 130 years lived in the Red Pheasant community. These are deeply personal works that touch on universal narratives of self-discovery and family histories. Many of the images were captured on Red Pheasant, and are presented alongside family photos and other ephemera that inspired the artist’s exploration of her ancestry.

The exhibition also includes McMaster’s first-ever video works, which bring her photographs to life. 

Remai Modern has acquired the nine new photographs and two videos in nôhkominak âcimowina / Stories of My Grandmothers for its collection.

The exhibition opens with a public reception at Remai Modern on Friday, June 21 at 7 PM, including remarks by the artist.

The day prior, on July 20, McMaster and Hogue will present an artist conversation at Poundmaker Museum and Gallery, Poundmaker Cree Nation, about 15 kilometres outside of Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. This talk is a co-presentation between Miyawata Culture and Remai Modern. Hosted in conjunction with the opening of Meryl McMaster: bloodline, this event is part of the Poundmaker Performance Festival and Plains Indian Sign Language Workshop. 

Meryl McMaster: bloodline runs until December 31 in Remai Modern’s Collection Galleries. The exhibition was previously on view at McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario.

bloodline is co-organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Remai Modern. It is curated by Sarah Milroy, Chief Curator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Tarah Hogue, Curator (Indigenous Art), Remai Modern. The exhibition is accompanied by the artist’s first monograph also titled bloodline.

Remai Modern acknowledges the Canada Council for the Arts, Hatch, Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, and Superframe for supporting this exhibition.

Remai Modern is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Traditional Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to First Nations and Métis ancestors and reaffirm our relationship with one another. The museum’s programming is supported by the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation, the City of Saskatoon, the Canada Council for the Arts, SK Arts and SaskCulture’s Saskatchewan Lotteries Fund.  

About Meryl McMaster
Meryl McMaster is nêhiyaw from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, a member of the Siksika Nation, and has Métis, Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), British and Dutch ancestry. Her work is predominantly photography based, incorporating the production of props, sculptural garments and performance, forming a synergy that transports the viewer out of the ordinary and into a space of contemplation and introspection.

McMaster is the recipient of the Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award, the REVEAL Indigenous Art Award, Charles Pachter Prize for Emerging Artists, the Canon Canada Prize, the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, the OCAD U Medal and was long listed for the 2016 Sobey Art Award.

Her work has been acquired by various public collections within Canada and the United States, including the Canadian Museum of History, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Eiteljorg Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

Her work has been included in exhibitions throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Indian, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, the Eiteljorg Museum, the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Mendel Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The City of Lexington just selected an artist to complete artwork inside the Lexington Detention Center.

Lexington native Derek King Jr. was one of 23 artists considered for the job.

The Detention Center’s officer dining room will feature King’s artwork.

King says he looks forward to creating this piece as it gives the workers and inmates something to look at and enjoy.

“I think it will give them something away from work to look at, something to escape from,” said King.

The University of Kentucky and Bryan Station alum has completed several commissioned murals and has had artwork in numerous gallery exhibitions.

Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved.

She kickstarted her career when she took the top prize in The Voice at just 16 years old in 2013 and ten years later no one is accusing her of draggin’ her boots. The Great New York State Fair is pleased to welcome Danielle Bradbery to the Suburban Park stage at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 1.

Danielle Bradbery charms audiences with her sparkle, sass, and ability to pour her heart into her lyrics. Fans appreciate how Danielle infuses personal stories into songs like “Never Have I Ever” and “Break My Heart Again,” and, her most popular single to date, “Stop Draggin’ Your Boots” (2021) boasts more than 114-million streams! In the ten years since she first burst onto the country music scene, the Texas native has collaborated with artists including Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett, Nick Jonas, Diplo and others.

Bradbery showcased her smoky, powerful vocals on singles released this year including “Runaways,” released earlier this summer, “A Special Place,” and “Monster.” She looks forward to sharing her discography with fairgoers this summer!

“The Fair got really lucky in being able to book Danielle Bradbery. Just a few days after she plays Suburban Park, she’ll hit the road for a fall tour with fellow country music star, Jordan Davis,” said Sean Hennessey, Interim Fair Director. “Her lyrics really resonate with people and her relatable manner helps audiences feel attached to her music. This artist has had a great decade and her future in the industry is bright. Danielle is a wonderful addition to the impressive line-up of artists we have performing at The Fair this summer!”

Like all acts in the Chevrolet Music Series, watching Danielle Bradbery’s performance is included with the price of Fair admission. Admission tickets – expected to go on sale soon –   are $6 for adults, and free for those who are 12 years old and younger, and 65 years old and older.

The Chevrolet Music Series features 48 acts across 13 days at the Great New York State Fair. All of the acts announced thus far are below, and at pages dedicated to Chevy Court and Suburban Park on The Fair’s website.

2023 CHEVROLET MUSIC SERIES SCHEDULE TO DATE:

Chevy Court Stage:

Suburban Park Stage:

Founded in 1841, The Great New York State Fair showcases the best of New York agriculture and provides top-quality entertainment. It is the oldest fair in the United States and is consistently recognized as being among the top five state fairs in the nation.

The New York State Fairgrounds is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates all year. Audiences are encouraged to learn more about The Great New York State Fair online, browse photos on Flickr, and follow the fun on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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