The nonprofit Puʻuhonua Society is aiming to promote visual art and Native Hawaiian values through a new grant program.

The group has announced a two-year grant program, called Hoʻākea Source, that will prioritize projects by visual artists, collaboratives and collectives living and working on Oʻahu.

Puʻuhonua Society aims to create opportunities for Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-based artists and cultural practitioners.

Emma Broderick, Puʻuhonua Society’s executive director, said in a press release that “maintaining a local and Native Hawaiian identity through the arts in a contemporary context is an active form of disrupting a long history of systemic racism, and ensures that the unique identity of this place persists now and in the future.”

Hoʻākea Source will offer six to twelve grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

It is a Regional Regranting Program Partner of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which partners with cultural organizations around the country

The new grant program launches on Nov. 28. It coincides with Lā Kūʻokoʻa, or Hawaiian Independence Day.

More information can be found at hoakeasource.org.

State Parks Addresses Discriminatory Names and Inequities

Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, State Parks Director Armando Quintero and Department of Transportation Director Toks Omishakin announced a series of actions to identify and redress discriminatory names of features attached to the state parks and transportation systems.

The move comes in the wake of a national conversation about the names of geographic features and builds upon Governor Gavin Newsom’s work to support equity, inclusion and accountability throughout the state to better reflect our values. To learn more, visit www.parks.ca.gov/ReexaminingOurPast.

The Alamance Artisans Art Extravaganza is coming up Oct. 28 and 29, and is sure to be a memorable event that will bring together a diverse group of talented local artists exhibiting their artwork. Twenty-one artists will present works in woodworking, painting, fiber art, pottery, jewelry and more. Among the exhibiting artists are Dottie Blanchard, Pat Scheible, James and Rita Duxbury, and Jean Fortune Kaplan.

And there’s also Coy Quakenbush, a native of Saxapawhaw, but who now lives in Graham, and whose artwork and style are unmistakable, but tricky to put under one label. He’s well-known for his pottery, which is done in the centuries-old Mata Ortiz style that originated in Mata Ortiz, Mexico. The method uses a coil implementation.

“It’s all hand-built,” Quakenbush said. “I sand it, scrape it, burnish it to get it smooth and shiny. And then I decorate it with clay slips to do the design work. It’s a structured process until you get to the design, and then you can go where you want with that.”

Among the advantages of the Mata Ortiz method is it requires less of a financial investment from the artist, since a pottery wheel isn’t needed to make the vessels, and “firing” is done outdoors in a bonfire instead of a kiln. The color of the pot is from the natural color of the clay, and not from a glaze.

Quakenbush, a master potter, creates bowls, vases, pitchers and other vessels using the technique that isn’t often seen in these parts, which has enabled him to carve a niche among other local pottery makers. 

“The Native American artwork, especially if it has a southwest look, isn’t something you find much in these parts,” he said.

When he first started making the Mata Ortiz-style pots, Quakenbush would spend as much as a week creating one piece. Over time, he has honed his skills and now has the process down to about three or four days. That now leaves him with time to pursue other methods for creating artwork, including painting, drawing and making abstract sculptures using paper clay.

This year’s Alamance Artisans Art Extravaganza will be a celebration of its 5th anniversary. The exhibit is the biggest event of the year for members of the guild, and offers the public an opportunity to view and purchase the artwork, and also provides a chance to meet and get to know the artists. Alamance Artisans members will donate art pieces to raffle, and some members will be on hand to demonstrate their art process.

This year’s show will, for the first time, be held at The Inn at Elon, at 605 N. O’Kelly Ave. in Elon. The show is Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Oct. 29 from noon to 5 p.m.

The Carnegie Art Center is pleased to announce “All of Our Relations,” a month-long celebration in honor of Native American Heritage Month, featuring the rich cultural heritage of the Seneca and Tuscarora Nations. This significant event will take place at the Carnegie Art Center, located at 240 Goundry Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120, from November 1 to 29, 2023.

In partnership with Seneca Nation community member Olivia Maybee, the Carnegie Art Center will host a compelling group art exhibition, showcasing talented artists from the Seneca and Tuscarora Nations. The exhibition will feature visual artists including Seneca artists Hayden Haynes, Sam Jacobs, Mary Jacobs, and Olivia Maybee, as well as Tuscarora artists Robert DAlimonte, Erwin Printup, and Kehala Smith. The event aims to highlight the resiliency of Indigenous communities and shed light on their cultural significance in the Western NY region.

“We hope you can join us for ‘All of Our Relations,’ a unique opportunity to experience the vibrant artistry of the Seneca and Tuscarora Nations,” said Natalie Brown, Program Coordinator at the Carnegie Art Center. “This exhibition and the accompanying events will foster important conversations about historical and contemporary impacts faced by Indigenous communities, while also celebrating their enduring strength and cultural contributions.”

The exhibition will kick off with a free Opening Reception of the group exhibition on Thursday, November 2, from 6 to 8 PM. Throughout the month, the Carnegie Art Center will host a series of free and public Special Events, including a Cultural Storytelling Event titled “Re-Thinking Thanksgiving” with Perry Ground on Saturday, November 11, at 1 PM, and a Smoke Dance Demonstration with Q&A featuring Jordan Smith & Co. on Saturday, November 18, at 1 PM. The exhibition will culminate in a Closing Reception & Artist Talk on Wednesday, November 29, from 6 to 8 PM, featuring the artists from the group show.

“We invite everyone to join us in celebrating the creativity, resilience, and cultural heritage of the Seneca and Tuscarora Nations,” added Brown. “This exhibition and the associated events are open to all ages, offering a unique opportunity to engage with Indigenous art and traditions.”

The “All of Our Relations” exhibition and events are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Arts Services Inc.

Special thanks to the JC Seneca Foundation and Gail’s Tobacco & Gas on Tuscarora Reservation for their generous support of “All of Our Relations.”

For more information about the exhibition and the Carnegie Art Center, please visit www.carnegieartcenter.org or contact Natalie at info@carnegieartcenter.org or 716-694-4400.

Leilehua Lanzilotti often references visual artworks in her compositions, but it’s more than a source of inspiration — it’s infused into her earliest memories and inextricably linked to her childhood growing up in Hawaiʻi. Her mother, Louise King Lanzilotti, was the first curator of education at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, which young Leilehua would visit every day after school. From day one, contemporary art felt accessible and rooted in curiosity and play. It was normal to just hang out in David Hockey’s L’enfant et les sortilèges exhibit with Ravel’s 1925 opera of the same name playing in the background, or to spend time outside in the sculpture gardens admiring one of the giant glazed “Moons” by ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu.

Leilehua’s forthcoming album is part of a large-scale touring retrospective and monograph on Takaezu, who passed away in 2011. The album will be released next year on innova Recordings — the in-house label of American Composers Forum — and was selected from one of innova’s national calls, which welcome projects representing a diversity of musical approaches and at various stages of the recording process.

Born in Hawaiʻi of Okinawan heritage, Takaezu was one of the most important sculptors and art educators in the United States during her lifetime, and sound played an unexpected role in her practice. “At some point, Takaezu accidentally dropped a piece of clay into one of these large vessels that she made,” Leilehua explained in a video call. “When it came out of the kiln, it made this gorgeous resonance, so she started [adding pieces of clay] on purpose. When she talks about her work, she talks about how that dark space inside the sculpture is just as important. She was so incredible and innovative with her knowledge of glazes… so she had already created this beautiful 360 landscape around the outside of the sculpture. But the aspect that was really important to her was the part inside that you can only see in your mind’s eye through the physicality of trying to hear how the little clay pieces rattle and move around.”

For the retrospective, Leilehua is contributing an essay to the monograph and co-curating an exhibit demonstrating the development of Takaezu’s conceptual practice and large-scale installations. Additionally, the Noguchi Museum has commissioned her to write several new compositions that interact with or respond to Takaezu’s works, which is what listeners can expect to hear on her innova album. The piano trio Longleash has already recorded her piece based on the resonance of Takaezu’s bronze bells, and a composition written for Sō Percussion’s Flexible Commissions program will explore the resonances and rhythms of Takaezu’s ceramic sculptures.

Leilehua’s innova album is a new touchpoint with ACF, following her 2021 McKnight Visiting Composer Residency, a program that invites artists who live outside of Minnesota to spend time connecting with the communities in ACF’s home state. The creation of new artistic work can be part of the residency, but it’s not required.

Leilehua was intrigued by the community aspect of the fellowship. The opportunity came at a time when she was refocusing her practice on Indigenous language revitalization, beginning with reclaiming her Hawaiian name and connecting to her Kanaka Maoli heritage. Until recently, Leilehua went by her full legal name: Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti. The practice of giving children a Hawaiian middle name stemmed from increased Western influence on the islands in the 19th century and an 1863 law on naming, which required that all children be given a Christian first name. The law was repealed in 1967, but naming practices that began as a government mandate have since been misconstrued as tradition.

Leilehua Lanzilotti — Photo by Laura Banchi, courtesy of the Bogliasco Foundation

During the pandemic, Leilehua found connection to the Indigenous diaspora through the Western Arts Alliance’s Native Launchpad program. Hearing people use their Indigenous names and introduce themselves in their own languages helped her realize that “it’s OK to take up space and claim [my name]… it just feels like my name, and it shows we still exist — Hawaiians still exist.”

For her McKnight residency, Leilehua proposed connecting with local Indigenous organizations to learn how languages unite and empower communities. During her month in Minnesota, she immersed herself in Indigenous Roots, an arts activism organization dedicated to cultivating opportunities for Native, Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples. She hit the ground running at their outdoor festival, bringing water to artists, going on runs for ice, and helping with the simple, basic acts that go a long way in showing up for your community.

From this entry point, Leilehua worked with Mary Anne Quiroz, the co-founder and executive director of Indigenous Roots, to identify how her unique skill set intersected with the organization’s needs. The residency turned into a series of workshops and conversations about grant writing, resources for Indigenous artists, and balancing creative work with the business side of the industry. “The focus was ‘How do I support this Indigenous organization and how they’re empowering people through language to make their art and forward what they’re doing culturally?’’ Leilehua explained. “I ended up doing that in a kind of interesting and different way because that’s what I was hearing from the community — that was what they needed, and that’s so important in all these interactions: how are you showing up, and are you listening?”

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During the residency, Leilehua was also conducting research for the libretto of her opera, tentatively scheduled to premiere in fall 2025. The bilingual libretto draws from diaries, letters, and songs written by Liliʻuokalani, the last Queen of Hawaiʻi. The first piece Leilehua wrote entirely in the Hawaiian language was On Stochastic Wave Behavior (2021) for Roomful of Teeth. The work for vocal octet has “a kind of playfulness in looking at language and words,” she said, and it features the unique sounds of two diacritical marks from the Hawaiian language: the ʻokina (glottal stop) and the kahakō, which lengthens and stresses vowels. Sputtering consonants and pulsating glottal stops are peppered over clustered layers of vowel drones before finally converging into a glowing, hummed resonance.

Reclaiming her Hawaiian name and language has allowed Leilehua to take up space as a human being, but compositionally, this started to unfold in with eyes the color of time, a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The string orchestra work, written in 2020, was the first time she gave herself permission to write a longer-form piece with slow, deliberate pacing. Commissioned by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, each movement refers to works of art that she had encountered at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu as a child. Barely audible harmonics and pitchless bowing on the side of the bridge whisper like the wind in “Nahele (the bronze horse / the forest),” a cacophony of scratch tones bring a child’s reckless destruction to life in “les sortilèges (the wound / the torn page),” and swirling metal rattles evoke the hidden clay pieces of Takaezu’s sculptures in “mahina.”

Reflecting on the piece, Leilehua told me that it’s really an attempt to answer questions about how we navigate challenges: “How does art help us deal with the struggles that we find in our world… how does art help us have the creativity and the imagination to work through really difficult things in our lives?” And through her work to revitalize Indigenous languages, Leilehua is continuing this line of inquiry, looking for “the languages of your heart that help you work through the struggle.”

Leilehua’s innova album is made possible thanks to generous support from the Sorel Organization. ACF’s McKnight Visiting Composer Residency is funded by the McKnight Foundation.

I CARE IF YOU LISTEN is an editorially-independent program of the American Composers Forum, and is made possible thanks to generous donor and institutional support. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and may not represent the views of ICIYL or ACF.

You can support the work of ICIYL with a tax-deductible gift to ACF. For more on ACF, visit the “At ACF” section or composersforum.org.

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By Native News Online Staff

October 25, 2023

Board member Dawn Houle (Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana) has been elected Board Chair. Houle succeeds Stephine Poston (Pueblo of Sandia), who completed her term of office. 

Launched in 1922 with the Sante Fe Indian Art Market, SWAIA has a significant role in shaping Native American art. Held in August, the market draws up to 100,000 visitors from around the globe to purvey the works of thousands of artists from across Indian Country. The Sante Fe Indian Art Market Best in Show award is considered by many to be the most prestigious honor for Native art. 

In a press release, Houle acknowledged the pivotal role SWAIA plays in elevating Native American artists onto a global stage. 

“The new board members play a big role in supporting and advocating for Native Artists and I’m excited to join this world-class leadership in shaping how we continue to elevate Native Artists to the world stage,” Houle said in a statement. “We have a century of legacy work that we can build upon and I’m grateful to Ms. Poston for the tremendous efforts she provided to the organization. In a world of pressing issues and challenges, the expression of art helps us learn and celebrate. I welcome this new role to strengthen member commitments while bringing in new resources to support SWAIA and the artists.”

New appointments to the executive committee include Michael Trujillo, Vice-Chair, and JoAnn Chase (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara), elected Secretary. Tom Teegarden will remain in the position of Treasurer. Natasha K. Hale, the Director of Native American Partnerships for the Catena Foundation, is also a newly elected board member. 

More Stories Like This

Margo Gray Writes a Poignant Letter to Her Great-Grandfather, One of the Murder Victims Portrayed in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Here’s What’s Going On In Indian Country, October 19th—26th
The Poeh Cultural Center at Pueblo of Pojoaque is Awarded $100,000 from New Mexico Creative Industries
Native Americans Actors Opt Out of “Killers of the Flower Moon” Premieres as SAG-AFTRA Strike Continues

About The Author

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Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected].

Native Knowledge 360° and Teaching for Change Virtual Teach-In: Indigenous Education

Saturday, Nov. 4, 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Online, Cost is $15, and registration is required.

Register Now

Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and Teaching for Change for a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, and ideas exchange. The teach-in will be held virtually via Zoom. Educators will take part in workshops that include relevant and resource-rich training experiences to support effective use of American Indian-focused classroom lessons, and resources from Teaching for Change and the museum. Find more information and register here. 

Artist Raven Chacon in Concert and Conversation

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Washington, D.C.

Artist Raven Chacon is joined by Joy Harjo, Candice Hopkins, Ange Loft, Laura Ortman, and Olivia Shortt to present selections from his work, For Zitkála-Šá (2020). A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Chacon dedicated this portfolio of scores to contemporary Native American and First Nations women to celebrate their contributions to music. Following this piece, a local ensemble will perform …lahgo adil’i dine doo yeehosinilgii yidaaghi (2004), which is held in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian. This program marks the first time each of these compositions will be performed before a live audience in Washington, DC. The event will conclude with a conversation among the five For Zitkála-Šá performers, moderated by Chacon. A selection of works from this portfolio of thirteen lithographs is currently on view in SAAM’s Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies.

This program is co-presented by the National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with funding support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. 

Honoring Native Veterans

Saturday, Nov. 11, 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Washington, D.C.

Join the museum on Veterans Day 2023 to recognize and honor the military service of Native Americans. Events include family activities, a special presentation about the National Native American Veterans Memorial by the designer, Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), and Curator Rebecca Trautmann, special hospitality for veterans, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial, preceded by the presentation of colors by the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society.

SCHEDULE

10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.: Veterans Hospitality Suite, Patrons Lounge, Level 4

Veterans are invited to enjoy light refreshments in the museum’s Hospitality Suite.

2:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.: Memorial Information and Family Activities, Potomac Atrium, Level 1

Veteran bookmarks: Learn more about Native veterans who have served throughout history at the Veterans Profiles Teaching Cart and take home a veterans profile bookmark.

Veteran postcards: Write a postcard to a veteran or active-duty service member and the museum will send it for you.

3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.: Meet the Memorial Designer, Rasmuson Theater, Level 1

Memorial designer and veteran, Harvey Pratt, and Curator Rebecca Trautmann discuss the design process and creation of the National Native American Veterans Memorial. The conversation will be webcast at AmericanIndian.si.edu/livestream.

4:00 p.m.–4:25 p.m.: Screening of Why We Serve (25 min.), Rasmuson Theater, Level 1

4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.: Presentation of Colors and Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the National Native American Veterans Memorial

The Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society will present the colors to open a wreath-laying ceremony lead by Director Cynthia Chavez Lamar at the National Native American Veterans Memorial. The Memorial Flame will be lit from 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Major support provided by The Boeing Company.

Native Cinema Showcase 2023

Friday, Nov. 17, to Friday, Nov. 24, 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m.

Online

The National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase is an annual celebration of the best in Native film. For this year’s theme, we highlight films of Indigenous perseverance that inspire, uplift, and triumph against adversity. The showcase provides a unique forum for engagement with Native filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere and Arctic.  

This program is funded in part by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

Mexico Now: The Present and Future of Ancestral Practices

Saturday, Nov. 18, 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

New York, NY

Learn how Chef Diana Wangeman preserves ancestral Oaxacan food practices. Following Wangeman will be a performance in the Diker Pavilion by Maya rapper Pat Boy, who uses music to preserve the Mayan language and teach rap to youth in his rural community in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

SCHEDULE

1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.: Maize and Traditional Ingredients with Chef Diana Wangeman, Auditorium, Lower Level

Diana Wangeman was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she learned the traditional practice of processing corn from her mother, who is the chef and owner of the restaurant Tierra Antigua in Oaxaca. As the owner of the Brooklyn, NY, restaurant Sobre Masa, Wangeman works to raise awareness about ancient forms of maize cultivation and doing business in a responsible way.

2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.: Maya Hip-Hop with Pat Boy, Diker Pavilion, Level 1

Jesús “Pat Boy” Chablé started his solo career in 2009 mixing genres such as reggae, pop, and reggaeton in the Yucatec Mayan language. His work was recently featured in the Marvel blockbuster film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He is the co-founder and producer of ADN Maya Producciones, which nurtures young talent across the Yucatan Peninsula. He also produces the Ko’one’ex K’aay Rap Ich Máaya Festival and fosters Rap Ich Máaya T ́aan, a methodology he created for bilingual youth that promotes the Mayan language through rap improvisation and rhyming.

Native American Heritage Day: Honoring the Jingle Dress Dance

Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

Washington, D.C.

Learn about the origin and significance of the jingle dress and Jingle Dress Dance with dancers Misty Solorio (Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation/Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation), Jennifer Night Bird Miller (Red River Métis), and Nathan Solorio (Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation/Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation). The dancers will be accompanied by father-and-son duo Ralph Zotigh (Kiowa/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo/Isante Dakota Indian) and Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo/Isante Dakota Indian).

Image credit: Damon Bowe for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

Native American Heritage Day: Akwesasne Women Singers

Friday, Nov. 24, 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

New York, NY

The Akwesasne Women Singers are a group of young women, mothers, aunties, and grandmothers who came together to form a singing society. The group joins the museum on Native American Heritage Day to share their original compositions, written in a combination of English and Kanien’kéha, as well as traditional songs, accompanied by dance performances. The significance of each dance will be shared, and attendees will be invited to join the circle during Social Dances.

Directly after the conclusion of Native American Heritage Month, the museum hosts the yearly Art Market in Washington, D.C. and New York at the beginning of December.

Native Art Market

Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2–3, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

New York, NY

The museum’s annual Native Art Market features award-winning and innovative Indigenous artists from across the Western Hemisphere. This weekend event invites lovers of art and craftsmanship to meet Native artists and learn about traditional Native arts and contemporary Native creativity. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to purchase traditional and contemporary handcrafted artworks, including beadwork, jewelry, paintings, photography, pottery, and sculpture.

When anthropologist Danielle Moretti-Langholtz started investigating the history of the Brafferton Indian School, she knew earlier scholars viewed the school as a failed enterprise. However, she didn’t expect to find that it had been both an instrument of British colonial policy and a place of Native American agency. 

To uncover this complex story, she assembled a research team of scholars and students to search archives on both sides of the Atlantic and engaged Native communities with identified historical links to the 18^th-century Indian school. This work led to a new perspective on the Brafferton Indian School placing Indigenous voices front and center.

This year commemorates the 300^th anniversary of the completion of the Brafferton Indian School on the William & Mary campus, marking the perfect time to share new findings about this story. Moretti-Langholtz, the Thomasina E. Jordan Director of the W&M American Indian Resource Center, will deliver the fall 2023 Tack Faculty Lecture “Reconnecting Native Narratives to the Brafferton Indian School.” Taking place on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Sadler Center’s Commonwealth Auditorium, the event is free and open to the public with a reception to follow. Attendees are asked to RSVP. 

“The Brafferton is part of a larger story connecting settler history, Indigenous labor and lifeways,” the anthropologist said. “Part of the work of a university is to reconsider topics that have been obscured, and this is such a story.”

She highlighted how Native Americans were at the genesis of her research, crediting her mentor, the late Thomasina E. Jordan, for encouraging her to look more closely at the history and connections of the Indian school to living tribal communities. 

At the start of more than a decade of research, Moretti-Langholtz found evidence that that the Brafferton Indian School did not conform to accepted notions about Indian boarding schools. Surprisingly, she said, some Native students were sent to Williamsburg and were enrolled at the Brafferton Indian School by their communities to learn to read, write and speak English to aid in negotiations with the British on behalf of their tribal communities. 

“My conclusions were validated when speaking to members of Native communities whose ancestors had been at the Brafferton,” she said. “One line I heard many times was, ‘We used to be there.’”

Working with descendant communities and other scholars, she reexamined fragments of documents from the colonial era, and started asking new questions about the place of Indigenous communities in the trans-Atlantic networks of trade and power.

Tribal communities were integral components of the networks of power and money that contributed to the funding of the university. The alliances that some Native tribes made to navigate a challenging landscape need to be understood in the context of the shifting power dynamics of the 18^th century.

“My interest is very much in putting Native history into a much larger context,” said Moretti-Langholtz. “We have still a lot of work to do reconnecting that building to those communities.”

Establishing a Native studies minor at William & Mary, a direct outgrowth of her research, has been part of that effort. 

For several decades the American Indian Resource Center and colleagues in the Department of Anthropology have engaged in community-driven work that has built strong partnerships with Native communities in the region and beyond. Additional initiatives in the Office of Strategic Cultural Partnerships also see to cultivate reciprocal relationships with Native communities. 

Moretti-Langholtz stressed the importance of bringing the findings back to the Indigenous communities whose ancestors had attended the Indian school at William & Mary. She managed to retrace the tribal affiliations of four of the Brafferton students to their respective communities — Pamunkey, Nottoway, Wyandot and Cherokee — and credited Buck Woodard M.A. ’07, Ph.D. ’13, now an anthropologist at American University, for the actions that came next.

“Buck suggested that we seek funding to offer artists from the four communities to create individual works of art to express their community’s perspective on the Brafferton Indian School,” she said. “The Muscarelle Museum of Art generously stepped up, providing the funds for this part of the project. The artists were given full authority to create a response to the Brafferton story: whatever response their communities wanted.” 

It was a really emotional moment when these artworks came back, said Moretti-Langholtz. While embodying Native narratives of the Brafferton Indian School, these objects also represent a point of connection between these communities and the university: On Nov. 14, she will shed more light on their significance. 

The Tack Faculty Lecture Series is made possible through a generous commitment by Martha ’78 and Carl Tack ’78. Initially launched in 2012, the Tacks’ commitment has created an endowment for the series of speakers from the W&M faculty.

Antonella Di Marzio, Senior Research Writer

Photo: Apple TV

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, based on David Grann’s 2007 book of the same name, tells the true story of the Osage Nation and the crimes committed against their people in 1920s Oklahoma. Scorsese’s goal in telling the story was to refocus the narrative on the Osage themselves, rather than the early days of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Despite having an endorsement from Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear of the Osage Nation, the film, in its second week of release and trailing closely behind Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, is beginning to widen into a bigger and deeper conversation about, as Chief Standing Bear calls it, “challenging history.”

Devery Jacobs, who starred in Hulu’s acclaimed Reservation Dogs, critiqued the film, calling it “painful, grueling, unrelenting and unnecessarily graphic.” Jacobs, who is a Native actress from Canada and activist, shared “strong feelings” in a Twitter thread on October 23. “I don’t feel that these very real people were shown honor or dignity in the horrific portrayal of their deaths,” she wrote. “Contrarily, I believe that by showing more murdered Native women on screen, it normalizes the violence committed against us and further dehumanizes our people.”

“Indig ppl exist beyond our grief, trauma & atrocities,” she said. “Our pride for being Native, our languages, cultures, joy & love are way more interesting & humanizing than showing the horrors white men inflicted on us.”

In a statement from October 20, Chief Standing Bear said the atrocities laid bare the truth. “Killers of the Flower Moon is an Osage story of trust and betrayal as directed by Martin Scorsese,” Standing Bear in a statement. “While watching, you need to know that this is a true story. Many Osage lives were lost, and whole family trees were forever altered. The film lays bare the truth and injustices done to us, while challenging history not to be repeated. We honor our ancestors who endured this time by continuing to survive and ensuring our future, guided by our Wahzhazhe culture and traditions.”

Gianna Sieke, an Osage Nation princess from 2021 to 2023 who worked on the film, discussed the difficulty of the history portrayed with Today. “It does tell our dark history, but it’s also including things that no one really knows, and it hasn’t been expressed to Osage people and anyone because it’s a dark history,” Sieke said. “People don’t really talk about it that much. And because of that, [the movie] has made a really big impact. Families are learning to cope and understand.” Regarding a scene in which Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone) learns about a family tragedy, Osage Nation Congress member Brandy Lemon, who worked as a liaison between the film and the Osage community, told Today she “still wasn’t ready for it.” “It just hit me in the gut so hard, and every time I watch it, it still does,” she said.

Another point of discussion became Scorsese’s choice to make Ernest Burkhart, a white man who committed the film’s central crimes played by Leonardo DiCaprio, the main character. Christopher Cote, an Osage language consultant on the film, told The Hollywood Reporter on October 19 that “Martin Scorsese, not being Osage, I think he did a great job representing our people, but this history is being told almost from the perspective of Ernest Burkhart — they kind of give him this conscience and kind of depict that there’s love,” he said at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. “But when somebody conspires to murder your entire family, that’s not love. That’s not love, that’s just beyond abuse.”

“I think in the end, the question that you can be left with is: How long will you be complacent with racism?” Cote said. “How long will you go along with something and not say something, not speak up, how long will you be complacent? I think that’s because this film isn’t made for an Osage audience: It was made for everybody, not Osage. For those that have been disenfranchised, they can relate; but for other countries that have their acts and their history of oppression, this is an opportunity for them to ask themselves this question of morality, and that’s how I feel about this film.”

Appreciating Native American culture isn’t just about learning its history, but also about embracing its present. You can do some of both by going to Pow Wows in California—celebrations with traditional dancing, singing, drumming, and feasting—and also by participating in annual festivals that celebrate art, crafts, and contemporary films made by Native American artists. Some events honor elders or the acorn harvest, while others have been known to showcase rising comedians.

Many annual events happen in November, during Native American Heritage Month, as well as in September, to coincide with California Native American Day (always on the fourth Friday of that month). Check out these events for your own enrichment, and keep in mind that exact dates may vary from year to year.

April: Redding Rancheria Earth Day, Redding

Observe Earth Day on the grounds of the Win-River Casino, located on the Redding Rancheria that is the reservation home of descendants of the Pit-River, Wintu, and Yana tribes. Learn about eco-friendly practices while shopping vendors offering Native American clothes, jewelry, and cuisine.

June: Honored Elders Day, Sacramento

Elders are revered within Native cultures as the keepers of history and traditions, and this annual event honors tribal elders from all over California. While they enjoy a lunch and ceremony inside Sacramento’s State Indian Museum, the general public is invited to the museum grounds for performances, artisan vendors, and Indian tacos.

June: American Indian Arts Marketplace, Los Angeles

Shop for Native artwork, jewelry, and fashion at this annual event at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, taking breaks to watch live performances by Native Voices, the museum’s resident theater company. This museum in Griffith Park is home to one of the nation’s largest collections of Native American art and artifacts, so check the museum’s exhibitions or events pages for more Native art exhibits or performances throughout the year.

June: Native American Arts Festival Week, Idyllwild

This week at Idyllwild Arts—an acclaimed arts center in the San Bernardino County town of Idyllwild—celebrates Native American–made art that spans the generations, from bird singing to stand-up comedy. During the summer, check the calendar for more Native craft workshops on basketmaking, jewelry-making, and cooking.

June: California Native Ways Festival, Berkeley

Learn about the intricate details and artistic flair involved in creating native baskets, tule canoes, and other crafts at this festival in Berkeley’s Ohlone Park. The day typically features artists from tribes including the Pomo, Mewok (also spelled “Miwok” and “Me-Wuk”), and Karuk, as well as a panel discussion about the significance of California Indian place names.

September: Me-Wuk Acorn Festival, Tuolumne

Join the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians to celebrate the annual harvest of local black oak acorns in Tuolumne County. The festivities include dancers, craft vendors, and hand games.

September: California Native American Day, San Bernardino

Observe California Native American Day on the campus of Cal State University, San Bernardino, where the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will throw a party of music and dancing. The free event often features Miwok and Yurok singing and dancing, as well as Cahuilla birdsongs.

September: Round Valley Indian Tribes California Indian Days, Covelo

Come for the parade, cultural dances, a chili cookoff, and more at this reservation in Mendocino County. Stay for the Western Play Day at the local rodeo grounds, and make the most of gaming at the reservation’s Hidden Oaks Casino.

September: Moompetam Festival, Long Beach

Visit the Aquarium of the Pacific for a celebration of several local Native cultures. Check out craft demonstrations, storytelling sessions, and music and dance performances from a variety of coastal indigenous tribes, including Tongva, Chumash, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay. Festival admission is included with your ticket to the Long Beach aquarium.

October: Morongo Music & Cultural Fest

Camp on the grounds of the Morongo Casino & Resort during this weekend in Greater Palm Springs that blends Native culture with global good feelings. In between musical acts, spend the night in an on-site teepee, take a sacred poetry lesson, or bliss out in drum, meditation, or yoga sessions.

October: Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Berkeley

Celebrate October’s three-day weekend in Berkeley, which was the first town to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 1992, 500 years after Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. A few years after that first observance, Santa Cruzadopted the holiday and other cities have since followed suit. The original party is still in Berkeley at MLK Civic Center Park, and features both a Pow Wow and Indian market.

To celebrate in Southern California, head to Santa Ana in Orange County, where the Plaza of the Sun at the Santa Ana Civic Center hosts a free community event over the weekend with music and dancing.

October: Native Arts Expo, Mendocino

Browse Native-made art and jewelry at the Mendocino Art Center. The weekend typically includes musical performances, workshops, panel discussions, and a film screening.

November: Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival

Learn about the Coso Petroglyphs—one of the finest collections of ancient drawings in the world—at this annual festival in the Kern County town of Ridgecrest. Enjoy a street fair, live Native American music, and tours of Petroglyph Park to learn more about these thousands of carvings of animals and abstract designs, which are usually off limits to visitors.

November: California American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, San Marcos

Located in north San Diego County, the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center hosts this festival of new films from Native American filmmakers, producers, directors, and actors. Along with screenings, the festival at California State University–San Marcos includes panel discussions, dialogues with film industry pros, and post-screening Q&A sessions.

November: American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco

Watch screenings and panels at the world’s longest-running festival dedicated to films by Native Americans and First Nations people of Canada. The San Francisco festival lineup often includes other culturally minded events, too, such as a cooking demo by chef Crystal Wahpepah from Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland.

November: LA Skins Fest, Hollywood

Catch screenings of indigenous artist–made films at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theater. The festival, which has been running since the early 2000s, gives out awards for documentary, animated, and narrative films, as well as special awards for actors, writers, and directors.

Thanks to her breakout role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone is a major Oscars contender this year. And the Indigenous actor (and British Vogue cover star) has the A-list red carpet style to match her awards season buzz. Though she hasn’t had a traditional press tour for the film—in compliance with the SAG-AFTRA strikes—Gladstone has been intentional with her select appearances on the step and repeats this year. Whether at fashion month, or last night’s Time100 Next event in New York City, Gladstone has been using her moment in the spotlight to uplift and support the Indigenous designers within her community.

Working with stylist Jason Rembert, Gladstone started her thoughtful approach to red carpet attire back at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (before the SAG-AFTRA strike was put into effect). At the premiere of her Scorsese film, the star wore a floral Valentino gown punctuated with a pair of tiered dentalium earrings by Jamie Okuma—the first Indigenous designer to be inducted into the CFDA, hailing from the La Jolla Indian Reservation in southern California. Later that week, for the film’s official photo call, Gladstone wore a black caped Chanel ensemble, accessorized with a pair of beaded and dentalium earrings by Shelby LeeAnn Gorman. Her jewelry choices, including a copper Jennifer Younger necklace for the premiere after-party in Cannes, were a stylish nod to her own heritage.

In Valentino and Jamie Okuma earrings

Photo: Getty Images

Even in the absence of a full press tour, Gladstone has continuously worn pieces from Native artists. At Louis Vuitton’s spring 2024 show in Paris, for one, Gladstone wore an ensemble from the French house finished with a pair of dangly steel earrings by Woempe Designs. At Loewe, she chose golden El Techichi earrings resembling a calla lily. Just last night, at the Time100 Next event in New York, Gladstone wore a printed dress by the Indigenous label Burning Wagon Designs, finished with an Hermès coat and Jennifer Younger earrings.

Gladstone’s approach is commendable, since so few Indigenous designers are spotlighted on the red carpet. It also serves as a snapshot into what could have been on a Killers of the Flower Moon press tour. If the Oscars end up happening next year, pending strike negotiations, you can bet that Gladstone will deliver another spectacular Native fashion moment. And we simply can’t wait for it.

Below, more of Gladstone’s best red carpet looks.

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2023) – The University Galleries at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host the 2023 Alumni Art Exhibition during its homecoming celebration. Set to present a diverse range of styles, subjects and mediums, the group exhibition will showcase alumni artists from the university’s Visual Arts Program.

The exhibition’s opening reception is Thursday, Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m., and will be on display through Dec. 13.

“Over 100 works of art are being exhibited from more than 50 A&T visual arts alumni,” said Roy Carter, A&T associate professor and director of the Visual Arts Program. “This is a massive collection of work from our visual arts graduates who are recognized artists across the nation and the globe.”

The exhibition will spotlight the work of numerous outstanding alumni, including Durham, North Carolina native Jalen Jackson ‘21, the featured artist for the show. He has been highlighted in Walter Magazine and various group exhibitions across North Carolina, including 311 Art Gallery, Anchorlight Studios, Wake Tech, The Fruit and Artspace, where he’s the 2023 Artspace HBCU Artist-in-Residence in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

For this exhibition, Jackson captures his childhood memories in oil paintings that resonate with cultural experiences, especially growing up as a son of a single mother. He said his paintings are the best way to show his appreciation toward his mother and his motivation throughout his journey as an artist.

“The woman who raised me has been the best mother, teacher, role model and muse I could ever ask for,” said Jackson. “My goal is to create a sense of nostalgia while giving a representation of Black soul for whoever interacts with my work.”

Other highlighted artists in the alumni exhibit include Charles Joyner, a North Carolinian who portrays images that document various genres of African American and African culture. His artwork is a transparency of his life growing up in rural North Carolina that has been strongly influenced by his travels in West Africa. A retired professor of design at North Carolina State University, Joyner has been creating, exhibiting and teaching art for more than thirty years. His works have won numerous awards in national exhibitions and are exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the southeast. Joyner earned a B.A. in art and design from A&T and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“These artists and others that have come through this program are why we have been able to be successful as a historically Black college/university art program,” said Carter. “Our job is to mentor, guide and develop them as professionals.”

Another well-known artist showcased in the exhibition is Vandorn Hinnant, a visual artist, poet and educator based in Durham. He received a B.A. in art and design from A&T. His works of art are in private collections in Africa, North America and Europe, and public collections across North America. Hinnant leads hands-on workshops on “The Geometry of Art and Life” for learners of all ages. He is co-author with Robert Powell Sr. and Robert Powell Jr. of the book: “The Rest of Euclid: An Ancient Architecture of Arithmetic and the Modern Theory of Number.”

The exhibit will be open to the public during normal University Galleries hours, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday by appointment. Exhibitions are free. Group tours are welcome. For more information, call Carter at 336-334-3209.

Nov. 2

Alumni Panel Discussion, 11 a.m.-noon

Opening Reception, 5:30 -7:30 p.m. (Greetings begin at 6 p.m.)

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Henry Clinton Taylor Gallery, Dudley Building

202 University Circle

Greensboro, NC 27411

Student Workshops

Alumni artists will hold workshops and portfolio presentations throughout the exhibition.

In addition, the University Galleries feature virtual exhibitions, which include:

“Black Art Matters,” https://www.ncat.edu/cahss/gallery/black-art-matters.php

“Rosa: The Works of Bryan Collier,” https://www.ncat.edu/cahss/gallery/collier/index.php

“Songs from the Motherland: Musical Instruments from the Permanent Collection,” https://www.ncat.edu/cahss/gallery/songs-from-the-motherland/index.php

To learn more, visit the University Galleries website.

CATHY WURZER: A new art exhibition at MIA in Minneapolis is breaking some boundaries. It’s the museum’s first show featuring photography of exclusively Native people by exclusively Native photographers. In Our Hands, Native Photography 1890 to Now opened Sunday, runs through January 14. Jaida Grey Eagle is a Saint Paul-based documentary and editorial photographer and cocurator of the exhibit. Jill Yohe is MIA’s associate director of Native American Art. And Jaida and Jill are both on the line. Glad to have you both here.

JILL YOHE: Thank you.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Thank you so much for having us.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, I’m excited that you’re both here. Jaida, what’s the story behind this exhibit?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Yeah. So in 2019 after graduating from the Institute of American Indian Arts, I came on at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as a curatorial fellow under the Shakopee Mdewakanton Fellowship Program. And Jill, who’s on the line, and Cassie Riley, we all came together and were interested in talking about having a Native photography show.

And so that was kind of the first, I believe, it– I started around March, 2020. And then COVID happened, and so these conversations moved to Zoom. And Jill correct me, but I believe it was that October we had our first meeting with our curatorial council.

JILL YOHE: Yes.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: And yeah, it’s been on the go since. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: Jill.

JILL YOHE: Yeah. I think that Jaida coming was a wonderful experience. Shakopee Mdewakanton Fellowship has been extraordinary offering these opportunities. And Jaida has been thinking about photography for a long time, as Cassie Riley, our curator of photography. And we have a great collection of photography at MIA. But we have had little representation of Native photography. And so we thought, let’s do an exhibition.

We pitched the show during the beginning of COVID. And we knew what was required to do a show of this breadth and scope was to understand that we need to draw upon the experience of those who have dedicated their lives. So we created a council of 14 curatorial council members from all over, what is now US and Canada. And they helped create this exhibition from the very onset to the culmination of the exhibition that you can come and see now.

CATHY WURZER: Say, let me ask you a little bit about the history of photography of Native Americans. I mean, if I’m thinking back to some of my art classes, it dates back to what the 1850s, some of the earliest photos of Native Americans. And some photographers became quite famous for their depictions of Native Americans. What’s your view of the body of work of those photographers? And are they included in this exhibit? Jill, I’ll start with you.

JILL YOHE: Those photographers, including Edward Curtis, they’ve had many exhibitions. And our council decided this is a time for us to see what Native photographers of that contemporaries with people like Edward Curtis, the weight and beauty and power of that kind of photography. We placed this show in the hands of our curatorial council. And we asked the question, what happens when a camera is placed in the hands of Native artists and community members?

CATHY WURZER: So let me get this right. Jaida, there are more than 150 images over more than 100 years in this exhibition. And I was a little surprised to hear that this is the museum’s first show featuring exclusively Native photography, right? So what did you make of some of the images that you’ve seen so far?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Oh, I think that they’re so incredibly inspiring. For myself, as an emerging photographer, to see the work of people who have dedicated their lives to this medium in conversation with people that are my age or even younger in this exhibition, it’s so special. And I think it’s just– I mean, I keep saying it over and over again, but it’s incredibly inspiring.

CATHY WURZER: Jill, going back to maybe some of the earlier photos in the exhibit that were taken decades and decades ago, at the turn of the century, the 20th century, Native American photographers kind of took the representation of their people into their own hands, right? So is that clear in this exhibit?

JILL YOHE: Absolutely. Some of the photographs that you see are historic photographs show Native photographers beautifully using the medium in different ways and focusing on that which is important for those photographers at the time, family, working with the medium itself, understanding self-representation like Benjamin Haldane who has a great self portrait of him in his studio in the late 19th century. Just an extraordinary glimpse into Native life from Native eyes.

CATHY WURZER: And how different is that versus what many of us saw, as they say in our art classes, with photos taken from, say, predominantly white photographers? Can you explain that to people?

JILL YOHE: I feel when you enter the galleries, you’re going to feel something special. You’re going to see Native presence, you’re going to feel Native presence, you’re going to understand Native presence in an entirely different way. You’re going to see the ingenuity of Native photographers stretching the medium, indigenizing the medium, staking claim to issues that are important for all people like social justice, environmental justice. And that was created as long as photography has been in the hands of all people.

CATHY WURZER: Jaida, do you want to make a comment on that?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Yeah. I hope that when people enter that they spend time with it. They spend time with each theme. They spend time with our media. They listen to our guides. Because this was a process created in community for the community. And I think that that’s really represented and reflective with not only the work but with the scholarship that was created during this.

CATHY WURZER: Say, Jaida, do you have a favorite photo from the exhibition? I suppose that’s really hard, but I’m going to ask you that anyway. I know. I know.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: I say something different every time because they are all my favorite. I am stunned by the opening image that we have from Ryan RedCorn, which is from a series that he did called Osage Cooks. And it is of a woman named Selena White and she– as soon as you come down that main hallway at the MIA, you see her image.

And I believe it’s 10 foot tall. And it just takes up space and you just see her. And for myself, I’m just drawn to her. She is wrapped in several blankets, several shawls, and just the color of the portrait is so striking. And yeah, that’s probably my favorite image at the– today. Today, that is my favorite image.

CATHY WURZER: It can always change, and that’s OK. Jill, how about you? Just curious.

JILL YOHE: Oh, yeah. I will say, I have favorites like Jaida every single day. I was just giving a gallery talk upstairs and I found a new favorite. But I think the thing that is the most favorite for me is seeing in many times for the first time ever, these works in conversation with each other over decades, over centuries. And something special happens, they’re together. And they’re bringing life to each other, and they’re dialoguing and talking with each other. That’s my favorite part.

CATHY WURZER: It sounds beautiful. I’m so glad that you both took time to talk with us about it. Thank you so much.

JILL YOHE: Thank you so much.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Thank you for having us.

CATHY WURZER: Jaida Grey Eagle has been with us. Jaida is a Saint Paul-based documentary and editorial photographer. Jill Yohe is MIA’s associate curator of Native American art. Both are curators behind the new exhibit In Our Hands, Native photography 1890 to Now, opened Sunday at MIA, runs through January the 14th.

October 25, 2023 — 

The Indigenous Student-Led Indigenous Art Purchase Program (ISLIAPP) is looking for passionate Indigenous students at the University of Manitoba to join a committee that aims to decolonize art collections on UM campuses.

The ISLIAPP’s goal is to transform the composition of university art collections by adding contemporary Indigenous art each year, selected by a committee of five to seven Indigenous students.

This committee will engage with artists and curators and select works for acquisition. The new additions will receive exhibitions in the School of Art Gallery at the Fort Garry campus.

The ISLIAPP is looking for five to seven committee members who meet the following criteria:

• Current Indigenous students at UM, from any faculty
• Students with knowledge and experience with Indigenous cultures, communities, protocols and practices
• Students with an interest in art and contemporary Indigenous artists; experience in an arts-related field is an asset
• Preference will be given to individuals who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit

Applications are requested in the form of a letter of interest, which should include some biographical information, an explanation of why you want to sit on the committee and some artists you’re excited about.

The deadline to apply is Nov. 9, 2023. For complete information and to apply, please visit the ISLIAPP web page. Students can also fill out the online application form.

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Cherokee Nation is once again celebrating Native perspective and influence on the comic con scene with the return of SkasdiCon.

The family-friendly event will take place on Nov. 4 from noon to 7 p.m. at Northeastern State University in the University Center Ballroom at 612 N. Grand Ave. The event is free to attendees 18 and under, students with a school I.D., and those dressed in cosplay costumes. General admission is $5.

More than 40 Indigenous artists will be sharing their work alongside Native pop culture panels, film screenings, and a cosplay competition. This year, the competition categories have been expanded to also include a youth division.

“SkasdiCon Vol. II is shaping up to be an incredible event. We were blown away by the reception of this event last year, and we’ve worked hard to expand our panels, special guests list, entertainment and activities,” said Callie Chunestudy, cultural programs and events project manager for Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism. “We hope the public joins us for an exciting day with talented artists and vendors who are eager to share their passion and love for both Native culture and pop culture alike.”

The word “skasdi” is Cherokee slang. It’s a playful word that represents pride, impressiveness, awesomeness, fierceness, or feistiness, which can all describe many comic book and video game characters represented by artists and cosplayers that participate at comic cons.

Guests can expect appearances from special guests, such as Jhane Myers and Kaniehtiio Horn. Myers is most known for her many productions, including “Prey,” “1883,” “Magnificent Seven,” and more. Horn has also spent time in the film industry in her recent role of Deer Lady in “Reservation Dogs” and her role in “Letterkenny,” for which she was awarded a Canadian Screen Award.

Guests can also expect an appearance from special guest Jana Schmieding. Schmieding is known for her breakout role as “Reagan” on Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls.” Schmieding frequents on FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and voices Zelda Fox on Fox’s animated sitcom “The Great North.”

For more information, including a full event schedule, cosplay rules and regulations, and a list of participating artists, creators, and cosplay judges, visit https://skasdicon.com/.

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In a former boat repair workshop in Venice, down a narrow alley just off the Grand Canal dead-ending at the water’s edge, hides a space now used as a painting studio with Corinthian columns and skylights overhead. Towering canvases hang on every surface. Many more are stacked like dominoes in the corners. A bloody shade of red, the artist’s signature color, mixed from an oil paint base of alizarin crimson, is pervasive in the abstract work here.

“I’ve used it again and again and again and again,” says Anish Kapoor, the 69-year-old British Indian artist behind this particular hue, chatting in his newly occupied Venice studio in August. Kapoor has spent decades exploring the possibilities of this corporeal color, in three-dimensional objects forged from silicone, wax and other malleable materials and, increasingly, in gobs of thick paint on canvas.

Kapoor is best known as a sculptor of monumental, abstract, perception-defying works of public art, mirrored surfaces that seem to have no beginning or end, like Cloud Gate, better known as “The Bean,” his apparently seamless 110-ton stainless steel ellipse in Chicago’s Millennium Park, and immersive forms so enormous they consume entire building interiors, like Leviathan, his bulbous PVC balloon installation that filled the Grand Palais in Paris in 2011.

Kapoor has had a decades-long obsession with negative space, with the void—the “non-object,” he calls it—in all its permutations, cutting up museums and galleries with site-specific gashes in the walls and black holes in the floors that seem to have no end.

In 2016, he sealed a deal with British technology firm Surrey NanoSystems for the exclusive use of Vantablack, touted as the blackest substance on earth, a technological marvel developed for scientific and stealth applications and produced in a high-temperature reactor. Kapoor had to sign an agreement under the Official Secrets Act at the British Home Office before he could negotiate a lock on its artistic use.

A number of artists began criticizing Kapoor publicly after news broke of his monopoly on the “world’s blackest black.” British painter Stuart Semple responded tongue-in-cheek by unveiling what he called the “pinkest pink,” offering his fluorescent hue for sale online, but requiring each buyer to first confirm “you are not Anish Kapoor, you are in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, you are not purchasing this item on behalf of Anish Kapoor.” Kapoor replied with an image on Instagram of his middle finger drenched in Semple’s “pinkest pink.”

“That silly young fellow,” says Kapoor of his 43-year-old faux nemesis. “I understand the impulse to say, ‘How can a color be exclusive?’ But it isn’t a color.”

Vantablack is not even “a paint,” he explains, but “a highly complicated, bloody difficult, damned expensive technical process, and extremely fragile,” less a color than the absence of it, absorbing light, so that a coating applied in lab conditions makes three-dimensional objects, like a sphere protruding from a cube, appear head-on to be entirely flat. “Is there an object? Is there not an object? Is it real, not real?” says Kapoor of the mystifying work he produced with the material after years of trial and error, unveiling the first pieces at an exhibition in Venice in spring 2022.

Kapoor’s art often requires teams of collaborators to execute, and months—even years—to bring to fruition. Along with the technicians, fabricators and stone carvers employed by his London studio over the years, he’s tapped structural engineers, architects, shipbuilders and mirror-makers, among other experts. As a respite from his laborious collaborative work, in recent years he’s been embracing a more solitary focus on painting, spending hours alone working in his studios in London and Venice.

“Having this physical work that he can make immediately and by himself I think just gives him an energy, an outlet,” says Greg Hilty, partner and curatorial director at Lisson, a gallery in London where Kapoor’s work is regularly on exhibition, “and, also, is a counterpoint to some of the more shiny work, the sublime work. In his mind, they couldn’t exist in the world without each other.”

Kapoor’s canvases sometimes have a three-dimensional quality, jutting out from the surface as they blur the lines between painting and sculpture. They tend to be spontaneous, visceral works, exploring messy, violent, often sexual themes, in brutal abstractions conjuring flesh ripped open exposing viscera and blood, fiery rivers of lava rushing past. A trio of large paintings hanging in the Venice studio feature the outlines of a prone figure gushing torrents of red. “It’s the body, if you like, expunging its interior,” says Kapoor. The piece was inspired, in part, by a late medieval painting he saw hanging in Padua depicting the death of the Madonna.

Still, this high-octane body of work is particularly jarring taken alongside the cold precision of Kapoor’s conceptual sculptures.

“You know there are two sides to Anish, what I call the clean side, the polished side, and then there’s the dirty side, and it was when I saw the dirty side that I understood the clean side as well,” says British curator Norman Rosenthal, former exhibitions secretary of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, who helped organize Kapoor’s first showing there in 2009.

Kapoor echoes the sentiment. “There’s this way in which I’ve worked which is very pure, very clean and all that,” he says, of his precise sculptural work. “But I had a feeling there’s something else, which is more essential. I don’t know what the word is, because they’re both essential, in fact. They’re not in conflict, but they are different ways of seeing the world.”

Kapoor was born in Mumbai when it was still called Bombay, in 1954, to a Punjabi Hindu father and a mother of Iraqi Jewish heritage. He arrived in London for art school in 1973. Eighteen years later he won the Turner Prize, Britain’s highest art accolade. In 2013, he was knighted by Elizabeth II for “services to visual arts” in her annual birthday honors.

“I’ve always had a very strange relationship to England and to London,” he says, reflecting on his adopted country, India’s former colonial ruler. “I’ve lived there longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, had my children there, got married there, built too many homes there … it’s a complicated history with England for me—Sir-bloody-Anish, all that crap. So, in a sense you get drawn into the establishment, but at the same time I’ve always felt uncomfortable about it.”

Now, after 50 years living in Britain, Kapoor has begun shifting his center of gravity to Venice. “What I like about being in Italy is, unequivocally, I’m a foreigner and I like that,” he says.

“Venice,” says Hilty, “represents in many ways historically and symbolically an opening up of Europe to the wider world, in some ways a meeting of East and West, kind of like Istanbul. And that’s Anish’s world, really, neither west nor east but some dynamic fusion or dialogue between them.”   

In 2018, Kapoor took over the Palazzo Priuli Manfrin, an abandoned Venetian landmark, with layers of history extending back to the 16th century and a grand ballroom overlooking the Cannaregio Canal, announcing his intention to establish a foundation headquarters, a future home for his archive and a new creative hub there. “In very large terms I try to think of it as a working space in which I might leave some works and maybe ask some artists to come and do something else, or use part of it,” he says.

Last year, with restoration work on the building ongoing, he set up his new painting studio across town. This winter he plans to move the studio into a much larger space nearer the palazzo, in a former factory building with room enough to also produce sculpture on-site.

Kapoor has been enthralled with Venice since 1990 at least, when he was chosen to represent Britain at the 44th contemporary art Biennale. The work he showed at the British Pavilion—including Void Field (16 imposing sandstone blocks on the floor) and The Healing of St. Thomas (a red gash in the wall)—won him the Premio Duemila for artists under 35 (even though, controversially, Kapoor had turned 36 by then). “On the day of the opening, I walked into a restaurant, the whole restaurant stood up and applauded,” he says. “That was so touching, wonderful.”

He returned frequently to Venice over the years, showing new work during subsequent Biennales. Eventually he bought an apartment there. “I’ve had this very long association with Venice,” he says. “I’ve always felt it to be good to me, and good to the work. I like that it’s a village and that it’s cosmopolitan. I still have my studio in London, spend roughly half my time between here and there, but I do feel more and more that it’s home, Venice.”

Though works on paper and canvas have always been part of his practice, they’ve become much more of a focus over the last ten years as he’s embraced a new parallel path to his work as a sculptor. “I’ve watched so many colleagues do what they do and then they do what they do. It’s not my road,” he says. “I’m interested in what I don’t know and what I haven’t done. I feel that’s the real mission of the artist.”

These days when he’s in painting mode, whether he’s in London or Venice, Kapoor tries to finish a canvas a day. “I’m pretty prolific—I’ve got a hell of a lot of work. I probably let 10 percent out into the world on a yearly basis,” he says. To store it all, recently Kapoor purchased a huge warehouse north of London. Much of the unreleased work there, he says, will be donated to the foundation eventually, so that his children won’t be responsible for managing these portions of his estate after he’s gone—he has a son and two daughters from two different marriages.

Even away from the studio his output is impressive. Along with homes outside London and in Venice, he has places in Harbour Island in the Bahamas and in Jodhpur, India. He produces works on paper at all of the sites, mostly colorful gouache abstractions. There are literally hundreds stashed in drawers at the London studio, categorized based on where they’re made. The Jewish Museum in New York will showcase a few of them in a works-on-paper show next year.

In recent years Kapoor’s paintings have become a much bigger presence in his gallery and museum shows, often presented alongside his precise machine-made sculptural objects. A whole crop of new paintings will make their public debut in November in a broad survey of his new work at the Lisson Gallery’s New York outpost, opening just after Kapoor’s mini-retrospective in Florence, Italy, at the Palazzo Strozzi art space.

By now Kapoor has begun mastering the bewildering maze of pedestrian roads and bridges that snake through the Venice canals. “I’m mostly successful in finding ways of going through the back streets where there aren’t thousands of tourists,” he says as we cut across town for a late lunch in August.

When he bought the sprawling Palazzo Priuli Manfrin from the local government—which lacked the funds to restore it—he had little idea what he’d do with the space. Curator Mario Codognato, a Venice native and old friend of Kapoor’s from his early days as a young artist in London, first introduced him to the building.

Codognato, the former chief curator of the MADRE contemporary art museum in Naples, where he often showed Kapoor’s art, has been working on the renovation ever since, after signing on as director of Kapoor’s new foundation. “The project grew so organically,” says Codognato, who first suggested basing the foundation in Venice. Initially, he found a smaller site for the headquarters inside an existing art foundation before hearing about the Palazzo Priuli Manfrin.

Over the last 20 years some of the most important palazzos in Venice, historic landmarks once occupied by the city’s most powerful families, have been snapped up by deep-pocketed buyers, among them some of the world’s biggest contemporary art collectors, who’ve opened them up to the public as private museums—showcases for their art foundations—adding bookshops, ticket offices and sleek new gallery spaces. French fashion tycoon François Pinault runs two outposts of his Pinault Collection, at the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The Prada Foundation also has an art space in Venice. And billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen is finishing up work on two more foundation spaces, including the 18th-century Palazzo Diedo near Kapoor’s foundation.

“The thing about all these foundation buildings, and there are more and more of them, is that they are done to the nines; they are really done. I want to do exactly the opposite,” says Kapoor. “I don’t want to touch it, or hardly touch it.”

Kapoor scrapped early plans from a local architect, Giulia Foscari, for a bookshop and café on the ground floor, preferring to leave the whole site open-ended for now, with simple infrastructure upgrades. “There will be beautiful rooms to show works in, to make works in … and then we’ll see,” he says.

Kapoor hopes to preserve the sense of decay in the space, cleaning up the 18th-century frescoes and other decorative elements left behind over the years but not changing much else. “I don’t want restoration; what I want is conservation,” he says.

The palazzo was in decent shape when Codognato first found it. Kapoor, an astute student of history, says he was drawn to the building with its soaring double-height ballroom before he learned of its role in the history of art in Venice.

The first portions of the building were completed in the 16th century, when it was home to the aristocratic Priuli family, who produced three doges, the rulers of Venice. In the late 18th century, the palazzo underwent upgrades under a new owner, Girolamo Manfrin, a social-climbing tobacco merchant who burnished his reputation as a tastemaker by opening up his home, and its important collection of art, to prominent figures of the day.

“Mr. Manfrin was a great art collector. He had everything from Giorgione’s La Tempesta to various Rembrandts, all sorts of magical stuff, which I didn’t know when we were negotiating for the building,” says Kapoor.

After Manfrin’s death in 1801 or 1802 (questions remain about the exact year), some of his collection wound up eventually at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, one of the most venerable art institutions in Venice. Over the years Manfrin’s palazzo went into decay. Catholic nuns moved in for a time in the 1900s. The building, though, had been empty for years by the time Kapoor stepped in.

Work has gone slowly in the five years since he first saw the site. “Doing anything in Venice is a nightmare,” he says of the bureaucracy. A completion date for construction still hasn’t been set. “It is an artist’s project,” says Codognato, “so, in a way [it’s] permanently in progress.”

In a full-circle moment during last year’s Biennale, Kapoor was invited to exhibit his own work among Manfrin’s collection at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, as part of an ongoing program showcasing contemporary art. Though Manfrin’s palazzo was still a work in progress, he decided to put renovations on hold so he could also show work there. “We did this folly of expanding the exhibition into this half-destroyed, half-not building,” says Codognato. “The fire brigade were not enthusiastic about it. We had to do a lot of work to make them happy.”

Kapoor filled the ballroom with heaps of red wax, part of a theatrical installation, Symphony for a Beloved Sun, he’d shown years earlier in Berlin. Concave mirror works, turning the world upside down, were displayed under an 18th-century fresco of Medusa. “Obviously, she has to have the mirror,” says Kapoor, of the choice of backdrop.

Though the show closed in October of last year, there are a few remnants in the building as we tour the palazzo. Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto, an inverted mountain of silicone and red paint that had anchored the entry, lies partially dismantled. The piece, referencing the historic Jewish ghetto of Venice—the main entrance is just across the canal—might be reinstalled after the renovation is done.

Fractal towers of powdered pigment were removed, part of another piece from the Kapoor archive, White Sand, Red Millet, Many Flowers, leaving behind colored outlines on the floor. “It’s the absent work,” says Kapoor as we walk through the space. The piece, which dates back to 1982, is a variation on his early breakout pigment series, 1,000 Names, which was inspired in part by the colors of India following his first return trip after art school in the late 1970s.

“I went with my parents, my brothers and my wonderful girlfriend at the time. We just traveled—architecture, temples, all that business,” he says. “I saw stuff, felt connected, and then I came back from that trip and a few months later I began to make my first pigment works.”

Kapoor, the eldest of three brothers, was born into a well-heeled Indian family six years after the country won independence from Britain. His father, a hydrographer, in charge of map-making in the Indian Navy, encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps with professional careers. Kapoor’s mother, an amateur dressmaker, cantor’s daughter and “Sunday painter,” was more open to her eldest son’s artistic interests. She made copies of works by Henri Matisse, he says. “I would finish them for her, and go off in a different direction, start with Matisse and then go somewhere else.”

When Kapoor was a teenager, his family moved to the foothills of the Himalayas, where he and one of his brothers attended one of India’s most prestigious private academies, the Doon School, the country’s answer to Eton, the elite British boarding school. Kapoor, who is dyslexic, says he “hated every single second of it. I was a terrible, terrible student, terrible at sports, a complete slacker.”

At 16, Kapoor and his brother Roy, who is a year younger, were dispatched on their own to Israel, which was offering residency to Indian Jews. “My mother was obsessed with getting us out of India,” he says. With the country struggling through a population surge and conflict with neighboring Pakistan, she hoped for a better life elsewhere.

Kapoor finished high school on a kibbutz south of Haifa and then, in a bid to make his father happy, began studying engineering at the University of the Negev (now Ben-Gurion University) in southern Israel. “I did six months. … I just couldn’t deal with it,” he says. After dropping out, he returned to the kibbutz for a bit of soul-searching. “I decided, in the midst of all my inner turmoil, I was going to be an artist,” he says.

When an art school in Jerusalem rejected his application, he hitchhiked across Europe with a Swedish friend, starting in Istanbul, en route to a new life in London.

It was the early 1970s, a time of creative and political ferment in England. Kapoor enrolled at the Hornsey College of Art in London, where he found a sense of belonging. “For the first time in my life I felt free,” he says.

The school was a hotbed of radical ideas and experimental art. Marina Abramović, then a pioneering young performance artist, was a visiting tutor. Artist Paul Neagu, a mentor on the faculty, encouraged Kapoor to think conceptually. “It really gave me the sense that being an artist, or being an object-maker, wasn’t necessarily about the object; it was about propositions through the object,” he says. “Paul didn’t use those words at all, but he worked in a way that prompted that kind of thinking for me.”

After graduation, Kapoor’s work quickly attracted attention. In 1982, when he was 28, he showed his first pieces in Venice, in the Aperto section of the Biennale devoted to young artists. “I showed next to Julian Schnabel, who put all his work in my space. We had an almighty brawl. It wasn’t very nice, but in retrospect it’s very funny,” recalls Kapoor with a laugh. “We’ve since become friends.”

But it was representing Britain at the Biennale eight years later that pushed his career into the stratosphere, opening the door to the technically challenging monumental work that followed. “Then in the art world—it’s gone now—there was strongly a sense that just because it’s big doesn’t mean that it’s good, and if it’s big, it’s probably crap,” he says. “And I tried to jump in with both feet, to take on the idea that scale is properly, fully a tool of sculpture, that we must not be embarrassed by it.”

In 1999, Kapoor beat out Jeff Koons to win the commission for a public sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park with his proposal for Cloud Gate. “Everybody said a mirrored object of this scale, it’s impossible, can’t be done,” he says. In the six years it took to complete, the budget for the 66-foot-long, 33-foot-high funhouse mirror spiraled from $8 million originally to $23 million by the time it was completed in 2005, receiving a rapturous welcome from the public as it helped usher in the selfie era as one of the first truly viral works of public art.

“When it first opened there were thousands of people, and, as ever, I go, ‘Oh no, what have I done? Disneyland, it’s so popular,’” says Kapoor. “And so, I decided to go to Chicago and sit with it, and I sat with it for two or three days, and I realized something. Going back to scale, I realized it’s a big object and not a big object, a big object and a small object. It has no joints at all; you can’t tell how big it is. When you’re near it, it’s enormous, and when you step back from it, it’s not that enormous. The shifting scale felt to me, in my terms at least, there’s a poetic quality to it. And for me that saved it.”

Kapoor’s work hasn’t always gotten such a warm response. In 2015, he unveiled a series of site-specific installations in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles outside Paris. Dirty Corner, a 200-foot-long biomorphic Corten steel funnel that seemed to erupt from the earth, was quickly maligned in the French press—the Le Figaro newspaper dubbed it the “queen’s vagina”—and marred by vandals who covered it in antisemitic graffiti. “I think it was an inside job,” says Kapoor, who met with French President François Hollande, eventually, to discuss the defacements.

Kapoor has been outspoken on many issues over the years—as a frequent fixture in the British press, he has used his stature to campaign against Brexit; rail against India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi; and advocate for refugees in the global crisis. Still, he has often said his work, as an artist, has nothing to say. “I don’t set out to make political message art. Agitprop is agitprop, doesn’t make great art,” he says. His abstractions, though, are deeply rooted in art history and in heady metaphysical notions, referencing the avant-garde ideas of early conceptual artists like Russian Kazimir Malevich and Frenchman Marcel Duchamp.

Still, there’s sometimes a prankster quality to Kapoor’s more provocative work. “I quite like being naughty and controversial,” he says.

His 2007 piece Svayambhu, which in Sanskrit means “self-made,” features ten tons of red wax and Vaseline paint on a track. The piece, tailored to the space where it’s shown, squeezes through doorways, splattering violent red streaks on the walls as it goes. It made a proper mess of the 19th-century galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts when it was installed there in 2009, squeezing through five separate doorways.

A critic in the Guardian, praising the show as “exhilarating,” “self-critical,” “funny and uncomfortable,” wrote that the piece transformed the Royal Academy galleries into “a kind of alimentary canal, an intestinal tract.”

The piece, which has continued to wreak havoc on museum galleries, traveled to Florence in October for Kapoor’s show at the Palazzo Strozzi before it continues on to the United States next year for a planned retrospective at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The work started with a simple notion of creating a form by pushing something through something else, before layers of meaning began to gel on top. “Suddenly it becomes a train, and all the associations with it, being blood—you know, blood-red—associations to everything from the Holocaust to, all kinds,” says Kapoor. “I think that’s the quality of the work: its ability to accumulate to itself layers of meaning.”

Symbols are woven into the fabric of society, and embedded with meanings. In New Mexico, our rich artistic heritage give those symbols a unique significance. 

For many creators, life revolves around painting, weaving, and carving stories into art. New Mexico captures an unbroken chain of artistic imagination that has withstood the test of time. 

Renowned Acoma potter Eric Louis makes every piece with an admiration for his lineage.

“My great-grandmother Marie Z. Chino is one of the most renowned potters from Acoma, so I can go back four generations,” said Louis.  

This multigenerational legacy shows how passionate artists are to carry on the legacy passed down to them through families and communities. 

Former KOB anchor and native New Mexican, Carla Aragon, is still inspired by our state’s mysticism.

“New Mexico is just such a jewel. We have that here, and so many times we take it for granted. We’ve had that here for centuries,” said Aragon.  

The art created by generations in New Mexico has played a pivotal role in preserving their heritage and history.

New Mexico history author and scholar Mary Montaño studies that history, dating back thousands of years. 

“Humans haven’t always been literate, and really the only way to understand your world or know what’s going on is to see pictures of it,” said Montaño.

Symbols and patterns, initially etched into the canvas of Mother Earth by Pueblo people thousands of years ago, eventually evolved into a form of language. 

In Albuquerque, the Petroglyphs National Monument stands as a living form of the drawings made thousands of years ago. For the first time, symbols came to define the lifeblood of a population and found their voice. 

Zapotec weavers like Alex Mendoza carry on the visual traditions of their people, ensuring that these symbols continue to thrive.

“Each of these motifs does have a meaning.” He represents the connection between art and culture, highlighting the significance of each symbol,” said Mendoza. 

New Mexico has been home to legendary artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Will Schuster, R.C. Gorman, Judy Chicago, and Maria Martinez, whose works have made it into the history books. 

Present-day Pueblo potters like Eric Louis draw inspiration from a silent muse; Nature. 

“The majority of our designs are coming from nature, and that’s all of us, across all cultures,” said Louis.

 Alex Dukepoo, a Laguna potter, acknowledges the legacy he is creating is important. 

“[Art is a] representation that will outlive that person.” Eric Louis agrees, saying, “I feel that responsibility to teach my children. To me, it’s important to pass that on because it can captivate a new audience.” 

Artistic momentum in New Mexico keeps clay in the kiln, chalk to paper, and paint on canvas. Thousands of years of art produced in this state prove that the possibilities for the evolution of creativity are endless.

The new mural will celebrate the city’s longtime love for the San Antonio Spurs.  
San Antonio Spurs” class=”uk-display-block uk-position-relative uk-visible-toggle”> click to enlarge

San Antonio Spurs

The new mural will celebrate the city’s longtime love for the San Antonio Spurs.

Visual artist and educator Andy Benavides has won an open call to create a 50-foot mural downtown celebrating the San Antonio Spurs — and the Alamo City native will collect a $100,000 honorarium as part of the deal.

Benavides, who’s also known for consulting on projects including San Pedro Creek Culture Park, secured the project through an open call released last month by Centro San Antonio, a local nonprofit that promotes living and working downtown. Issued through Centro’s Art Everywhere initiative, the honorarium will pay Benavides for the supplies, time and labor needed to execute the massive creation.

The Spurs-themed mural on the side of the Houston Street Garage, 111 College Street, will stand 50 feet high and 15 feet wide, making it one of the center city’s largest and most prominent pieces of public art. It’s intended to commemorate the city’s 50-year love affair with its NBA franchise.

“Notification of winning this decision was beyond words, and the emotions were off the chart!” Benavides said in a statement. “As it is now and forever will be, the San Antonio Spurs are our team ‘por vida.’”

The project — whose open call drew national attention — is part of Centro’s Art Everywhere Project, which has installed more than 140 creative works since its 2020 launch. The initiative commissions local artists to add their creative flourishes to empty urban windows and wall spaces.

Benavides was one of three semifinalists on the project and his initial design is now undergoing review by the Spurs and other stakeholders, according to Centro officials. He’s expected to start work on the mural Nov. 1 and wrap it up by Dec. 1.

Centro officials wouldn’t discuss specifics of Benavides’ design but say they expect to hold a public unveiling before the mural begins to take shape.

“The response we received was truly overwhelming and reaffirms the deep support and admiration that our city and community hold for our Spurs,” Centro San Antonio CEO Trish DeBerry said in a statement. “The Art Everywhere initiative has consistently offered opportunities for local artists, and I’m absolutely thrilled with the collaborative effort between our team and the Spurs in selecting the winning muralist.”

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A sea of silvery native shrubs and potato fields stretch across southern Colorado’s vast San Luis Valley. To the west lies the headwaters of the Rio Grande, where craggy rhyolite canyons hint of a turbulent volcanic past. To the east, the 14,000-foot peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range cradle Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Throughout, wild horses, crumbling adobe churches and sandhill cranes dot the landscape.

The valley is home to deep-rooted culture and history, particularly at the intersection of Hispanic, Native American and African American heritage. That’s one of the reasons the region was designated as a national heritage area — the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area — in 2009.

“The valley is an interesting and unexpected convergence of people who have had to learn how to live with each other,” said Eric Carpio, director of the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, which is among nearby attractions the National Park Service suggests to Great Sand Dunes visitors. “Sometimes it has resulted in remarkable collaborations, and other times with violence and trauma. But for a long time, much of its history was swept under the rug.”

So, for the last few years, Carpio and his staff have made bold and elegant moves to better share some of the valley’s complicated legacies. To fully grasp the magnitude of what they’ve done, it’s necessary to first know a bit about the valley’s history.

People have lived in the region since at least the time of the mammoths. Navajo, Ute, Apache, Kiowa and Comanche all called it home. After the Spanish arrived in 1598, the Hispanic population gradually grew to prominence. Then in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago ceded the San Luis Valley and much of the West from Mexico to the United States. Residents suddenly found themselves living in U.S. territory, and many lost their property when their land grants were revoked.

Buffalo Soldiers exhibit sign

Signage for Fort Garland Museum’s “buffalo soldiers: reVision” exhibit, which runs through 2025.

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©Steve Alberts

By 1858, Fort Garland was built to protect Manifest Destiny, the philosophy that the United States had a divine mission to expand westward into what it inaccurately touted as virgin lands and create a transcontinental nation.

After the Civil War, the all-Black 9th Calvary became stationed at the fort. They were dubbed the Buffalo Soldiers by Comanches and Cheyennes — one possible reason, historians believe, was due to their physical fortitude and hair, which the Native Americans generally perceived to be curly. Tasked with protecting white settlers, the Buffalo Soldiers often had the unenviable duty of being on the front lines of Native American removal. They were well-respected by the U.S. government for their valiant and honorable service, and they often established friendships with Native Americans.

“Here in the valley, we are at the intersection of several Indigenous homelands, the northernmost edge of Spanish and Mexican settlement, and American westward expansion,” Carpio said. “Ultimately, this region was shaped by how those relationships evolved. It’s a wildly complex history which still directly impacts how people live their lives today.”

So, how did a rural, small-town museum go about unraveling such an intricate, nuanced puzzle?

The first step was dismantling the 69-year-old centerpiece of the fort-turned-museum: a life-size mannequin of Kit Carson, an American brigadier general perhaps best known for his merciless campaign against the Diné people (also known as Navajo).

The museum then began collaborating with Tribal partners and artist Chip Thomas, an African American physician who worked on the Navajo Nation for 35 years. In June 2021, the exhibit “Unsilenced: Indigenous Enslavement in Southern Colorado” officially took Carson’s place, in the very rooms of the fort that were likely his historical living quarters.

The exhibit includes two room-sized translucent cloths, each with a page from an 1865 document printed on them. The title reads “List of Indian Captives Acquired by Purchase,” and underneath are the names of enslaved people, with ages and Tribal affiliations. As Carpio points out, most of the Indigenous names have been changed to Western ones, as women and children were often baptized into the Catholic Church and prohibited from speaking their Native language. This led to generations of Native Americans who had lost all connection to their cultural traditions and Tribal heritage, including a Navajo boy who Carson kept enslaved.

Though those practices ended 150 years ago, the reverberations of that detachment are still affecting the community. “A lot of families have come forward and told us they had heard their ancestors were enslaved but doubted the story because no one ever heard about Native American enslavement,” Carpio said. “Now families have felt validated that there’s truth to the stories their parents and grandparents told.”

One visitor even found his ancestor’s name in the documents. “The emotion that’s suddenly unleashed from that, the pain and anger of their heritage stripped away, there’s a lot of history we have to unpack,” Carpio said. “That’s what we’re trying to reconcile. Sharing these powerful images hopefully starts a dialogue.”

In 2022, the museum expanded its efforts by hosting the temporary exhibit “Merciless Indian Savages,” in which Pyramid Lake Paiute artist Gregg Deal interpreted what American Democracy means in Indian Country. Then this summer, “buffalo soldiers: reVision” opened as a collection of works by eight artists. The exhibit runs through 2025.

“How did formerly enslaved peoples rationalize the subjugation of another race, and in what ways do Buffalo Soldiers connect with the lands they were helping to take away from Indigenous people?” asked Thomas, in an artist’s statement. “The land provided solace and space for contemplation, maturation and dreaming of new possibilities in a way the black soldier couldn’t consider in the Reconstruction South.”

Telling stories such as these through contemporary art is an unusual choice for a history museum, but Carpio says the approach has started a lot of meaningful dialogue. “Particularly in communities of color, artists are the knowledge keepers,” he said. “Plus, artists have a good way of not hitting you over the head with it, opening new perspectives without being condemning.”

Earlier this year, the museum earned a finalist spot in the National Medal for Museum and Library Science, and visitors often tell Carpio that it’s a more welcoming and relevant space to them now than it was before. After viewing the exhibits, one couple even asked Carpio how they could better honor the Buffalo Soldiers and Native Americans who once lived in the valley.

“That people came in and reflected on the exhibits in that way, in all of our wildest hopes and goals as a museum, that’s it,” Carpio said. “And the stories are still expanding. We have empty rooms in some of our exhibit spaces as a signal to the community there’s more to be done. The reconciliation and healing is ongoing.”

Lebanon County native Michael Hower was awarded the first prize in photography/digital media of Art of the State 2023 for an almost three-foot print of Transparency. He took the award-winning photograph at SCI Cresson, an abandoned prison in western Pennsylvania.

Art of the State 2023 will display 86 art pieces, ranging from photography/digital media to work on paper, painting, sculpture, and craft, produced by 86 artists from across the state until Jan. 7, at the State Museum of Pennsylvania. This is Hower’s second year exhibiting and first year winning.

“The Art of the State Pennsylvania is a very exclusive juried art show. You have about a 2 percent chance of getting into it roughly. There were over 1,800 entries this year,” Hower said. “It’s a show that I covet.”

A Cumberland County resident, 44-year-old Hower is the son of Jonestown residents, a Northern Lebanon alumnus of 1997, a Cornwall Manor employee of 26 years, and the father of an 8- and 14-year-old. He has practiced photography for the past 12 years since his oldest son was 2.

“I went to art school, and I studied painting and drawing,” Hower said of his background. “And I actually never took the photography course because at that time … it was still all film. And I had little interest in spending time in the dark room and learning that whole process. It seemed completely foreign to me.”

Hower experienced burnout with these art mediums during college and stopped until he started making collages as a new father.

“I started seeking out things to photograph to use in the collages,” Hower said. “And the immediacy of … digital photography worked well because I could just go out, take a picture, put the memory card in the computer, download it, work on it, print it out, and use it. So over time, that wasn’t even over a lot of time, I started to recognize that the pictures were better than the collages.”

This realization led Hower to upgrade from using a point-and-shoot and, in an effort to learn how to use his new camera, read a book about it from cover to cover “about seven times.”

When asked how his background in art contributed to his growth as a photographer, Hower said, “There are some of the basic principles of design and composition and color, that sort of stuff came over. But there was also the learning of a brand-new medium, and it being exciting. And it didn’t have the ‘baggage’ that came with the other stuff.”

“So, I had that sort of design sensibility that I was a good foundation to learn the photography from. And through the years, too, it’s something I’ve noticed, and something I’ve been told by other people and critics is that my photos have a very painterly quality to them.”

Regarding his sources of creative inspiration, Hower said, “I have photographer friends, but I don’t spend a lot of time looking at works of famous photographers. I’m more apt to still look at works of artists that do painting or installation pieces, cultural pieces, stuff of that nature. I still go back to the more art side of it.”

Hower started his photography career seeking “old garages” and “canal locks,” spaces of graffiti and abandonment, to photograph.

“I often say to people, ‘My subject matter is that of urban exploration. But I am not an urban explorer,’” Hower said. “I seek out places that I know where there’ll be opportunities and where I’ll have permission.”

In addition to being the type of person who doesn’t “operate well in the thrill of the moment,” Hower said being a father requires him to research locations before visiting them because his time out in the field is limited.

Hower grew up with parts of the Union Canal in his backyard and visited canal lock sites as his father wrote articles about the canal for the Lebanon Daily News. His father still had some original documents, and Hower used them as fuel for his research. “From there, it just snowballed into doing more research and finding bigger and better and more exciting places.”

“It was the discovery of the old Michter’s Distillery in southeastern Lebanon County,” Hower said of how his fascination with abandoned spaces began. “Most of it’s largely gone now. They saved a warehouse and one of the original buildings. But it was sort of an ‘aha’ moment. Like I had grown up in Lebanon County … but here is this place that I had never seen. I had never heard of.”

Hower said places of industry often tell stories with multiple layers that connect to the history of a municipality, a state, or a country.

“I’m not interested in a neat-looking abandoned house along the side of the road,” Hower said of what he does, and doesn’t, look for when shooting pictures. “If there’s no story to me, the visual interest, it goes by the wayside.”

“For example, there’s a ghost town I like to photograph called Concrete City outside Wilkes-Barre,” Hower said. “It was a miner’s village. But it was a cutting-edge design for the 1910s that they built the buildings out of all poured concrete.”

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co. owned the coal company and the railroad company that transported the anthracite. Following a Supreme Court case and the breaking up of the monopoly, the Glen Alden Coal Co. purchased the homes almost a century ago and subsequently abandoned them.

Alongside Art of the State 2023, Hower will be part of a two-person show on “abandoned prisons” at the Howard County Arts Council in Ellicott City, Maryland, that opens in December.

Hower also booked a solo show featuring about 40 photographs on “abandonment and graffiti” at The Boyer Gallery of The Hill School in Pottstown that opens in January.

In addition to preparing for his upcoming exhibits, Hower continues to work on his portfolio of abandoned prisons. In the past year, he took trips to Ohio and Tennessee with that purpose and is “taking any opportunity as they arise really,” he said.

Click here to view more of Hower’s photography.

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NEW YORK—The Open Society Foundations today announced the recipients of their 2023 Soros Arts Fellowships, the preeminent award supporting socially engaged art. This year marks the fellowship’s largest cohort, awarding $100,000 to 18 mid-career artists for impact-driven art projects that propose bold solutions to address the climate crisis, reclaim and uplift indigenous knowledge, and imagine and build sustainable futures.

Open Society’s 2023 Fellowships are centered around the theme of “Art, Land, and Public Memory,” focusing on artists who are pursuing projects that offer tangible solutions to address environmental harms. The fellowships recognize artists from around the world—from Brazil, Colombia, Guinea, Iraq, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, South Africa, Syria, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota Tribes, the U.S. and their diasporas. Their work also engages communities in which they work across the Global South, places often on the frontlines of the climate crisis and environmental injustice driven by global settler colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy. 

“Art and culture are essential drivers for social change,” said Tatiana Mouarbes, Open Society’s team manager for Culture and Art, Expression. “One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is the health of our planet. Through their art and culture work, the 2023 Soros Arts Fellows are taking action to help heal a planet in crisis through community-led solutions for environmental justice. We are proud to support their visions.” 

In addition to unrestricted funding, the fellowships offer recipients a holistic suite of services and resources to help the artists build sustainable artistic careers, including leadership development, mentorship, peer-to-peer exchanges, and networking opportunities.  

Working in diverse forms and global contexts, some of the artists and projects include: 

• Chemi Rosado-Seijo (Puerto Rico) is working with residents to transform the community of El Cerro into a “Green Barriada,” a self-sustaining and environmentally resilient community
  
• Martha Atienza (Philippines) is creating a series of collaborative artworks with fishing communities of Bantayan Island to raise awareness of environmental justice, displacement, and cultural erasure
  
• Mónica De Miranda (Portugal) is working with African migrant communities in Lisbon to document stories of migration and land ecologies, bringing together artists, activists, and ecologists to reimagine more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable public spaces
  
• Jordan Weber (U.S.) is producing a regenerative ecologies project to transform a square acre of forest in East Detroit into an air remediation zone, trauma informed community center, and open-air environmental justice classroom
  

With a long history of supporting arts and culture to advance social change, the Open Society Foundations recognize the importance of artists’ contributions and the essential role that art plays in civic discourse and open societies. In particular, the Foundations seek to honor the aesthetic, political, and capacity needs of arts leaders, individual artists, and cultural activists.  

Since 2018, the Soros Arts Fellowship has awarded more than $3 million in unrestricted funding to 29 artists around the world; this year’s $1.7 million is the largest annual amount to date. The fellowship was on a hiatus from 2021–2022 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when more than $500,000 was awarded to support existing fellows.  

The 2023 Soros Arts Fellowship selection committee includes Azu Nwagbogu, curator and founder of African Artists’ Foundation; Diane Lima, curator of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo; Eriola Pira, curator at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics; Helena Nassif, director of Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy); Paulina Suárez, general director of Ambulante; Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, senior program officer, Creativity and Free Expression, Ford Foundation; Siobhan Riordan, consultant and creative Strategist; Tania El Khoury, artist and director of the Center for Human Rights and the Arts at Bard College; Open Society’s Culture and Art staffers Tatiana Mouarbes, Ayoka Wiles, and Ibrahima Niang, and Alvin Starks, director, Narrative and Culture Change at Open Society-United States. 

2023 Soros Arts Fellows

Bilia Bah will produce a collaborative and participatory theater production to launch public dialogue around climate change, urbanization, and the impacts of unregulated water drilling across Conakry, Guinea.

Cannupa Hanska Luger will publish SURVIVA, centering Indigenous knowledge and survival practices related to land, climate, and the environment— and to boldly assert how Indigenous technologies are critical to sustaining life and humanity worldwide.

Carolina Caycedo will produce We Place Life at the Center—Situamos la vida al centro, bringing together ancestral and embodied approaches to the natural world as alternatives to the global climate crisis, grounded in field research and engagement with Natives, campesino/peasant communities, and climate activists throughout the Americas.

Chemi Rosado-Seijo will work with residents of El Cerro, Puerto Rico, to transform the community into a “Green Barriada,” a self-sustaining and environmentally resilient community.

Dalton Paula will organize Quilombo-Escola, an arts and education project that supports Afro-Brazilian artists through artistic residencies and training, and fosters community collaboration and exchanges with art, the environment, and ancestral and traditional knowledge rooted in a Quilombo perspective across Brazil.

Deborah Jack will create To Make A Map of My Memory: Wayfinding Along Synaptic Topographies, linking cultural memory preservation in St. Maarten with climate justice through an archive of oral histories, a connected film and multimedia installation.

Fehras Publishing Practices (Kenan Darwich and Sami Rustom) will create Hader Halal (With Regard to Presence) a multi-format project that aims to reclaim forgotten collective memory in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa region and rewrite narratives of modern Arab history from a queer, migrant, and feminist perspective.

Ixchel Tonāntzin Xōchitlzihuatl will organize We the Trees, a multi-tribal art and land rematriation project in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Jordan Weber will organize a regenerative ecologies project in East Detroit that will revitalize a square acre of forest as an air remediation zone, a trauma informed community center, an open-air environmental justice classroom, and a site for conifer tree transplants to counter the harmful effects of pollution from nearby automobile plants.

Martha Atienza will organize collaborative artworks and actions with fisherfolk and farmer communities on Bantayan Island and its group of islets in the Philippines for Tigpanalipod (The Protectors) to raise awareness around environmental justice, displacement, and cultural erasure.

Molemo Moiloa will produce a series of art and community engaged works under the framework of the “house of ungovernability,” an informal center for sharing and co-developing tactics for sustaining in times of uncertainty, rooted in our relationships to the land.

Mónica de Miranda will work with African migrant communities in Lisbon to document stories of migration and land ecologies for Where cities are invisible, gardens grow, bringing together artists, activists, and ecologists to reimagine more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable public spaces.

Nida Sinnokrot will produce Storytelling Stones: How far does your mother’s voice carry?, a series of collaborative and site-specific sculptures that uplift indigenous practices and reclaim cultural memory, expand discourse and action on environmental justice, and activate public spaces in ways that are resonant and impactful for Palestinian and indigenous communities globally.

Omar Berrada will examine anti-Black racism in North Africa and propose poetic re-articulations of Moroccan identity, reclaiming marginalized narratives and invoking histories of pan-African solidarity.

Rijin Sahakian, through images and text, will trace the legacies of war-making on the physical, cultural, and psychic landscapes between Iraq and America, centering the Iraqi experience.

Sari Dennise will organize Almárcigo, a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and archival project with communities in Xochimilco, Mexico to preserve and articulate water-related knowledge and practices, and promote shared learning around alternative ways of being with the environment.

Yto Barrada will expand botanical literacy to disseminate radical ways of making and thinking with the Mothership Manifesto, a collaborative, multidisciplinary, transgenerational and educational textile project at the Mothership, an eco-feminist residency, garden, and studio in Tangier, Morocco. 

From Metal and Jazz to Hip Hop, there isn’t a type of music Native Americans don’t play. #k5evening

SAN ANTONIO – Artist Ray Scarborough is a lifelong Spurs fan and San Antonio native, and now his artwork will be showcased for the rest of Spurs nation to see.

Scarborough — who also goes by “Ray Tattooed Boy” on social media — created the illustration for the Spurs shirts that will be given to fans in attendance on opening night on Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center. His art reflects his love for his team and the city.

“This truly is a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be an artist for the Spurs,” said Scarborough. “I’m born and raised in San Antonio, in love with all the San Antonio culture and the colors.”

Scarborough, 47, has been in the local art scene for years. His “Puro San Antonio Pop Art” has gained popularity for its connection to San Antonio neighborhoods, restaurants, businesses and staples like Whataburger and H-E-B.

“I keep it simple and have a lot of fun with it, especially with the pop art aspect. The city prints are probably my favorite ones because I like to showcase places that I grew up in, and it’s just fun to see other people react the same way,” said Scarborough. “I try to showcase the lesser-known areas but also the popular areas for us. It’s like tourist posters for the locals.”

The Spurs took notice of Ray’s work online and on social media. He worked on an illustration for a San Antonio FC match and then received a message he’ll never forget.

“The Spurs emailed me, and I thought it was a joke,” Scarborough said with a laugh. “They said, ‘We’re going to set up a meeting’ and reassured me it wasn’t a joke. They basically just said we want something for opening night, and we want it to be special.”

Scarborough originally came up with a Gregg Popovich and players-themed illustration. After discussions with the team, he decided to go another route and go back to his West Side roots.

“I showcased my old hood that I was from, Culebra Park on Ingram Road,” said Scarborough. “The taco stand that we used to go to and just put a lot of the elements that was from that neighborhood. It’s something everybody in San Antonio, I think, can relate to.”

Scarborough’s illustration also features the Spurs Coyote pushing a Paleta cart, fans honking after a big Spurs win, David Robinson’s old sneakers hanging from the telephone lines, and Pee-Wee Herman’s iconic bike. But it’s his nod to his late mother, Lala, that makes his design special.

“The best part of it was my mom’s name right there,” said Scarborough. “The reason why the Spurs are a great organization is because they allowed that to happen, and for an unknown artist like myself to draw their neighborhood and allow me to show my view of what a Spurs fan is.”

Like other Spurs fans, Scarborough is excited about the franchise’s future and honored to be a part of Spurs history with the start of Victor Wembanyama’s career.

“I was very honored that they got to let me do what I wanted to do as far as show my old neighborhood but also show elements of the Spurs family. It’s such an important day for us, for the city. It’s going to be a great day,” said Scarborough. “I hope I can relate to a lot of other people that see this, and I hope they like it.”

Click here for more information on Ray’s work.

Click here here for details on the Spurs’ opening night.

KEARNEY, Neb. (Press Release) – The Museum of Nebraska Art celebrates Native American Heritage Month with Oglala Lakota storyteller Jerome Kills Small. Mr. Kills Small tells children’s stories and animal stories that have been passed down for generations as part of the Lakota and Dakota Sioux traditions. Among the types of stories covered are iktomi (trickster tales) and ohunkanka (old legends).

Jerome Kills Small is an Oglala Lakota from Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A 1997 graduate of the University of South Dakota with an M.A. in Selected Studies, he retired after 20 years at USD. He taught Lakota Language, American Indian Thought, Siouan Tribal Culture, Early Native American History. He is featured in the book Wounded Warriors: A Time for Healing and has a story in the Silver Anniversary Anthology published by the South Dakota Humanities Council. Mr. Kills Small has parts in the videos: Sucker Punched, Nagi Kicopi (Calling Back the Spirit,) Lost Landscapes, and Bones of Contention: Repatriation and Reburial (BBC.) A storyteller for public schools, museums, and colleges, he translates, explains, and sings Lakota ceremonial, sweatlodge, powwow, rabbit, round dance, warrior, vision quest, and sundance songs. He sings with the Iron Wing Singers of Wagner, SD. He is a powwow organizer, announcer, and arena director, and he helps in conducting Lakota ceremonies. He portrayed Tecumseh, a Shawnee Chief and British General. He also portrayed Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman, the first Dakota Medical Doctor. Mr. Kills Small is on the Board of Directors for the Native American Advocacy Program.

Humanities Nebraska (HN) provides major funding for this program. HN receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska State Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations. “Children Stories, Animal Stories and Traditional Lakota Stories” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers, and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.

Copyright 2023 KSNB. All rights reserved.

Looking to the future of music: rising Indigenous artists to watch and listen to.

From pop country that would fit seamlessly into the radio machine to activist anthems and tribal hymnals, Indigenous artists have long been creating a vibrant soundtrack of their lives and tribes. And music’s the better and richer for it. Spanning the Sonoran Desert up to the farthest northern reaches of Turtle Island — also known as North America — Indigenous artists are making memorable country, Western, and roots music.

Vincent Neil Emerson

East Texas-based artist Vincent Neil Emerson (Choctaw, Apache) has always been vocal about his Indigenous roots in his music, something he delves into further than ever before on his forthcoming album The Golden Crystal Kingdom out November 10.

The first single, “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint,” he tells the story of a medicine man who motivated warriors going to battle against white men by convincing them the yellow paint he covered them in would make them invisible to arrows, bullets, and any other weaponry. A music video released alongside the song features Native American bareback horse race champion Sharmaine Weed and was filmed in Wyoming near the Wind River Reservation, further leaning into the heritage he and his family often had to hide in his youth due to the racism they encountered.

Emerson will share more about his Choctaw and Apache roots and music during a panel at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles in November as part of its Native American Heritage Month programming.

Dakota Beavers

After making his acting debut as Taabe on Hulu’s Prey, Arizonan Dakota Beavers (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) is eyeing a return to music by launching his own solo music career. For years the artist lived in Nashville and worked part time at a TJ Maxx while trying to earn a big break with his songs and family band WesternBoy, but to no avail.

With the streaming success of Prey, Beavers is looking to have another go at it. During an interview last November with C&I’s Hunter Hauk, Beavers let it be known that he had a lot of original material that he hoped to record in between time on set filming.

With his deep country drawl, group harmonies, and pop-fueled hooks there’s a little something for everyone to like in Beavers’ sound, much like the acting that’s thrust him into the spotlight.

Desiree Dorion

Although she’s had numerous songs hit Canada’s Top 100 Country Charts in the past decade, Desiree Dorion (Opaskwayak Cree Nation) fully hits her stride on the recently released That’s How I Know. Through its eight songs she effectively crosses between emotional gut-wrenchers and light-hearted, comedic creations to make her most biographical recordings yet.

This includes confronting a family member addicted to alcohol on “Love You to Death” and “Sometimes I Drink,” a tongue-in-cheek co-write with Crystal Shawanda (Wiikwemkoong First Nation) that focuses on drinking to escape life’s problems. The latter is one of three singles from the project — along with “Your Last Name” and “Wouldn’t That Be Fun” — to reach the top spot on the Indigenous Music Countdown.

Kyle McKearney

After taking home Alternative Country Album of the Year honors at September’s Canadian Country Music Association Awards for A Traveler’s Lament, Calgary native Kyle McKearney (Métis Nation) has reinforced himself as one of the country’s top emerging independent country acts in recent years.

It’s a development that’s even caught McKearney by surprise after returning north following years in Nashville and gaining traction posting cover songs to YouTube at the height of the pandemic.

But is original songs — like Lydia Sutherland co-write “Mercy” and Don Amero (Cree, Métis Nation) collaboration “Devil Water” — have truly won fans over and earned him praise as an artist to keep an eye (and ear) on.

William Prince

He burst onto the Canadian country music scene in 2017, when his debut album, Earthly Days, earned him a JUNO Award, and now William Prince (Peguis First Nation) is building a name for himself stateside as well.

The Winnipeg-based artist was just nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards held September 20 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The recognition came on the heels of Stand in the Joy, Prince’s fourth full-length album. Released in April, it looks back on his Indigenous upbringing in search of a more universal human element as a way of healing long-held pain and bringing folks together.

Amanda Rheaume

Ottawa-based Amanda Rheaume (Métis Nation) is a trailblazer not just with her own songs but also with the platform she’s provided others.

The artist works with the National Indigenous Music Office, as the operations manager for the International Indigenous Music Summit. She’s also the co-founder of Ishkōdé Records, an independent women-owned label started in 2021 with fellow artist ShoShona Kish.

Rheaume’s latest record, The Spaces in Between, sees the songwriter mixing activist music with empowering ballads of self-discovery in what is her most dynamic work to date. On it she moves between ruminating on the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others (“Death of the American Dream”) to opening up about her identity struggles as a white-presenting Indigenous woman (“Do About Her” and “All Sides of Me”), serving up equal parts stillness and fury and captivating listeners in the process.

Saltwater Hank

You’d be hard-pressed to find more authentic Indigenous music today than what’s coming from British Columbia native Saltwater Hank (Gitga’at, Ts’msyen). On his new album, G̱al’üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi, he sings almost entirely in the Indigenous Ts’msyen language Sm’algyax, flanked by fiddle, steel guitar, and drums in tunes that take the shape of everything from waltzes to Western swing and rockabilly ragers to tribal hymns.

Born Jeremy Pahl, Hank covers the topical and emotional gamut, singing out about police violence on the reservation (“Na Waaba Gwa̱soo”), picking salmonberries (“Liimi Maḵ’ooxs”), and barbecuing rabbits captured on a local college campus (“Dm Yootu Stukwliin”) on the sometimes perplexing, but always intoxicating, record.

Julian Taylor

Julian Taylor (West Indian, Mohawk) experienced major label success in the late ’90s and early 2000s with the rock band Staggered Crossing, and now the Toronto native is doing it all over again, this time under his own name.

Taylor is putting his songwriting front and center with new country- and folk-focused compositions that have brought new fans to his music and old fans back.

His breakthrough came with 2020’s The Ridge, an album that netted him Solo Artist of the Year at the 16th annual Canadian Folk Music Awards along with multiple JUNO Award nominations.

Now Taylor is looking to tie all of his musical chapters together with the 18-song compilation Anthology Vol. 1. Released October 20, it combines some of Taylor’s most popular hits from Staggered Crossing, the Julian Taylor Band, and his two solo records with three all-new tracks.

Jade Turner

She may not wield an instrument, but when you’ve got vocals as powerful as Jade Turner’s (Misipawistik Cree Nation) you don’t really need one.

The Manitoba-based artist immediately made waves with her 2017 debut North Country, earning the award for Best Country Album at the 2017 Indigenous Music Awards and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 Manitoba Country Music Association Awards, thanks to songs like the self-assuring “Worth” and the soulful, hard-driving “Mr. Miserable.”

Her talent for penning a great song remains as polished as ever on her self-titled follow-up and ensuing singles like “Stay Wild Child” and “Deadweight” that illustrate how taking creative risks and staying true to yourself can pay off.

Raye Zaragoza

Los Angeles-based Raye Zaragoza (Pima, O’odham) has never shied away from politics, womanhood, or her Indigenous, Asian, and Latina heritage with her music.

One of her earliest singles, “In the River,” is a protest anthem against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the 2020 album Woman in Color homes in on how her identity fits into the American landscape with songs like “Fight Like a Girl,” “Warrior,” and “Rebel Soul.”

While her latest album, Hold That Spirit, encapsulates a similar feeling, it’s far from all Zaragoza has been up to recently. She’s also been filling time between her own tour dates by going out on the road with Peter Pan: The Broadway Musical in the role of Tiger Lily.

Artist Amanda Rheaume – Photo courtesy of Jen Squires
Artist Saltwater Hank – Photo courtesy of J. Joshua Diltz
Artist Vincent Nail Emerson – Photo courtesy of Thomas Crabtree
Artist Desiree Dorion – Photo courtesy of Chantelle Dione

The 31st annual Art from the Streets show in Austin had over 100 unhoused artists selling their artwork.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – An Evansville-based artist is preparing to have his art displayed at an international art festival.

This week, Fort Branch-native Andrew Cooper will ship out new work for display at Art Basel Miami, one of the largest and most exclusive art fairs in the world.

Cooper says this will be his third year participating, but he’s been invited to bring more work than ever before. Six of his new paintings will be on display.

He tells us it’s a great chance for him to get inspired by the other artists and to get his still life collection noticed.

That’s because lots of celebrities attend the fair to discover new artists.

“Thousands of people come around from the world, Kanye was there last year, Leonardo DiCaprio — like all of the names and they buy art. It’s a very exclusive event, and I’m really happy to be there,” he says.

Cooper has already shown his paintings in London and Switzerland, but all his work is made in his live-in studio on Evansville’s west side.

The exhibition runs December 8th to 10th.

Copyright 2023 WFIE. All rights reserved.

Located in Durham’s City Center District, the newly-opened Ella West Gallery lies inside an old brick warehouse. Within this gallery, the exhibition “Return to Parrish Street: A Dream Realized” showcases and honors Black artistic expression. 

This purpose lines up perfectly with the vision of Ella West Gallery founder Linda Shropshire, who wanted to create a fine art space that recognized and celebrated the diversity in the Durham community. Her dual passions for art and creating a space for Black artists is illuminated throughout the gallery, which features many works by North Carolina artists.

The gallery is located in what was once Durham’s “Black Wall Street,” the home to a variety of Black-owned businesses during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Once called the “mecca of the Black South,” this area suffered greatly from desegregation and Urban Renewal, a government initiative that resulted in the construction of Durham Freeway 147 through the heart of the district.

The building is also a part of “Black Wall Street’s” history, as it was once home to the printing presses of The Durham Reformer, a 1920s-era Black newspaper. By opening the gallery, Shropshire recognizes just how important it is to remember and take pride in what was “Black Wall Street.” 

“Return to Parrish Street: A Dream Revisited” is dedicated to Durham native and artist Ernie Barnes, displaying several of the late artist’s paintings that visually  show his life experiences from Durham to Los Angeles.

Upon first entering, the title of the gallery can be seen on the back wall, its black letters standing out against the wall’s white paint. Next to the title is “The Dream Keeper,” a poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, and an explanation of why that poem was chosen.

The aforementioned poem and “A Dream Deferred”, another of Hughes’s poems, provide the inspiration for the exhibition title. The poems embody the “aspirational elements of dreams as goals.” Showcasing work by Clarence Heyward, Kennedi Carter and Ransom, the exhibit is meant to “traverse the terrain of dreams through portraits and photography that probe perception, identity, and vulnerability.”

On one side of the exhibit, Clarence Heyward’s works are displayed under “Painting His Truth.” In these works, Heyward portrays his subjects as “emissaries of lived truth in his exploration of identity and Blackness.” 

Overall, I believe the exhibit does a great job of recognizing the significance of Black art culture to Durham. The most rewarding part about this gallery is its focus on creating a space for marginalized communities. It’s not too often that you will find a gallery oriented in this way which sets it apart from the rest.

“A Return to Parrish Street: A Dream Revisited” opened on Aug. 19 and remained on view until Oct. 21.

Kerria Weaver
| Associate News Editor

Kerria Weaver is a second-year master’s student in the Graduate Liberal Studies program and an associate news editor of The Chronicle’s 119th volume.

Art on display took the form of light projections, physical sculptures and paintings and musical performances.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Abenaki artist Abena Songbird has always been proud of her heritage. But at the same time, she felt the celebration and representation of her culture as one of only four state-recognized native American groups was lacking. So, when she received a grant from Vermont Arts Council and the Public Arts Commission to paint an Abenaki-inspired mural at the Montpelier transit center she knew it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

“I created this gathering event to collimate and celebrate ‘d le musina’ we continue to live, the mural,” said Abena Songbird.

It took 5 years to get the project out of the planning stages, but now it’s finally complete. And on Saturday, people gathered to take in the sight. The mural is 17 feet tall and 27 feet wide with valuable symbols in Abenaki culture. Songbird says it represents all four seasons in Vermont. There were eight artists involved with painting the mural and they say it took eight days to complete

“When Abena first spoke with me about it, I was a little bit taken aback, I never done a project of this magnitude before. And so, we talked about it, I gave her some ideas then my ideas went down on paper then I designed some and then it came to fruition,” said Co-Art Director and Co-Designer Lucy Cannon-Neel.

“This experience has been amazing, it’s great to celebrate the hard work of a lot of us artists and also in the middle of Montpelier to have an Abenaki mural that people can feel pride and representation,” said Songbird.

Artist Erik Gillard described his time working on the mural as rewarding.

“It was really fun, it was totally an honor to help Abena get her vision painted up there, big and bold. Real collaborative work to just paint it together,” said Gillard.

Alburgh resident Sage Gould says it was an honor to be at the celebration.

“As long as the sun rises, the water flows, the grass is green — that’s what the Abenaki flag means and knowing that we’ll have this here, knowing that we’re going to have that still, as a reminder for people…We’re still here so that was pretty cool,” said Sag Gould.

The artists say they’re happy the work is getting to be displayed at such a public and high-traffic location. And hope it inspires people to appreciate and learn about the Abenaki culture.

“It feels really powerful to help uplift this Abenaki imagery and celebrate the indigenous people in this place of meeting at the bus station seem like a really nice place by people coming through,” said Gillard.

Copyright 2023 WCAX. All rights reserved.

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s new big-screen epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, premiered in theaters just over a week after Americans marked Indigenous People’s Day. Based on David Grann’s bestselling book, the story depicts the brutal serial murders of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. Given the inherent drama of the narrative and the buzzy casting, the film seems destined for critical success. But will it usher in a new era for Hollywood’s Native Americans?

Thirty-three years ago, Kevin Costner’s “Dances with Wolves” delivered a watershed moment. After decades of cowboy-and-Indian Westerns, the movie cast Native actors in prominent roles and showed a human dimension to its Native characters.

Costner’s epic earned seven Academy Awards, including best picture, and a nomination for Native Canadian actor Graham Greene in a supporting role. The movie also brought in over $400 million worldwide and sparked a mini surge of Native-themed stories, like “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992) and “Geronimo: An American Legend (1993).” Television mini-series like “Son of the Morning Star” (1991) and “DreamKeeper” (2003) followed the same pattern. Even Disney jumped on the bandwagon with its animated hit “Pocahontas” (1995).

Many Native actors, including Wes Studi, enjoyed a boost in their careers because of “Dances with Wolves.” But for all its hype, Costner’s epic did not employ Natives Americans in prominent creative roles behind the scenes.

Change in the ensuing decades has been incremental. Television has arguably worked the hardest to increase representation, beginning with the 1990 TNT series “The Native Americans. Behind the Legends. Beyond the Myths.” featuring Hanay Geiogamah (Kiowa) as a producer. That same decade brought “Smoke Signals” (1998), the theatrical debut of the Cheyenne and Arapaho filmmaker Chris Eyre.

Recently, the streaming series “Rutherford Falls” and “Reservation Dogs” have employed Native artists in front of and behind the camera, including showrunners Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo) and Sterlin Harjo (Seminole).

Sadly, “Rutherford Falls” was cancelled and “Reservation Dogs” will end after its third season.

Now a major motion picture has its chance. “Killers of the Flower Moon” has proudly touted Scorsese’s collaboration with Osage Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear. To the studio’s credit, local Osage talent was hired in various production roles such as the costuming and art departments.

But no Native American is credited as being involved in the movie’s screenwriting, production or directing creative processes. This is an ongoing problem. Back in 2020, the Native American & Indigenous Writers Committee of the Writers Guild of America West addressed this same issue In an open letter advising the industry that merely using Natives as cultural consultants was severely limiting. They need to be hired as writers, directors and producers, too. 

This makes “Killers of the Flower Moon” both an interesting case study and ultimately a missed opportunity. The movie has tried to incorporate some Osage input, but it still is telling this story primarily through the lens of the white main character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. As Variety has pointed out, DiCaprio grabs the lion’s share of the screen time. And the camera often lingers on his face, even when other characters are speaking.

Perhaps one bright spot is the movie’s female lead.

Lily Gladstone, an actress of Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage, plays the Osage wife of her slippery husband (DiCaprio) and is already garnering some Oscar buzz.

“If you’re wondering if you should go see this film, at least go see it for Gladstone’s performance,” advised Osage News editor Shannon Shaw Duty in her review.

With her powerful performance, Gladstone joined a small but important club of Native female actors. Elaine Miles stole countless scenes as the unflappable Alaska Native receptionist in 1990s gem “Northern Exposure.” Jana Schmieding of “Rutherford Falls,” Devery Jacobs and Paulina Alexis of “Reservation Dogs,” Sheila Tousey in “Thunderheart” (1992), Irene Bedard in “Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee” (TV 1994), and the late Misty Upham in “Frozen River” (2008) all won accolades for their portrayals of strong, independent Native women. And Amber Midthunder’s starring role as a young Comanche warrior in Hulu’s release of “Prey” (2022), a prequel to the “Predator” series, proved that Native women can carry blockbusters. “Prey” was produced by Jhane Myers of the Comanche Nation; she was nominated for a Producers Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Gladstone’s presence and strength may very well continue to open doors for Hollywood’s Native women. But without Native American artists behind the camera in prominent positions, as well as in front of it, Hollywood will struggle to tell Native stories authentically — or without centering and privileging whiteness. Lily Gladstone deserves better, just like the real Osage victims of this white supremacist reign of terror did all those decades ago.

The Portland Art Museum’s curatorial team is looking ahead to the completion of the Mark Rothko Pavilion in 2025, when we will celebrate new, expanded, and accessible galleries with a host of exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s collections. While galleries are closed for construction, the curators are busy thinking expansively about the collection and about the many stories it can tell. Just as our physical spaces are expanding to become more inclusive and welcoming, so too is the process of creating exhibitions for the public. We are evolving our curatorial approach with a more collaborative process internally and, soon, externally as we continue to grow our partnerships with community organizations and artists in Portland. 

We’re flexing these new muscles in the coming year with the exhibition Throughlines: Connections in the Collection (opening October 28, 2023), engaging more with community-based and artist partners to better spotlight art, artists, and the communities they come from. We envision collection galleries as responsive spaces for storytelling, creative production, and community connection, engaging with more diverse audiences as well as evolving social, cultural, and creative contexts.

Hear from PAM curators about this process: Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator of Native American Art; Mary Weaver Chapin, Ph.D., Curator of Prints and Drawings; Julia Dolan, Ph.D., The Minor White Curator of Photography; Erin Grant, Assistant Curator of Native American Art; Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D., The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Asian Art; Sara Krajewski, The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art;  and Grace Kook-Anderson, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art. 

What opportunities excite you about the new Pavilion and the refreshed galleries, and how does the new physical connection prompt the team to think about thematic connections amongst the artworks? 

Sara: I am thrilled by the opportunity that the Pavilion entrance and community commons offer visitors—you will be able to choose your own pathway through the galleries from the beginning of your experience, connecting horizontally on each level. I hope this encourages visitors to explore the galleries in ways they haven’t before. For example, we’re thinking of a broader presentation of contemporary art across the top level where the Hoffman wing joins the Jubitz Center.

Grace: The physical connection on the fourth floor across our intersecting departments is really exciting, as it will truly echo the connections made by contemporary art. Previously, what might be programmatically the most similar in scope and attention—the APEX exhibition series showcasing Northwest artists, the Contemporary Native American Art program, and the ongoing Crumpacker Center for New Art—were physically in very separate spaces. In this new presentation, along with PAM CUT’s programs, I hope that some form of these exhibitions will offer more of a flow of an exchange of ideas and collaborative efforts. 

Sara: The new orientation also provides visitors a direct route to the Crumpacker Center for New Art contained within the Modern and Contemporary wing, where we will program exciting exhibitions of cutting-edge contemporary art drawn from research across the curatorial team, from photography to new media, international to Northwest, and more, giving us another platform to support emerging artists and innovative practices. 

Jeannie: The current main entrance, facing the South Park Blocks, will transform from an entry point into an expansive new space for art. I’m excited by the possibilities and challenges of this gallery, which will retain its historic glass windows and doors. This makes for a beautiful setting but raises important considerations for light-sensitive works of art. I’m researching new projects that would highlight this unusual space, yet still maintain a kinship with the adjacent galleries of Asian art. 

Mary: A new gallery above the new loading dock on the south side of the Main Building will provide a prime location for rotating exhibitions. I am busy working on shows featuring prints and drawings in dialogue with the adjacent galleries. Because the art in this room will be rotated frequently, visitors will make new discoveries each time, encountering Old Master woodcuts and engravings on one visit, and contemporary screenprints on another. The space is also amenable to focus exhibitions of paintings or photography—flexibility is a key feature of this beautiful gallery. 

Julia: I’m so excited that the floor where the current photography galleries are located will be greatly expanded and offer places to sit, visit, and take in art as well as the cityscape. I love the intimate dimensions of the photography gallery and think that the new spaces around it will offer a lovely balance of experiences, especially after time spent looking closely at photographs.

Sara: The second floor in the Pavilion will be a beautiful, double-height gallery to showcase PAM’s strong collection of sculpture. We are collaborating on a project that highlights works from the Native American, Northwest, and Contemporary collections. One idea we are exploring—how sculptors depict nature—will resonate with the wonderful indoor/outdoor sensibility provided by the Pavilion’s glass walls. The airy aesthetics of this space will also make a lovely home for occasional performances and events. 

What has the planning process been like?

Mary: Over the past few years, we curators have been very attentive to other museums that are planning reinstallations. We take notes, ask questions of our colleagues, and when possible, make site visits. We are fortunate to have generous curators around the country who are willing to share their experiences. Like us, they are seeking to create warm, inviting spaces for visitors. There are so many diverse ways to approach this question, and the learning process is quite invigorating.  

Julia: Gallery reinstallation is a hot topic throughout the museum field, and we’re learning from our colleagues as they work on similar reconsiderations. In July, I attended the symposium Expanding Horizons: New Approaches in Display and Interpretation, which convened at the Toledo Museum of Art. Over 150 museum professionals from throughout the country were in attendance. People shared about their reinstallation planning processes, community considerations, successes and challenges, and varied approaches.

What new collaborations have emerged through the planning process? How are you thinking about how the spaces can reflect and speak to the connections between the collections that already exist?

Mary: Artists rarely confine their practices to one medium—painters frequently make prints and photographs, and sculptors often have lively drawing practices—but because works on paper are light sensitive, they have different requirements in the gallery. We hope to integrate works on paper into the painting galleries when appropriate, while also keeping separate spaces for these specific art forms where we can tell different, more medium-specific stories. 

Kathleen: Native American artists also work in all mediums, so confining their work to Native American Art galleries does not always make sense. I’ve had many opportunities to collaborate with acquisitions, programs and exhibitions since I arrived four years ago. The new Rothko Pavilion planning is building on this spirit of connection between our curatorial areas. Our visitors and artists benefit from this more expansive vision.

Are there ways that the team is thinking differently about acquisitions and shaping the collection in collaborative ways? With exhibitions too? 

Sara: We have been doing this over the past several years, but now the new connectivity in the galleries allows us to call it out and contextualize this practice

Mary: Agreed—this isn’t a new practice for us, but it has been moved to the forefront. There is a lot of overlap in our curatorial niches, and now we have the opportunity to think about collections in a collaborative way. 

Jeannie: One example is Japanese photography—I recruited Julia to work with me on a recent acquisition of a group of conceptual photographs, which will likely be shown soon after reopening. Together we are also in the very early stages of a larger exhibition project that will examine an early twentieth-century Japanese-American photographer from the Pacific Northwest. Both projects are rooted in a shared sense that moving beyond area-specific curatorial silos is not only desirable and endemic to our way of working, it’s critical. 

Sara: We have experimented with Throughlines to give visitors a look at what cross-department collaboration could look like. This exhibition, in part, asks us to consider the ways art connects us across time, culture and geographies, and proposes that within the broad realm of visual art there are continuities and resonances to be celebrated together. In our planning for after the Pavilion opens, we have been holding two important considerations: While we’ll maintain specific collection galleries across the buildings, we will create moments where constellations of diverse works will expand narratives and perspectives. We also want to instill other areas of collaboration both internally and with partners, artists or guest curators, to be responsive to current issues, community voices, or other social opportunities where we can utilize the collection as a resource for reflection or provocation.

What opportunities does this bring for deepening relationships with Portland artists and community partners? 

Erin: I am hopeful the Rothko Pavilion will set the stage for Indigenous communities and all communities of color to center themselves and their knowledge amongst the art. During the next few years, the Native American Art galleries will undergo an entire redesign that prioritizes the art, Indigenous community voices, and updated display practices. We are currently in the process of doing a collection review including repatriation research, which will ultimately aid Kathleen Ash Milby and me in the ethical storytelling of these items for wider audiences. 

Kathleen: While the new Native American Art galleries will undergo a complete redesign which will likely launch a few years after the Rothko Pavilion is completed, we are exploring other ideas to highlight the collection in our galleries. These include a 21st-century acquisitions exhibition and a smaller installation focused on our local and regional collections. The Native American art program is bigger than our permanent collection galleries, so you’ll continue to see it throughout the Museum and new spaces. There is so much more to come in the years ahead!

Learn more about the Portland Art Museum’s collection and our Mark Rothko Pavilion, coming in 2025!

The University of Nevada, Reno and Office of Indigenous Relations seeks requests for qualifications for an outdoor mural project to be located on the University of Nevada, Reno main campus. This mural is part of the University’s sesquicentennial celebration.

The University of Nevada recognizes that it is situated on the traditional homelands of the Numu (Northern Paiute), Wašiw (Washoe), Newe (Western Shoshone), and Nuwu (Southern Paiute) peoples and understands the importance of Tribal communities and Native Americans across the State of Nevada, and their diverse perspectives.

The mural will serve as a space for gathering, reflection, and celebration of Native American Peoples.

Vision

The vision for this mural is to be a transition piece to include storytelling as a visual representation throughout the years of Native American communities in Nevada, and to highlight the ways in which education has served as a tool for empowerment and the movement of Native American People. This may include the intertwined relationship between traditional ways in present day Native American communities.

The proposed mural will provide representation for Native American students, staff, faculty, community members, and visitors and strive to foster a sense of belonging at the University of Nevada, Reno. The artist will be given creative license to expand beyond the main theme of storytelling to include aspects of language, resiliency, education, empowerment, connection to land and culture, and Wolf Pack imagery.

The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is hosting WITHIN: Louis Still Smoking & John Isaiah Pepion. WITHIN artist discussion on Oct. 26.

The event is drawn from the artists’ belief that the strength and success of Native American identity and culture is internally inherited and created inside of their communities.

As artists, Still Smoking and Pepion aim to help reclaim, reinform, and redefine what it means to a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana today. By looking within, they themselves and fellow indigenous communities become whole again, according to the museum.

The artists will collaborate to create a mural inside the museum with integrated individual works. The exhibition has a time-based element as the mural is temporary and reflects on the history of cultural erasure, while the combined individual free-standing works reflect continuity and resistance, according to the museum.

Together the artists investigate the varied meanings of being indigenous, with art and culture being at the core of indigenous education and identity.

“WITHIN offers the possibility of opening dynamic conversation with the public about the current state of indigenous art, education, and life in Montana. The creation of the mural at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, originally a public school built in 1896, is integral to the conceptualization of the installation because the visual subject matter encourages a discussion about education and cultural resilience. The artists aim to root their project in the hope and positivity of their people and culture but are also poignantly reflective about the trauma inflicted on indigenous communities resulting from the seizing of their land and the enactment of forced assimilation programs. Ultimately a complex conversation,” according to the museum.

Pepion is a Plains Indian graphic artist from the Piikani Band of the Blackfoot Confederacy based out of the Blackfeet reservation in north-central Montana, where the Rocky Mountains meet the plains. He is best known for his ledger art, which is an art tradition that developed in Plains tribes, as the buffalo hide traditionally used for painting became scarce, Plains people were forced to adapt by making artwork on ledger paper from accounting books. Pepion comes from a family of artists, and ledger art has been in his family for hundreds of years.

Still Smoking was born and raised in Browning on the Blackfeet Reservation. Still Smoking worked as a stone sculptor and educator and returned to college to focus on painting. His artwork is influenced by the Impressionists, Lucian Freud, and research on the history of the American Indian Movement.

“The exhibition and lecture series echoes the museum’s core value initiatives to provide to support justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, in a space where all voices are heard. The museum is as a platform to provide and expand the reach of indigenous work in the arts and humanities by strengthening opportunities to provide educational outreach to the Great Falls and Montana community. The museum is hoping to build a better and more fortified relationship with local, regional, and statewide indigenous communities. We are aware that all indigenous voices and communities are different, including languages, experiences, history, and culture. It is through indigenous expertise and guidance, coupled with our own museum initiatives, research, and learning, that we aim to provide a positive space for future generations of indigenous artists and scholars to thrive in Montana,” according to the museum.

The events are free and open to the public.

• 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26: Artist Reception and Discussion for WITHIN: Louis Still-Smoking and John Isaiah Pepion. Join featured artists Still Smoking and Pepion in discussion with Nicole Maria Evans, the museum’s curator.
• 5:30 p.m. Nov. 17: Hiding in Plain Sight: Expanding the Canvas. Jennifer Woodcock-Medicine Horse will explore the history and social purposes of painted Blackfeet tipis and the transition to contemporary murals examined through Still Smoking and Pepion’s body of work. Woodcock-Medicine Horse is program director for IndigenEyes: Contemporary Native American Art of the Rocky Mountains and Plains.
• 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8: After years of being defined and designed to be something other than an indigenous people, Sean Chandler will illustrate the significance of indigenous lifeways as the foundation of indigenous education in contemporary life. He will present a brief background on the federal government’s policy to alter and control American Indian identity. Specifically, he will discuss how Aaniiih Nakoda College has been driven to counter those past assimilationist policies to define itself as an institution grounded in Aaniiih and Nakoda Lifeways for the people of the Aaniinen and Nakoda Nations. Chandler is president of Aaniiih Nakoda College located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

For more information, contact Evans, curator, at nicole@the-square.org; 406-727-8255.

In more ways than one, the work of La Jolla artist Chakib Bouhdary is like a mosaic. In practice, he takes his material, cuts it into shapes and puts it back together to create something new. Personally, the effort to create the pieces represents the coming together of his upbringing, past careers and his life in La Jolla to tell a story.

Bouhdary was selected to be one of four artists in the upcoming Art San Diego Local Talent program, which chooses local artists with studios at the Arts District in Point Loma’s Liberty Station to have a booth at the show.

Art San Diego will be held Friday through Sunday, Nov. 3-5, at the San Diego Convention Center downtown.

As part of the program, Bouhdary taught art classes at San Diego’s Monarch School (which serves students affected by homelessness), and the resulting pieces will be on display and available for purchase with a suggested donation to the school.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of this, it’s really a privilege,” Bouhdary said, especially given that he moved to La Jolla only two years ago and recently joined the local art scene. He’s originally from Morocco and was trained in the technology industry before retiring and dedicating his time to his art.

“I liked art for a long time and did projects here and there, but when I retired, I tried to connect all the pieces of my life together through my art,” he said. “Morocco is colorful and lively; they use shape and color to create beautiful spaces. So I took advantage of my culture and blended it with newer art technology like alcohol-based paint and resin to make these pieces.”

With his move to La Jolla, Bouhdary is constantly inspired by the ocean and sunsets because they are “never the same twice; there are always new colors or clouds or flow or light,” he said. He often tries to re-create the feeling of a sunset in his work.

To make his pieces — which can be placed on everything from a canvas to a coffee table — he takes whatever material he is working with, paints it, cuts it or breaks it into pieces and reassembles them. He covers the completed pieces with a shiny sealant to “make the colors pop even more.”

“It’s very elaborate work, but beautiful when it’s finished,” he said.

(Bouhdy Art)

Bouhdary said the process “came very naturally” to students at the Monarch School because of its hands-on nature and creative aspects. But they also “broke the rules to make something that was just theirs,” he added.

Bouhdary did two sessions with the students and one with their parents so they could replicate the projects as home.

“We did 15 pieces together. I was blown away by what these kids produced in an hour and a half,” he said. “It proved to me the value of making art accessible. Art can be anything that makes you feel calm or happy.”

He also believes that art is necessary as a complement to the more technical skills children learn to be successful adults.

“When you look at something that is the right balance between design and function, like a car or a phone, that is the result of someone using the creative and the practical sides of their brain,” he said. “I think we push children toward the practical side, but I think we need to encourage the use of both sides of the brain. I feel strongly that we need to expose kids as much as possible to the beauty of art. It’s critical to the future of jobs and the future of humanity. It’s really powerful.”

Discovering the artistic talent in San Diego has been “eye-opening,” Bouhdary said, and he wants others to discover it as well.

“It’s so important to have artists in the community,” he said. “It really surprised me that we have an Arts District in Liberty Station. There are amazing local artists that show there. I would encourage people to get involved in their local art community.”

Bouhdary’s Bouhdy Art studio is at Liberty Station’s Barracks 19, 2690 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. To learn more about Art San Diego, visit redwoodartgroup.com/art-san-diego. ◆

Museums and collectors are showing interest in works by developmentally and intellectually challenged artists, many of whom were nurtured in a vibrant Oakland, Calif., center.

Marta Minujín is about to get her due at a Jewish Museum solo exhibition — her first major show in the United States.

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NEOSHO, Mo. — A new mural honoring native son Thomas Hart Benton was installed earlier this week on the north side of Neosho City Hall.

Titled “A Social History of Thomas Hart Benton,” it was painted on panels by Neosho artist Jared Jennings, who said he was inspired by a trip his fifth grade class took years ago to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, where he first saw Benton’s “A Social History of the State of Missouri.”

“I didn’t really pay any attention to what anybody was saying,” Jennings said. “I was just hung up on the paintings in that room.” 

After receiving both his undergraduate and master’s degree, he approached the Neosho Arts Council with the mural proposal.

“They liked the idea of doing a tribute to this Neosho native, this muralist,” he said.

“We are so excited to not only bring another public art work to our community but to also honor this world-renowned artist who called Neosho home,” Sarah Serio, president of Neosho Arts Council, said in a statement. The Neosho Arts Council sponsored creation of the new mural.

Benton was born in 1889 in Neosho.

The mural features an older Benton at work painting. One of the dominant elements in the painting is a train with the number 75, which Jennings said plays off the euphemism “when my train comes in” to refer to Benton’s death in 1975.

There’s also a black horse racing beside a recently plowed field, and Jennings said he was inspired by a Benton painting titled “Plowing it Under,” which is at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and also to Benton being a “dark horse,” meaning his family wanted him to pursue a career in politics and law rather than art, but he defied them even though it led to an estranged relationship with his father.

“One of the really fascinating elements that Jared included in this mural is the tree and grass on the right,” Serio said. “In spots it’s a red-brown color. This was done on purpose to reference the maquette, or small clay models, that Benton sculpted and painted and then used as reference designs for his murals.”

“I really wanted the mural to feel like something he would have done himself,” Jennings added. 

The Neosho Arts Council is working on a descriptive audio guide for the mural. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the mural will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, by the Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce.

During his 1962 visit, Benton gave 12 original lithographs to Neosho, Serio said. They are on display in the lobby of Neosho City Hall. The Neosho Arts Council has produced a guide to give a background on each piece, plus it explains what a lithograph is and how one is made.

The public can also view a second mural located inside Neosho City Hall. “Flower Box City” was painted in 2008 by Benton’s grandson, Anthony Benton Gude. The mural features scenes from Neosho during the first half of the 1900s, including Benton’s arrival in Neosho by train in 1962 for Thomas Hart Benton Day.

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The City and County of Honolulu announced Thursday that it received an award through Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge.

More than 150 proposals were submitted to the challenge this year, with Honolulu’s proposal being one of eight that was chosen. 

Called “Wahi Pana,” which translates to “storied places,” the proposal intends to highlight indigenous stories at Oahu sites popular with tourists. 

No specific examples were included within the city’s press release, which credited the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts with leading the proposal, but the city said that these art installations will be multimedia projects by Native Hawaiian and Hawaii-based artists.

These artists will “collaborate with cultural experts to research and create site-specific artworks highlighting the complex histories of often overlooked cultural and historical sites affected by over-tourism,” according to the press release. 

Per the funder’s guidelines, projects will be temporary installations. They will be crafted throughout the next two years.

Other cities that received the award proposed their own unique projects. 

In hot and dry Phoenix, for example, the winning proposal seeks to create more shade through its public art. Houston’s winning proposal seeks to “interrupt perceptions of homelessness,” its mayor said in an announcement video put together by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The full list of recipient cities include Honolulu, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Orlando, Phoenix and Houston. 

photo by: Shelley Hanson (file)

During a plein-air painting event in September, Marshall County Schools students, clockwise from left, Olivia Wyatt, Alexis Roberts, Dante McGlumphy and Chyanne Foster work on their paintings of the ancient burial mound at the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville. The mound is set to hold its inaugural Native American Heritage Day on Nov. 4.

The Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville is set to hold its inaugural Native American Heritage Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 4.

Site Manager Jeremy Kohus said the day will kick off with a presentation by Tyrone Smith, project director of the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio.

The Friends of Native Roots Artists Guild’s Seneca Tribe of New York members will also be doing demonstrations and selling their works of art. Demonstrations will include quill earring making at 11 a.m.; beadwork with caribou fur tufting at 1 p.m.; make and take bracelets for children at 2 p.m. and moccasin making at 3 p.m.

There will also be traditional food samples, crafts for children and a seed giveaway. The museum’s collections including cultural objects and the hellbender dugout canoe will also be talked about.

Featured visiting artists will include:

∫ Kristina Tome of the Seneca Nation, Deer Clan, of New York. She lives on the Allegheny Territory in Salamanca, New York. She uses a variety of mediums including paint, pencil, beads and porcupine quills to make traditional and non-traditional earrings;

∫ Penelope Minner of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, of New York, creates black ash splint baskets and corn husk dolls. She also lives on the Allegheny Territory in Salamanca, New York.

∫ Samantha Jacobs of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, New York, will also be demonstrating traditional arts. She lives in the Cattaraugus Territory in Irving, New York; and

∫ Mary Jacobs of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, creates traditional Iroquois raised beadwork in traditional patterns and designs using artisan glass, semi-precious and precious stone beads, textiles and leathers.

Kohus said the event was researched and planned by AmeriCorps volunteer Basil Stewart.

“He did all the coordinating and brainstorming for this event. He reached out to all the participants,” Kohus said. “This is a first-time event for us here and it’s a one-of-kind event for our area.”

Kohus added Stewart’s term as a volunteer has ended, but he will stay on as a consultant for the museum.

“We’re glad to have him here with us,” he said.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Natives from every corner of the state are at the Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage for the Thursday start of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. It’s a time for people to renew connections and visit with friends as well as address important issues of public policy and government.

This year’s theme is “Our Ways of Life” but according to AFN Co-chair Joe Nelson, it’s more of a call to defend traditional ways of life.

“We are always in the courts over all kinds of things so we just have to continually be advocating to protect our way of life for the next generations,” Nelson said.

Nelson said the convention strives for unity, to address issues important to Alaska Natives with a single strong voice.

This year delegates to the convention will consider adopting 29 resolutions. Several deal with subsistence, including one sponsored by the AFN board that asks Congress “to permanently protect the right of Alaska Native people to engage in subsistence fishing in Alaska’s navigable waters.” Nelson said some or all of the resolutions will likely be adopted after a lengthy debate on Saturday.

The conference isn’t just about advocating for Native rights, it’s also about commerce. The Alaska Native Customary Art Fair boasts one of the largest gatherings of Alaska Native artists in the state. Nelson said the income generated from the art fair is an important boost for artists and urged people to shop for the holidays so artists didn’t have any inventory left to take home.

The AFN Convention runs from Oct. 19-21. It is free and open to the public at the Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage. The Customary Art Fair is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Copyright 2023 KTUU. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Mary Goddard is Tlingit, Kaagwaantaan, Eagle/Brown Bear of Klukwan and grew up in Yakutat. She resides in Sitka with her husband and son, creating Tlingit formline designs for her original carved jewelry, public art installations, and more. She runs a film company and an Indigenous cooking blog. Mary has served as Southeast Alaska’s Regional Catalyst for Regenerative Tourism as well continuing to serve on the board of the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association.

“Buying jewelry and sculptures made from Walrus ivory is sustainable. Your purchase supports our communities and ensures the continuation of our culture.” Bailey McCallson, a Yup’ik ivory artist, shares this with absolute certainty.

Bailey is from Bethel, a Southwestern village on the Kuskokwim River, roughly 400 miles west of Anchorage. The majority of Bethel’s nearly 6,000 residents are Alaska Native. It is home to the Kuskokwim 300 Dog Sled Race and the Camai Yup’ik Dance Festival. 

As an ivory artist, Bailey understands that oftentimes visitors are confused by ivory items for sale when they are visiting Alaska. This is due to the bans on elephant ivory. Walrus Ivory is protected through the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is legal only for Alaska Natives to hunt walrus and to utilize their tusks. Once the ivory is crafted into artwork such as sculptures or jewelry can it be purchased by non-Alaska Natives. 

Bailey’s Yup’ik culture relies heavily on the sustenance of walrus. “We use everything. Nothing goes to waste, down to the whiskers and even the lining of the walrus stomach.” Unfortunately ivory got a bad rap because of elephant poaching and the bans on ivory. However, for Yup’iks, walrus hunting is not trophy hunting.

Although Bailey is a hunter, he purchases ivory from other Alaska Native hunters. “I like supporting them. No one asks for much for the ivory, just enough to fill their gas tank so they can hunt again.” For Bailey, carving ivory, like his ancestors did, connects him to his culture. He finds himself researching his culture, listening intently to shared Yup’ik stories and songs from elders, hungry to learn more about his Yup’ik heritage. “It’s exciting! I can learn these stories and carve them into ivory sculptures. This is my way of carrying on our traditions. It’s a way for me to connect to my identity.”

Bailey is an enthusiastic artist. His eyes light up when he talks about ivory. He laughs a lot, and tells me it hasn’t always been that way for him. Growing up in a rural, flat and often cold village in Western Alaska had its struggles.  

While we are talking, Bailey’s dad walks in. He is a gregarious man, big voice and tall. He clearly is proud of his son. “When Bailey was 8 years old he was out camping in the Tundra. By himself!” he laughs in amazement. “It was below zero and that didn’t bother Bailey at all. He told me, ‘Dad, I will be fine. I have my sleeping bag and everything I need.’ And he went camping, all by himself.” He shakes his head, and then as quickly as he entered the workshop, Bailey’s father is off. 

Bailey smiles and lets me know, nothing has changed. He still loves the outdoors. He has no problem camping, hiking, boating, and hunting; no matter the weather. Bethel’s subarctic climate means long winters and short summers. Temperatures in Bethel stay in the single digits in winter and rarely get warmer than 60 degrees in the summer months. 

“If you don’t stay busy and occupied, you can easily get depressed. I have made up my mind to be positive. To chase after my dreams.” Bailey could easily be a motivational speaker. Young, but with years of wisdom. He is someone you want to keep listening to. He is real and genuine and full of curiosity for life. He seems to be the type of person with no end to energy, which is funny to me because he shares with us a Yup’ik word; Tuaingunrituq, which means there is no end. (I immediately connect this word to Bailey, wondering how his energy never ends!) He connects this to the ivory. Bailey shares that when you respect an animal by not wasting any of it, this is keeping the story alive for the animal, so that it too can have no end. The story goes on. Tuaingunrituq.

Bailey switches to talk about flying and his goals of becoming a commercial pilot. His eyes light up again. I can tell, carving ivory and flying airplanes, they are equal loves, the source of Bailey’s energy. He circles back around to the challenges of living in Bethel, explaining that flying has allowed him a new perspective. Having a bird’s eye view, he can witness how big and vast Alaska actually is. His eyes are open to opportunities and the beauty of this place. He shares that both flying and being connected to his culture keep him grounded. He sees the value of passing on the art of ivory carving to Yup’ik youth. “I want to teach this to others. I want our youth to succeed.”

Bailey teaches me, teaches us, step by step how he takes a walrus tusk and cuts it into workable chunks. He shows how he sketches on the ivory, how he glues, sands and files the ivory until it is recognizable as a piece of jewelry. The process takes a couple of hours. Self-taught and taking inspiration by carvings done by other artists, Bailey has been creating jewelry in his shop for four years. 

We turn off the camera and lights and begin packing up, our time with Bailey is about to come to an end.  Bailey gives the ivory earrings a slight polish and hands them to me. As a gift. They are beautiful, smooth to the touch, a creamy white and are in the shape of the infinite symbol. I can’t help but smile.

Tuaingunrituqv. (There is no end)

I know Bailey’s story will not end, it is and will be carried on through his jewelry, his ivory art. 

Want to learn more about Bailey? Watch the artist spotlight video of Bailey below. Shop for jewelry made by Bailey at Alaska gift shops or from his Instagram store, @tuskworthy_premiums. 

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone were draped in the Seattle company’s blanket on the front page of British Vogue’s magazine.

Tuesday, October 24 at 9

Season 2 of Native America is a groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Indian Country. Building on the success of the first season, this four-part Native directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous world. Smashing stereotypes, it follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians, and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century.

About NATIVE AMERICA
Smashing stereotypes, Season 2 follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians, and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century.

Each hour brings a core tenet of Native heritage to life through contemporary stories of the here and now. “New Worlds” reveals the power of Indigenous art and engineering, and the musicians, astronauts, and builders who are constructing a better, Native-led, tomorrow. “Language is Life” explores how Native languages and communication have fueled the Indigenous soul since time immemorial. It uncovers the remarkable linguistic revitalization taking place through the dubbing of Hollywood blockbusters into Native languages, and the use of state-of-the-art technology to recover secret inscriptions that were once lost to time.

“Women Rule” showcases the diverse ways women lead across Indian Country, from state houses to the front lines of the environmental movements saving our planet. And “Warrior Spirit” uncovers how the long legacy of Native resilience lives on, both in a proud tradition of contemporary Native military service, and in world-leading feats of athleticism. It reveals a powerful Native drive to represent their communities, through going for gold in championship boxing, risking it all in Indian Horse Relay races, and honoring heroes of the past who laid down their lives to fight colonial oppression over 300 years ago.

These thematic episodes are filled with inspiring stories of Native resilience, resistance, and revival. They uncover the active dialogue between past and present that powers Native America as it enters the 21st century. And they showcase the foundational beliefs and traditions that Native Americans are carrying forward to this day, even as they live fully modern lives.

Native America was produced by a team with Native leadership at every level, created through active input from Native American participants and communities, and filmed by Emmy-award winning cinematographers. These aspects combine to create a depth of access and sense of up-close intimacy that is rarely seen on television. It is a series that was designed from the ground up to illustrate how, from the halls of Congress to the surface of Mars, the future is Native.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day—celebrated on Oct. 9—is “a day to celebrate who Indigenous people are,” said artist and business-owner Rebecca Kirk (Klamath and Leech Lake Ojibwe). “There was a time when we weren’t able to celebrate or practice our traditional customs, but now we’re able to and that’s a really beautiful thing,” Kirk said. 

Kirk—owner of Resting Warrior Face Apparel—creates original artwork, accessories, clothing and handmade jewelry. Kirk was one of many Native vendors who gathered on Oct. 9 to form the Portland Indigenous Marketplace at the Portland State Native American Student and Community Center (PSU-NASCC).

Another vendor present there was Zani Nevayaktewa (Hopi), co-owner of a family-owned business called RRB Native, which sells handmade jewelry and specializes in beadwork, silver and gemstone adornments. 

“[Indigenous Peoples’ Day] is very important—especially for my children—because growing up I didn’t get to have very much of that recognition, like seeing that in our schools or in the media,” Nevayaktewa said.

“For me, every day is a Indigenous’ Peoples Day, as weird as that sounds—just because of the nature of the work I do,” said Dr. Kali Simmons (Oglala Lakota), assistant professor of Indigenous Nations studies at PSU. “But it’s nice to have a federally-recognized day that invites people to hopefully educate themselves about Indigenous people more broadly… and to make connections with Indigenous people in their local community, and think about who are the traditional people of the lands that you’re living on.” 

The Portland Indigenous Marketplace is one such opportunity for connection. This event is held in various locations around the Portland area and will return to PSU-NASCC on Nov. 24–26. 

Lluvia Merello (Quechua, Andean/Inca)is the founder of Portland Indigenous Marketplace. Merello organized this community of Indigenous and Black artisans in order to support “Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs by providing barrier-free, culturally respectful spaces that encourage cultural resilience and economic sustainability.”

The marketplace relies primarily on grants, donations and volunteers to maintain itself. There is no fee for artisans to sell, but vendors must meet two requirements. First, they must offer handmade products. Second, “if you’re making culturally specific items, we really are very specific that you have to be from that culture,” Merello said. “For us it’s important that you know where your Indigeneity comes from.”

“When I went to other events that weren’t culturally specific, I would maybe be the only one of two vendors that were Indigenous or even people of color at events,” Merello said. “It was really a night-and-day experience… when I was having a better time at an event and felt supported and in community.”

Merello began organizing the marketplace in response to a lack of entrepreneurial opportunities for Indigenous communities in Portland. “Before [COVID-19], there were probably 12–14 annual events that local Native artists could count on happening every year… and I was like, ‘That’s not enough…’” Merello said. “Folks really are trying to build a business and they just need more exposure.”

Aside from the marketplace, Portland has other opportunities to engage with Native histories and cultures. For example, PSU-NASCC organizes various festive and educational events every year. As Native American Heritage Month approaches, the PSU Indigenous Nations studies department has collaborated with two local theaters to host Native-centric film screening events. The first of these on Oct. 23 will feature the 2023 historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon, followed by the horror-thriller film Clearcut on Nov. 4.

Additionally, the Center for Native Arts and Culture in Southeast Portland hosts workshops, artist talks and exhibition spaces “to strengthen Native communities and promote positive social change with American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native peoples in the United States,” according to its website. 

This center represents one of many instances in which stolen land has been returned to Native ownership, fulfilling the LandBack movement. Initially owned by Yale Union, the $5.36 million building was donated to the Native Arts and Culture Foundation in 2020. This movement is not metaphorical, theoretical or unprecedented.

“It is the reclamation of everything stolen from the original peoples: land, language, ceremony, food, education, housing, healthcare, governance, medicines, kinship,” the official LandBack manifesto states.

While this type of reconciliation is still hindered by performative land acknowledgments, unfulfilled treaties and hollow apologies, the LandBack movement continues to gain ground. It represents a materialization of support and respect for Native Nations and Native sovereignty. 

“If you are a settler and you have large tracts of land—especially if that land is located near traditional food sites, traditional sacred sites, places like that—how can you make those spaces available to the communities who traditionally do ceremonies or collect food or collect medicines there?” Simmons said.

“When we talk about LandBack, the first thing that people think about is ‘my private land’, which we are talking about, but actually the preponderance of public lands are owned by places like the Bureau of Land Management,” Simmons said.

“In Oregon, there’s lots of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management that could perhaps instead be returned to the ownership of tribes so that they could have stewardship over it instead,” Simmons said. “Currently the Pacific Northwest has 16.1 million acres of public lands that are managed by [the Bureau.] And so, hey, let’s start there.” 

Here in Portland, many opportunities exist to redistribute resources more equitably to Indigenous communities. For example, at PSU equitable funding does not even reach students who are Native to the land on which the university stands. 

“I think every PSU student who is aware of our land acknowledgment and aware that we resided on the traditional homelands of the Chinook people should be supporting the Chinook’s efforts to reclaim their federal recognition status,” Simmons said.

“A significant thing that’s impacting them at PSU is that they don’t qualify for the Oregon Tribal Grant,” Simmons said. “And so even though we’re literally on their homelands, and we’re offering federal benefits to other Indigenous students here, we are not offering federal benefits to them.” 

The U.S. as a whole has much work to do in reconciling the long histories of violence against Indigenous peoples of this land. Settler colonialism imposes even on Indigenous Peoples’ Day itself, considering it is still recognized by many states and on the federal level as Columbus day. 

“I feel like there are better Italian American heroes that we could have a day [named] after than Christopher Columbus—who not only instituted a regime of genocidal violence that this continent hadn’t seen before, but that also was deeply involved in the slave trade,” Simmons said. “I also think about this as a day of solidarity too between Indigenous peoples across the globe. There are Indigenous peoples currently engaged in collective struggles for sovereignty across the world, and these problems share an origin. And we have to remember there are Afro-Indigenous people domestically and globally. The Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day dynamic invites us to think about how these anti-colonial struggles are interconnected.”

“There is such an overrepresentation of a lot of western heroes,” Simmons said. “There isn’t a lot of mainstream representation of prominent Native people that did cool stuff. Like, you could probably rattle off a list of 50 famous white, Euro-American men. And then when it came to listing prominent Indigenous people, that would be a harder list for people to compose.”  

“Equity can feel like discrimination for some people, when we’re saying, ‘Hey, let’s level the playing field and give equal representation to different communities,’” Simmons said.

“There is a long, beautiful history before Columbus or colonizers, and when we don’t include that history we’re totally erasing it,” Merello said. “We’re saying history started 500 years ago. That’s not even right.”

Settlers educating themselves about the histories and present realities of Native Nations is necessary for their proper recognition and acknowledgment. Unfortunately, mainstream education and media institutions across the U.S. largely fail to center Native perspectives to adequate degrees.

Simmons teaches a class called Intro to Native Studies. This class addresses the histories of Native Nations specific to Oregon and their forced removals, the current legal statuses of Tribal Nations and reservation lands and the abuse and murder of Native children in federally-mandated boarding schools. 

Simmons conducts polls to gauge if the course content is new or familiar to students. “A lot of students reported that all of the content that I bring week to week is brand new,” Simmons said. “And that has been my experience as long as I’ve been teaching this class.”

“So there’s definitely more that can be done to integrate a really honest engagement with the history of colonization in education,” Simmons said. “Because I think a lot about like, ‘When will I stop experiencing this?’ When will I come into class and I’ll have these first three lectures and most students will be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I know all this stuff. I learned it in high school. I learned it in middle school. I learned it in elementary school…’ What would the world look like if that started to happen? Would other policies change?”

Native Americans should not have to shoulder the burden of curing non-natives’ ignorance either. “I was always called out in school for being the only Native in the classroom, and having [this] expectation from my teacher and others,” Nevayaktewa said. “That because I’m Native I know everything about all Native cultures—which is never true, because I only knew about my own tribe, and that was it. So I feel like definitely reading up on Indigenous cultures—especially in whatever state or region you’re in—learning about those local tribes [is important].”

There are many ways to celebrate and honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Education is undoubtedly the foundation for progress, but a partially recognized holiday must materialize as more than a gesture to truly decolonize this land.

A wave of new interest in the artist of Indigenous descent known as Chico shines a light on his dreamlike paintings of animals and the issues of authorship and autonomy that affected his life.

Calling all local artists!  

The Greater Wilmington Business Journal is accepting submissions from local artists  – original paintings and drawings that reflect Wilmington-area landmarks, events, communities, native wildlife or landscapes.  

Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business. 
 
Artists whose work is selected to appear in the publication are invited to provide a headshot, short bio and contact information to be included in the 2024 Book of Business. 
 
Artists can submit up to three entries. Photography is not accepted. Paintings, drawings, photo illustration, digital illustration and collage will be considered. The publication is tabloid format, so vertical art is preferred. One piece will be used on the cover. All other selections will appear as full-page section intros throughout the publication. 
 
The artist whose piece is chosen for the cover will also receive $250 and a 1/2 page ad credit. 
 
To submit: Please send an electronic copy of the original art in JPEG, TIFF or PDF format. Files should be less than 9MB. Vertical images work best with the print format. If your artwork is selected, we will ask for a larger, high-resolution version. 
 
Email submissions, questions or artist recommendations to [email protected]. 
 
Submission deadline is Dec. 9. 
 
Editor’s note: For businesses that have questions about being included on industry lists in the Book on Business, contact [email protected].

Tuesday, October 24 at 8:00pm – Tune in or stream with the PBS app and online at video.lptv.org.

Native America is a groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Indian Country. This four-part Native directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous world. Smashing stereotypes, it follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians, and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith had never visited a gallery or art museum before college, but that didn’t deter her from pursuing her passion. Throughout her career, the artist’s work has hung everywhere from the Smithsonian American Art Museum to the Carnegie Museum of Art. Her piece “I See Red: Target” was the first painting on canvas by a Native artist purchased by the National Gallery of Art.

Now, roughly 50 years of her career — including paintings, drawings and sculpture exploring the importance of nature, history and conceptions of time and creation — are on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Born in 1940 in a Jesuit mission on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, Smith is a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, and her work confronts the discrimination Indigenous people face in the United States and also pokes fun at the stereotypes.

“When I was a little girl,” she told a crowd gathered at the Modern, “we were asked to leave restaurants or stores with my father who was very dark. ‘We don’t serve Indians here.’ … So we didn’t wear anything that would identify us.”

When she learned about art history she saw several different renderings of the Madonna, also called the Virgin Mary or Mother of Christ, but they were all white. Smith decided to make a sculpture of her own, an Indigenous version, which is one of the first pieces that greets visitors upon entering the exhibition.

Around the mid-to-late ’80s and early ’90s, Smith began to feel that her works weren’t political enough so she started to introduce text into her art.

“People were saying, ‘Well, I don’t understand what this work is about, and I hear what you’re saying, but it doesn’t look that way to me.’ So I decided I would just put the text in there and just let it speak for itself,” she said. As a bonus, it helps the docents describe the work to tour groups.

Smith created a set of paper dolls in 1991 with Barbie and Ken Plenty of Horses and a variety of outfits such as “A suit for receiving U.S. gov’t rations when not allowed to hunt or gather our own food” and “Matching Smallpox suits after U.S. gov’t sent wagon loads of Smallpox-infected blankets to keep our families warm.”

Filling the wall of another gallery, an expansive 12-feet-wide mixed-media canvas depicts a long canoe, images of wildlife and a collage of headlines, including: “Have you lost your sense of direction?,” “Protect Endangered Loggers,” and “My daughter collects seashells. I collect air miles.” The shelf with plastic baskets mounted above the piece “Tongass Trade Canoe” is emblematic of her view that Americans are trading plastic for wildlife and natural landscapes.

“My father said, ‘Don’t criticize white people because it will help you get in trouble, but you can think it,’” she recalled. “So I think … one reason why I started going to newspapers was because it was a safe thing to do. It was already created and I could cut it out and paste it on here.”

In the ’90s, Smith was inspired by the boldness of younger generations, she shed her fear of wearing items that would identify her as Native.

Ironically, even today, if she wears a hat with beadwork or traditional earrings, she still gets comments about how she looks. The same thing happens to her son whenever he carries an embroidered bag.

“Some of the things we deal with are, ‘It doesn’t look Indian’ or ‘You don’t look Indian,’” Smith’s son Neal Ambrose-Smith said. “And it might sound strange, but that happens a lot of the time, like ‘Where are your feathers?’ that sort of thing.”

Smith’s work is grounded in research, but her own perspective is always present, whether she is challenging stereotypes, pointing out hypocrisy or turning a map on its side.

This subversion isn’t meant to evoke a power struggle but intended as a kind reminder that the land that would become the United States was settled long before Christopher Columbus and other pilgrims arrived.

“We were here first,” Smith said. “We’ve been here since creation time.”

About 130 pieces of her work will be on view at the Modern through Jan. 21.

Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Lowriders and oversize flannel button-downs, gold jewelry and the Mexican flag.

Two North Texas multimedia artists are filtering symbols of Chicano culture through their own lenses to reflect on their experiences growing up first-generation Mexican American. Their work also touches on larger themes of religion, adolescence and identity.

“When you’re first-generation, I feel like you’re always stuck and you’re fighting between two cultures,” said Adrian Garcia Mendez, founder of Her.Manos Photography. “You want to put them together but the people from both sides try to pull them back. You’re the rope and you want to bring them together.”

Martha Rincón’s, known as Thrive, three-photo series titled “Eslabón por Eslabón,” or “Chain to Chain,” is being showcased at 400 H Gallery until November. The series consists of three double-exposure photographs of lowriders taken at a car show in 2020. All three photographs are printed on makeshift license plates and layered on top of a pink faux fur background.

“That was a time when I really started capturing lowrider culture, so when I got asked to be a part of this event, I was like, ‘I kind of want to bring that back, like a little ode to the beginning of me,’ ” Rincón said.

And it’s not just Rincón and Garcia Mendez; Chicano culture is having a moment. Over the past few years, there’s been renewed interest by mainstream arts institutions in showcasing the local arts and culture of Mexican Americans.

Back in 2022, the Dallas Museum of Art hosted a lowrider event for its Drifting on a Memory mural. Dallas artist Lokey Calderon and East L.A archivist and artist Guadalupe Rosales presented their immersive 153-foot mural of a pinstriped lowrider in the museum’s concourse. The entire concourse was designed to make visitors feel like they were inside a lowrider. Dallas lowrider clubs were invited to show off their lowriders in the front and back of the building.

Rincón was there, too. She designed an airbrushed backdrop and set it up by the museum’s main entrance and took glam photos of attendees.

“I feel like that was a big moment in Latino culture in Dallas,” Rincón said. “When have you ever seen so many Latinos and lowriders at the DMA? It was so important and I’m very, very grateful to have been a part of that.”

Growing up in the Webb Chapel neighborhood of Dallas, Rincón remembers going to flea markets with her family. When she was a teenager, she bought her first camera, a Canon AE-1, at a vintage shop that used to be in Deep Ellum and began shooting photographs of buildings and architecture. After realizing she enjoyed photographing her friends more, she started taking portraits, incorporating bits of her family memories into her photo shoots to make them more personal.

“I have a picture of a girl, one of my models, at a bazaar, and that’s childhood for me.” Rincón said. “Every Sunday, my family and I would go to either indoor swap meets or flea markets. It was part of my childhood, like a family ritual type of thing.”

Garcia Mendez, an Oak Cliff native, always messed with cameras. He filmed videos with his flip phone, sending them to his friends just for fun. Three years ago, he wanted to expand his craft so he picked up a film camera. He began photographing old, abandoned buildings covered in graffiti and street art. Later, he transitioned to photographing lowriders.

“These are just things I saw growing up,” Garcia Mendez said.

Both Garcia Mendez and Ricon showcased their work in exhibitions this month. Photos by Garcia Mendez were recently featured in “Euphoria,” a photography show at 500X Gallery in Dallas that showcased photographs and installations that blurred the lines between “reality and the ethereal.” Garcia Mendez displayed six photos, including a self portrait titled Payaso Vaquero . In it, Garcia Mendez is dressed like a cowboy, but also sports a clown nose and big, puffy white Mickey Mouse-esque gloves.

“I always say I have to say a joke to tell the truth,” Garcia Mendez, who was known as the class clown as a child, said. “That’s why the payaso is always in my work and why I always see myself as the payaso.”

While both artists’ works represent their backgrounds, they hope their art can send a message to larger audiences. Garcia Mendez said he wants his photography and short films to help people value and learn more about his Hispanic culture, instead of stereotyping. Similarly, Rincón said her work comes from the pride she has with her cultural roots, but she wants others to be able to connect with it.

“If other people can resonate with it, then I’m already winning,” she said.

“Eslabón por Eslabón” runs until November at 400 Houston Street Gallery & Studio in Fort Worth. Find more information here. 

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.

Jodi Voice Yellowfish (Muscogee Creek, Oglala Lakota and Cherokee) will speak about the history and current realities of the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Center for Great Plains Studies, 1155 Q St. in Lincoln.

Yellowfish is founder and chair of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Texas Rematriate, a Dallas-based organization that helps Indigenous families search for and bring home missing and murdered relatives; supports and offers healing processes to those families; and advocates for social change.

There is a disproportionate rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirits in the United States and Canada. A 2018 report by the Urban Indian Health Institute listed murder as the third-leading cause of death of American Indian and Alaskan Native women ages 10-24. Yellowfish will speak about the crisis’s history, contributing factors and current efforts.

The free public event, part of the center’s Paul A. Olson lecture series, is in conjunction with the Great Plains Art Museum exhibition “Supporting Indigenous Sisters: An International Print Exchange.” The exhibition, which runs through Dec. 16, involves 16 artists from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. The portfolio was created to help begin conversations about missing and murdered Indigenous women at many levels.

Details

By Native News Online Staff

October 17, 2023

The Poeh Cultural Center at Pueblo of Pojoaque has received a $100,000 grant from the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD). Funding comes from the inaugural Creative Industries Grant that was appropriated by the New Mexico Legisture during its 2023 session.

With the grant funds, the Poeh Cultural Center will lead an “Answers Are Indigenous Project” that aims to engage more artists and entrepreneurs to sell and/or consign their work with local year-round and seasonal sales venues. Artists will also receive entrepreneurial training to build or enhance the  business skills and resources participating in the project. The initiative will help preserve cultural  heritage and promote the growth of creative industries for the Poeh’s Pueblo arts program students, Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival artists, and surrounding indigenous entrepreneurs. 

“Our ‘Answers Are Indigenous Project’ is a significant step towards engaging more artists and  entrepreneurs. The initiative will work by providing local artists and entrepreneurs with the necessary  tools and resources to increase their visibility and sales opportunities,” said Karl Duncan, executive director of the Poeh Cultural Center. “We are grateful to the New Mexico Economic Development Department for their support and look forward to the successful implementation of our project.” 

The legislation created the Creative Industries Division that is part of the Economic Development Department. A total of $1.8 million will be awarded to 18 projects in 15 communities and three pueblos across New Mexico. These projects aim to stimulate the advancement and economic development of creative industries in local communities and tribes.

EDD Deputy Secretary Jon Clark said in a released statement,  “The Creative Industries Grants support projects that demonstrate the potential to make a significant  impact on New Mexico’s creative industries economy. Following a competitive process, the initiatives  were chosen for their creativity and clear commitment to advancing creative industry-based economic  development by supporting businesses in creative industries throughout New Mexico.” 

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Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected].

Premieres Tuesdays, Oct. 24 – Nov. 14, 2023 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App. Episodes from Season 1 are on demand with KPBS Passport!

NATIVE AMERICA returns this October with four new hour-long episodes that present a groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Native America. Building on the first season’s success, Season 2 of the Native-directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous communities.

Smashing stereotypes, it follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century. The series is narrated by Joy Harjo of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the internationally renowned poet, performer and writer who served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States.

Each hour explores a core tenet of Native American heritage: the power of Indigenous design, how language and artistry fuel the soul, the diverse ways Native women lead, and the resilience of the warrior spirit.

Brought to life with dynamic stories of the here and now, the series launches an active dialogue between past and present, revealing how foundational beliefs and traditions are shaping and transforming modern Native life.

NATIVE AMERICA was created with active input from Native American participants and communities and filmed by Emmy Award-winning cinematographers. This collaboration created a depth of access and a sense of up-close intimacy and authenticity rarely seen on television.

Filmmaker Quotes:

“NATIVE AMERICA is built on trust — trust that comes from the unspoken understanding of shared experiences between Native producers and the people in tribal communities whose stories we are telling,” said Dan Golding, series producer and enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Nation. “What follows is the freedom to express ourselves in a way that is truly representative. As a Passamaquoddy Elder says in the series, ‘Language is who I am.’ As a producer/director on this series, I can say NATIVE AMERICA is who we are!”

“Native people share their wisdom and knowledge by the telling and retelling of stories,” said Francene Blythe-Lewis, executive director of Vision Maker Media. “The stories mark histories, express relationships to climates and environments, and instill humanity, as well as lessons learned and joys. NATIVE AMERICA portrays this generation’s Native stories to further reveal who and where we are in this world.”

EPISODE GUIDE:

Episode 1: “New Worlds” Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV – Native innovators including NASA engineer Aaron Yazzie (Navajo), sustainable builder Henry Red Cloud (Lakota), and First Nations electronic music group The Halluci Nation are leading a revolution in space exploration, architecture and music. Their work is impacting lives across the globe — and even in outer space. Their revolutionary approach to their work combines deeply held traditions with modern innovation to transform and improve their communities.

From designing key instruments used by NASA’s Perseverance rover as it searches for life on Mars, to developing new forms of energy-efficient housing inspired by Plains Indian traditions, to applying principles of electronic music and hip-hop to bring a contemporary powwow beat to the masses, Native people are playing a significant part in every aspect of the modern world.

Episode 2: “Warrior Spirit” Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV – Within Native communities across America, warrior traditions inspire incredible athletes and connect people to combat, games and glory. “Warrior Spirit” reveals Native men and women who live and breathe this legacy today, including teen boxer Mariah Bahe (Navajo), ultrarunner Christian Gering (Katishtya), and Indian Horse Relay riders from the Flathead National Reservation in Montana. Today’s Native warriors are connected by an incredible history and drive to strengthen and empower themselves, their cultures, communities, and their Nations.

This tradition of reaching within oneself to serve has deep roots in Native American communities. It is told in the proud history of horsemen on the plains fighting to protect their homelands and the Navajo Code Talkers, who transmitted secret messages in World War II. And it lives on across Native America today, where nearly one in five serves in the American armed forces — the highest rate of any group. “Warrior Spirit” uncovers how this legacy is carried forward on the sports field.

Episode 3: “Women Rule” Premieres Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV – From the corridors of power to the fashion runway, from superheroes in comic books to real-life champions protecting the planet, Native women are continuing their traditional roles as leaders to make a better future. “Women Rule” explores how they are building on deep traditions to improve their communities, their lands and the world.

Political trailblazer Ruth Buffalo (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) fights to protect vulnerable people across North Dakota as a state representative. Arigon Starr (Kickapoo) employs music, theater and comic books to revolutionize how Native people are portrayed in the media.

Betty Osceola (Miccosukee Nation) is saving the Everglades through headline-grabbing activism. And Jamie Okuma (Luiseño) designs awardwinning works of wearable art that are rewriting the story of Native fashion.

Episode 4: “Language is Life” Premieres Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV – From Hollywood films on the big screen to sacred writing deep within the Earth, from long-lost voices captured in wax cylinders, Native people are fighting to keep their languages and ways of life alive.

Though many of the approximately 170 Native languages spoken across the United States remain at risk today, it is a time of hope. A revolutionary effort to revitalize traditional languages is unfolding across Native America; and Native innovators are applying 21st-century technologies to save a core element of their culture and inspire future generations.

“Language Is Life” highlights how Native heroes are using every tool to recover, revitalize and restore their linguistic traditions. For example, this episode explores the recovery of Passamaquoddy songs recorded over a century ago using a laser-assisted needle, and digital scans of Cherokee writing hidden under graffiti in a Georgia cave.

In addition, Manny Wheeler (Navajo) shares his mission to dub Hollywood blockbusters like “Star Wars” into Navajo. Their successes are changing Native America and the world at large.

Watch On Your Schedule:

NATIVE AMERICA will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

In addition to the broadcast series, PBS Digital Studios will also stream a digital companion web series exploring more Native American cultures and histories.

Credits:

Produced by Providence Pictures with Daniel Golding (Quechan) and Jennifer Johns (Diné) as series producers, Charles “Boots” Kennedye (Kiowa) and Paige Bethmann (Mohawk/Oneida) as producer/ directors, Pam Belgarde (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) as producer, Mandolin Rainsong (Taos Pueblo) as segment producer, Jeffrey Dobereiner as supervising producer, Rob Tinworth as post-production producer and lead editor, Maureen Lynch and Ben Sweeney as coordinating producers, and Gary Glassman as executive producer. Animation by Handcranked Productions with artists Kaylene J. Big Knife (Chippewa Cree), Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), Rìo Castañeda-Guthreau, Derick Wycherly (Chippewa Cree). Sound design and mix by Heartpunch, with the score composed by Ed Tomney, featuring music by The Halluci Nation, Eastern Medicine Singers and Arigon Starr (Kickapoo). Community outreach and engagement are supported by Francene Blythe-Lewis (Diné, Sisseton-Wahpeton, Eastern Cherokee), Executive Director of Vision Maker Media. About the Filmmakers

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined a group of Alaska Natives, artists and environmental activists last month in Fairbanks for a performance that expresses Indigenous peoples’ grief over the shrinking population of salmon and other impacts of climate change on the far north.

In his composition performed during a climate change workshop at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Yo-Yo Ma’s mournful strains reflect the sorrow that Alaska Native peoples feel at the loss of once-rich salmon runs decimated by climate change and overharvesting.

The tempo builds early in the composition before it gives way to cries of outrage in the verses of a poem composed for the occasion by Gwich’in filmmaker, screenwriter and activist Princess Daazhraii Johnson from Arctic Village.

The poem is entitled “When We Were Salmon,” and Johnson describes it as a sort of lament about the state of planet and its peoples.

“We do have a lot of unexpressed grief about what it happening,” she said, “and from my perspective as an Alaska Native person, it’s like so many families are not able to fish anymore up and down the Yukon River and feed our families and communities.”

That was the theme of three workshops held this summer in Fairbanks by a group that included the Alaska-based indigenous-advocacy organization Native Movement, the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Association of Interior Native Educators and UAF Climate Scholars.

The workshops were presented in partnership with a program run by Yo-Yo Ma’s organization called Our Common Nature, which explores how culture connects people to one another and the natural world.

“It was really a pilot program, of sorts,” Johnson said in a recent interview with other workshop participants. “We brought in elders, and we listened to traditional stories from the region, and then we brought in a lead artist for every workshop that we did.”

But the stories related by elders and other workshop participants weren’t just focused on the loss of salmon. The conversations also brought comfort, and healing for other emotional pain, as highlighted in a final event called “Gath and K’iyh: Listen to Heal.”

“Gath in the word for King Salmon in the Benhti Kenaga dialect,” she said, “and then k’iyh is the word for birch — the birch trees.”

Mato Wyuiyuhi, who helped facilitate the musical component of the workshops, says he found comfort in Ma’s composition.

“It was really a cool thing,” he said, “because it was mournful, but it wasn’t glum or it wasn’t really solemn. It was like a really beautiful thing.”

Wyuiyuhi is a musician, filmmaker and a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe of Pine Ridge, S.D. His professional experience includes work as a composer for the hit television series “Reservation Dogs.”

Wyuiyuhi says he appreciates what he calls the “spiritually centered” approach to grief in workshop sessions.

“So I think that sacred element was really good,” he said. “And then, yeah, moving forward, how do you integrate the type of grief into something that can actualized through music?”

Another workshop participant, Eli Wasserman, brought his experience as an educator who gives music instruction to kids in Baltimore schools that don’t have enough funding for the arts.

“So I definitely took my music education background, teaching people how to write music and make music and why music is important, and kind of create together,” he said. “And then brought that to the workshop.”

The hundred or so people who attended the workshops included kids who, like all the participants, were welcome to join some of the jam sessions held during the workshops, which included a Sept. 4^th finale with Yo-Yo Mah at the University of Alaska President’s House on the UAF campus.

“Throughout all these workshops, we’ve really thought about everybody who enters that space as being a participant, whether they are an organizer, or an artist, or an elder,” says Aurora Bowers, a communications organizer for the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition. She herself picked up a fiddle to accompany Ma in the final workshop concert.

Bowers says the workshops showed how music can bridge cultural divides and heal the trauma of climate change.

“It’s a massive, massive issue to be facing,” she said, “and so we really need tools to be able to feel our way through that.”

This story first appeared on Humanities Without Walls.

Dr. Samantha Majhor is an assistant professor of English in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. Majhor is of Yankton Dakota and Assiniboine descent, and in her role as faculty advisor for Marquette’s Indigeneity Lab, she works alongside undergraduate students in collaboration with Native and non-Native faculty on interdisciplinary research projects in the sciences and humanities, with a focus on Indigenous topics. During her Ph.D. program at the University of Minnesota, Majhor was part of the HWW Grand Research Challenge project team for “Indigenous Art and Activism Along the Mississippi River in Changing Climates.”

Describe your involvement with the Grand Research Challenge project “Indigenous Art and Activism Along the Mississippi River in Changing Climates.” How did this project impact your dissertation research?

My participation in the project began when I was a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and culminated with my participation as an assistant professor at Marquette University, so the project bridges an important and transitionary moment in my life as a scholar. During the first two years of the project, I was finishing my dissertation work on Native Materialisms in contemporary Native American literature. Meeting Indigenous artists and activists whose work focused on Native relationships to the Mississippi River and its tributaries further informed my thinking on the deep human and non-human relationships that our literary texts so often express. Many of the artists we consulted are responding to climate change threats to the environment by remembering long-held human and other-than-human relationships — those connections between agriculture, basketry, pottery, mound-building — and bringing those longstanding relationships into the contemporary moment in strategic ways. Their work illustrates what’s at stake in the disruption of these relationships, and they also point toward strategies of continuance through and beyond settler-colonialism and climate disaster.

Beyond the ways the project spoke to the subject matter of my research, I believe it was even more instrumental in helping me develop Native American and Indigenous Studies research methodologies by its collective and community-driven nature. This was a critical counterpoint to the dissertation experience, which tends to be solitary work. The collective of faculty and graduate students quickly expanded into a forum that included Native artists, activists and other scholars and knowledge-bearers along the river.

How has your role working with this GRC project impacted your career trajectory?

Participating in the GRC project impacted my career trajectory in a number of ways, especially in my teaching and continued research. Coming into my position as an assistant professor in English at Marquette University, I continued working on the “Indigenous Art and Activism Along the Mississippi River in Changing Climates,” and I developed one of my first courses at Marquette based on the research we had done and the website, Indigenous Mississippi, that we were in the process of creating. I developed the course, “Water is Life: Indigenous Art and Activism in Changing Climates,” to share our project and its artists’ and activists’ work with undergraduate students. The course allows me both highlight visual and material artists alongside literary artists who are articulating on-going Indigenous relationships with water, place, and environment.

As we begin to look back on the extraordinary 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was a galvanizing event for the our GRC project, it’s more important than ever that undergraduate students see the links between the long history of environmental depredation that has long been part and parcel of settler-colonialism and the current calls, in large part coming from their own generation, for attending to environmental justice.

Not only has the project impacted the focus of my teaching, but it has greatly impacted the methodology of my current research projects. With the work and leadership of Dr. Jacqueline Schram (Ojibwe, Sankeeng Nation) and Dr. John Su and with grant funding from the Joerres Family Fund, I’ve been part of building Marquette’s Indigeneity Lab, a site for funding undergraduate research on Native American project topics. Largely undertaken during the summer months, the research work has expanded to include graduate researchers. We focus on building a community of scholars from underrepresented populations—who may be working on different projects—but come together as a collective. They support each other and share their work beyond the summer research. Like the GRC project, the Indigeneity Lab cultivates Native American and Indigenous research methodologies, whether we are working in library archives, developing digital maps and resources, or testing Milwaukee river waters for restoring wild rice.

The research and development of materials, coursework, and scholarship that came out of the GRC has substantially impacted my career. However, it is the relationships between our cohort that has proved most valuable to me over these first years as a junior scholar. In Summer 2022, I co-taught the Newberry Library’s NCAIS Summer Institute alongside Dr. Kelly Wisecup, who proposed and led our GRC project. Our graduate course for NCAIS was yet another iteration of our project, and Dr. Wisecup continues to be a significant mentor and colleague whose generosity shapes my scholarship. I could name countless ways in which the continued sense of camaraderie and scholarly community radiates from working with everyone involved in the GRC project.

In January 2023, I once again teamed up with one of my mentors from the GRC project. Chris Pexa (Spirit Lake Dakota) and I were awarded a grant from the Mellon Foundation to support “Remapping the Očheti Šakowin Oyáte: Orature as Deep Mapping” project. Drawing on NAIS methodologies, we’ve envisioned the development of a digital storymap, an archive of stories connected to place, that is developed and held by Očheti Šakowin (Dakota, Nakota, Lakota) nations. We are partnering with community members from 16 tribal nations and beyond in order to build the archive, as well as with graduate and undergraduate researchers for a distinctly collaborative, Native-community-guided project. I remain connected to and indebted to my mentors and collaborators who worked on the GRC project and anticipate many more collaborations through the years.

Tell us about your work with the Indigeneity Lab at Marquette University. What projects are you involved in, both on-campus and in the community?

It has been most exciting to come to Marquette University and join a team in creating the Indigeneity Lab, the site of a growing number of undergraduate-led research projects on topics that center Native American history, culture and contemporary concerns. While our projects germinate on campus, each of our three main projects work in connection with the local Milwaukee Native community and Native Nations beyond the city. I have mentored undergraduate and graduate students’ work on the Native American Boarding Schools in Context project, a website that seeks to contextualize Marquette University’s archival holdings of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission records. Our site, soon to be updated with selected samplings from the archive, serves as an introduction to the types of documents one might find in the extensive BCIM archives. We also hope to give a primer on Native American Boarding School history and provide links and resources to the scholarship, investigations, and reports pertaining to over 100 years of forced assimilation and genocide through a boarding school education system.

I have also consulted and mentored undergraduate students work on our Wild Rice revitalization project, which is spearheaded by Marquette’s Dr. Michael Schlappi, professor of biological sciences. The Wild Rice project asks whether environmental cleanup efforts in Milwaukee rivers have created conditions clean enough to bring wild rice, an Indigenous plant and food species, back to the area. For many Native Nations who have connections to the western Great Lakes from time immemorial, wild rice is not just a staple food—but an important plant connected to story, ceremony and spiritual and intellectual life. The wild aquatic grass is a bellwether plant when it comes to healthy water systems and has been greatly impacted by both industry and, now, climate change. Marquette students have been testing wild rice varieties to see if they can grow and thrive in Milwaukee rivers at current conditions and learning about all the challenges and possibilities for restoring this important plant relative to waters in which it once thrived.

I am also so excited about the Indigenize Milwaukee mapping project, headed by Dr. Brian Rindfleisch in history at Marquette. Dr. Reinfleisch had long envisioned creating a digital map that highlighted Milwaukee as an Indigenous place, connecting sites of historical importance to Native Milwaukee’s contemporary sites of note. Recently, the project has expanded to include an app and walking tour.

Once again, the Indigeneity projects each develop out of Native American and Indigenous Studies research methods, they center collaboration, and they provide community-oriented materials. For me, the foundations of these collaborative research practices were first made manifest in my participation on the “Indigenous Art and Activism Along the Mississippi River in Changing Climates” project.

KáaSháyee Kéet’aakw was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska, right in the middle of his historical Tlingit Alaska Native homeland. When he was 14 years old, his family moved to Ferndale, likely to enjoy a lower cost of living and a lifestyle that wasn’t so dependent on the boom-and-bust economy of the trades and tourism industries. He arrived just in time to enter his freshman year of high school and has more or less made his life in Ferndale ever since.

He began a career in graphic design in 2009 and has worked in marketing specialties like sign layout and logo design, as well as print layout and business cards. When the pandemic arrived in 2020, his ground job to a standstill. This gave him the opportunity to take stock where he was in life and what he wanted for his future. He also took an inventory of any deficits he felt and found his connection to culture was lacking.

“Being that I was in Washington, dislocated from Alaska, I thought one place I could start would be to enroll at Northwest Indian College,” he says. “They had quite a few classes on Cultural Sovereignty at the core of their Native Studies Leadership Program, and it really sounded like I would be diving into who I was as a Native person.” He enrolled and found the classes did exactly what he hoped they would; he is now set to graduate in 2024.

Learning the Forms

Online learning spread like wildfire during the pandemic. KáaSháyee had already taken one online workshop in 2019, offered by Sealaska, a corporation established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. It taught Formline, a very distinctive aspect of the visual art produced by Indigenous groups of the Northern Northwest Coast of the North American continent. Its flowing lines and use of strong positive and negative space can be found in paintings and carvings by Tlingit and Haida Tribes, along with many others.

As more and more artists took to the internet to stay connected, KáaSháyee found himself working with five different teachers. He learned about art, design, and his own history — but he was also absorbing how different people teach and started to himself feel a call to teach others. “There are quite a few Alaska Natives that live outside of Alaska, and many of us would like to connect with the culture,” he says. “Even in Alaska, plenty of people would love to learn, but if there isn’t somebody on the other end to help, that makes it difficult.”

A Journey via Paddle

As the world began to open up again, KáaSháyee traveled to the Port Townsend School of Woodworking to take classes in carving masks and paddles. Because the Tlinglit are largely coastal, the canoe is central to their way of life and paddles have always been some of their most valuable tools. As a result, they’ve also become a symbol of heritage.

“When I finished my paddle, I found that it was a nice piece of artwork, in its shape and design,” KáaSháyee says. “But it wasn’t a functional paddle you would use to pull, in a canoe.” He began to compare this current artwork to what would have existed prior to European colonization.

This led to an application to visit the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. More than just an art museum, the Burke traces its roots to 1879, and holds more than 16 million artifacts. KáaSháyee was selected to make a three-day visit and was granted an assistant to assemble a selection of pieces from as far back as the 1870s. He was able to handle them and make drawings, trace outlines, and use calipers so he could make replicas. As he examined 21 different paddles, KáaSháyee found that only one had the form of a true, traditional paddle. Although some examples dated back to the 1870s, because of the presence of European settlers “even then they had changed,” he says.

An eye emblazoned with a question mark roots the artist in the stream of time, even if not all of his questions have been answered. Photo courtesy KáaSháyee Kéet’aakw
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His goal was to find the differences between the old objects and today’s artwork, and to be able to close that gap. As he carved a number of paddles, he discovered an interesting glimpse into the past: even with the best possible planning, he would arrive at a part of the carving and realize there was a better way to do it. Saying to himself, ‘This probably isn’t the way it was done,’ over and over again seemed to only strengthen the link to the past.

Identifying a Language

This year, KáaSháyee returned to the Burke to study again, this time focusing on two-dimensional art. “I looked at many orca designs that were done in the Formline style, and I started seeing patterns where certain elements were placed,” he says. “There are stories attached to these different designs, and this artwork accompanies stories.”

“Whether it be a mask that somebody would dance with during storytelling and song, or engraved onto a box, there might be a raven holding a sun in his beak,” KáaSháyee says. “That ties it to the story of ‘The Raven Brings the Light,’ an origin story we tell. What we’re talking about is a visual language.”

Along the coasts of Alaska and Canada, he says, the artwork produced by different Tribes looks similar. But by looking closer, the viewer can notice differences. Sometimes it’s as obvious as a clan’s crest, but other times it’s much more subtle. While they all may speak the same visual language, you can detect differences in regional visual dialects. Here in Southern Canada, Washington, and Oregon, people use a Coast Salish way of assembling designs — a different language — but there are still more different dialects.

Sharing His Story

As an Alaskan in Washington and a trained designer who practices art, KáaSháyee is careful in how he approaches his work. He was recently commissioned to create a logo for a Native Education Conference that brings together teachers from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. He wanted an image that spoke to all three areas, but didn’t want to copy any styles, so he blended a wave to represent Oregon, an evergreen for Washington, and an Alaskan mountain. He is currently brainstorming along similar lines to create a logo for the WWU Native American Student Union.

His work is visible in Bellingham’s Waypoint Park, on a 150-foot-long wall found close to the intersection of Granary Avenue and West Chestnut Street. The piece is a collaboration by seven artists representing Lhaq’temish, Nooksack, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Nimiipuu, Dineh, Apache and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribes.

KáaSháyee also recently completed a 600-square-foot mural that welcomes people into downtown Ferndale, on the east-facing wall of Kevin’s Car Wash. “The design is the orca, and it’s my first iteration of those elements that I examined at the Burke Museum,” he says. A close look at the components that make up the design reveals that one of them is the question mark in the orca’s eye.

Question Marks, Past and Future

As KáaSháyee investigated his past, he discovered a story about his own grandfather. Since the Tlingit are matrilineal, family names follow the lines of their mother figures. But the Europeans are patrilineal, and when they made their written records, they tried to follow the lines of the fathers. So, when his grandfather tried to trace his family tree, he was left with more questions than answers. When KáaSháyee’s grandfather carved himself a paddle, in the place where he might have carved his family’s crest, he instead decided to paint a question mark.

KáaSháyee has taken this cue and decided to continue placing that question mark within his own work. In this way, it also becomes a statement, a part of a story that is being told by visual artwork. As a result, it makes his designs more than ‘just art,’ and allows them to also become part of a continuing visual language.

As he moves forward with his own projects and pursues more collaborations, KáaSháyee also plans to share what he has learned, so other artists can carry their languages into the future.

“I think about all the people who can connect and engage with their culture, and it would be life-changing to them, to their identity,” he says. “I feel that my future is going to be making resources available to people to learn the Tlingit visual language.”

In addition to Paris+ by Art Basel, visitors can view cityscapes, paintings that became classics and treasures from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – A Springfield singer and rapper is up for consideration for a Grammy. A rhythmic pop artist from the Springfield area has been placed on the official ballot for the upcoming Grammy awards.

She’s hoping to make the final list of nominees.

“You wait all this time for these moments, and then when they happen, we’re all stunned,” said Taija New.

Excitement has taken over Springfield native Taija New because this pop singer and rapper now adds a high note to her resume: being under consideration for a Grammy award.

“It’s insane,” expressed New. “I cannot even believe that Taija New and the Grammy’s are in one sentence. It’s so weird.”

New began her career about 10 years ago, doing some writing and open mic stuff while attending umass Amherst.

Since then, she has been recording songs and performing with her team across the country, as well as Canada.

Now, the recording academy has placed her on the official ballot for the Grammy awards’ best melodic rap performance, thanks to her song over your allure.

“When I worked on the song, I knew it was going to be something because I liked it,” explained New. “I wrote it. It’s basically about being in a situation where it’s kind of toxic, but you’re just feeling like ‘I think I’m over the glitz and the glamour of this situation and I just want to move on.’”

Whether or not new wins the award, she said she wants to set a clear example for other young aspiring artists.

“If you really, really put yourself to it, if you really work hard, you can do it,” said New.

But if New wins, she gave Western Mass News a good idea of how she would react.

“I probably wouldn’t even get up from my seat,” expressed New. “I’d probably be just, like, stunned and shocked. Someone would probably have to drag me up the stage, honestly.”

New said she has received a lot of support from family, friends and the community.

Recording academy members have until October 20 to vote for their top five nominees, and the winner will be announced at the Grammy awards on February 4.

New asks anyone who knows a voting member to ask for their consideration on her behalf and if you do not know anyone, you can still spread the word through email and all social media platforms.

Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.

Art can elicit a lot of emotions for people and in this week’s Java with Jamie we meet Los Angeles native, Erica Everage, who is known for her works highlighting feminine power and beauty.

Her works of art are displayed on the wall at Figeroua Hotel and that’s where Jamie Yuccas sat down with the artist to talk about her journey. The hotel also has an artist suite decorated by Everage herself. 

The hotel also has an extensive coffee list from specialty lattes to matcha tea, Café Fig has a little something for everyone on their menu.

Everage’s artwork is featured in her new exhibit, which is part of the hotel’s 2023 Featured Artist Program.

“The hotel itself, the history and the ethos of it, really match with my art practice and what I’m about as an person and an artist. Women empowerment, specifically women’s bodies and the safety of women’s bodies, and women being the subjects not the objects of our stories,” said Everage.

Figeroua Hotel opened in 1926, funded by women and for women, who weren’t forced to check in with a male chaperone. Now, Everage’s nearly 20 hung pieces expand the idea of bold female figures.

 What inspires you when you create these pieces? 

“History. Right now I’m really into the archeology. Visually my pieces are already abstract and very curvy and mysterious. So I like I like to use all those elements,” said Everage. “I like to use my own body to paint from. I used to be a dancer and I use my dance so make paintings. The connection is that I like to make my paintings larger than life rather than shrink them down.”

Everage says that she spent a lot of her life trying to shrink down her body and minimize her curves, but now she wants to show that she can be a woman and be proud of her gender expression.

Her parents are interior designers, so creativity in the art space has always been part of her life.

Did you grow up knowing you wanted to be an artist? 

“No, but I was always drawing fashion in my room at age 12 and my mom noticed I was always doing it a lot and said, if you’re spending all of this time drawing, you should learn how to draw well. So, I got sent to figure drawing class and it became by favorite by of my week.”

Her mom and dad are not only her biggest fans, but also her biggest supporters. When Everage found out about the hotel’s new featured artist suite, she enlisted ‘Krista & John of Everage Design, Inc.’ to help decorate.

Before blasting onto the art scene, Everage wanted to become an actress. She was featured in a Barbie commercial in 1996 and although she went to school study acting at Northwestern, Everage found her way back to her paintbrush. 

“It feels incredible and so free. I feel so much freer than when I was an actress. I feel in charge of my own destiny and I don’t have to audition to get the job,” said Everage.

Eventually Everage wants to open her own studio and teach others about art, painting and powerful female expressions.

Before his death in 2013, Eddie Basha fed thousands of families, expanding from modest stores around Chandler into an Arizona supermarket empire.

But he also had an artistic view that saw far beyond utilitarian needs.

“Art is food for the soul,” Eddie Basha used to say. “Don’t leave the table hungry!”

Years after his death, the man called “an Arizona giant” by Gov. Katie Hobbs filled the tables of two museums.

On Oct. 9, the Basha family announced the gift of the Eddie Basha Collection of American Indian and Western American fine art to the Heard Museum and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West.

Fitting in many ways, a ceremony was held at the Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery of Western American and American Indian Art in Chandler – on the site of the first Bashas’ store.

The family sold the chain of more than 100 stores to Raley’s two years ago.

Though the Bashas’ Gallery – which opened in 1992 – will close Nov. 30, Eddie Basha’s collection will find homes in two nearby museums that gushed over the donation.

“My family and I are delighted to make this gift to the Heard Museum and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West,” said Nadine Basha, Eddie’s widow.

“We are confident that these two world-class institutions will be excellent partners in fulfilling Eddie’s wish to continue to share the collection and have it remain in Arizona.”

Hobbs and Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, spoke at the Basha Gallery in Chandler.

Both governors noted it was fitting for the Basha donation to take place on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

The Bashas’ Gallery is on the site of the first Bashas’ store, built in 1932, Hobbs noted.

“The Pimas were some of the first Bashas’ customers,” she said.

Lewis added his community has “longtime ties to the Basha family.”

Eddie Basha, Lewis said, “understood our culture, our history …

He knew our language – and used to sing a couple of our songs.”

Chandler native Edward “Eddie” Najeeb Basha Jr., who died in 2013, was the chairman and CEO of Bashas’ Inc. After taking over Bashas’ when his father died, he whipped up an expansion of the small company to a chain of 160 stores.

But his family taught him to have as much love for art as cash registers. In 1971, under the encouragement and guidance of his aunt Zelma, Eddie began collecting art inspired by and reflecting the American West.

“At Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, we believe in Eddie Basha Jr.’s vision that ‘art is meant to be shared’ and we are honored to be a custodian of that vision,” said Todd Bankofier, CEO of the Scottsdale museum.

Gold strike for Scottsdale

Last month, the Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved expanding Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West – funded via a $12 million donation from Louis “Buzz” Sands IV.

The spirit of a second Valley businessman-philanthropist doubled down with a move that may be almost as valuable as the Sands’ gift, as the Basha family is donating hundreds of rare pieces to Western Spirit.

At the Basha donation event, Bankofier praised Sands’ stunning gift – “the largest donation made to an art museum in Arizona history.”

In an extraordinary slice of serendipity, the new gallery funded by Sands will house the collection of Eddie Basha, a kindred spirit in both philanthropy and art.

Sands, according to Bankofier, “knew Eddie Basha well, and was often an art bidding rival at Cowboy Artists of America auctions.”

Jim Bruner, the founding chairman of Western Spirit, chuckled as he recalled starting a nonprofit group in 2007, which had a big idea but nothing tangible.

“We had no money,” Bruner said. “We had no art. We had no location. We just had an idea and a dream that we should somehow make a western museum a reality in Scottsdale.”

Eddie Basha was one of the first people Bruner called for help.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West opened in January 2015. The museum celebrates Western Heritage by showcasing art, culture and traditions of the West that reflect the greater American West region.

The Eddie Basha Collection is billed as “one of the largest, privately-owned art collections of its kind.”

The stunning gift to the Scottsdale and Phoenix museums includes 1,000 works of art that span three centuries, including paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, katsina and basketry from the Akimel O’odham, Tohono O’odham, Yavapai, Apache, Hopi and Navajo tribes, members of the Cowboy Artists of America and many other artists.

“The collection reflects Eddie’s deep, lifelong passion for the American West, its vast lands, storied history, many cultures, and rich traditions,” Nadine Basha said.

“Eddie often said, ‘Iam of the American West,’ and that sentiment is richly embedded in this collection.”

While it will take weeks to move the entire collection, a few of Eddie Basha’s favorites are already installed at Western Spirit.

Bruner said it was hard to express in words what the Basha family’s donation of Eddie’s extraordinary pieces means to him.

“I just wish that he were here to see what’s happening,” Bruner said. “But hopefully he’s looking down on us.”

The University of Scranton Programming Board (USPB) Mission Committee and the Multicultural Center invite all to experience a presentation by native storyteller and dancer, Larry Yazzie on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the DeNaples Center Ballroom, Room 407. 

“Larry Yazzie NATIVE | STORYTELLER | DANCER” is presented by the actor, a two-time World Champion Fancy Dancer and Eagle Dancer from the Meskwaki Nation in Tama, Iowa. Yazzie is the founder and artistic director for Native Pride Productions, Inc. based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Yazzie’s repertoire includes performances worldwide, including at the Olympics, The Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution. 

The international lecturer, dancer and educator is considered one of the nation’s leading experts on Native American dance. In May 2010, he and his son, Jessup, were the sole U.S. performers invited for presentations and workshops throughout northern France.

Yazzie founded Native Pride Productions to give back to his community and to the world. His goal: to share cultural traditions through artist-in-residency workshops, performances, lectures, classroom instruction and theatrical performances that enhance access to diverse, multicultural artists for people of all ages and backgrounds. His warm, enthusiastic spirit reflects the beauty of Indigenous people. Following the tradition of his elders, he gives back and enriches the lives of all audiences.

For questions or information, contact Jose Sanchez at jose.sanchez@scranton.edu or Julie Chropowicki at julie.chropowicki@scranton.edu.

PRICE, Utah — An exhibition of paintings by Ukrainian artist Volodymyr Bevziuk, entitled Let It Be, is on view at Gallery East from Oct. 9 through Nov. 3 on the campus of Utah State University Eastern.

In February 2022, when Russian troops invaded the eastern provinces of Ukraine, Bevziuk had no idea he’d end up exiled with his family in Ferron, Utah. But that’s exactly what happened to this native of Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. An old friend and longtime Ferron resident, Ben Wolford, and his wife, Sarah, gave Bevziuk’s family refuge from the war-torn country and a chance to find a new life away from the turbulence more than 5,700 miles away.

Born in 1969 to Ukrainian parents who were then working in Uzbekistan, the boy began exhibiting skills in drawing at age 3 and continued to excel in art as he progressed in elementary school after the family returned to Ukraine. Bevziuk’s parents and teachers soon noticed his abilities, giving him additional assignments to participate in drawing competitions.

Later, in middle school, he continued making mural art and attending extracurricular drawing classes in art school. During high school, he studied artistic design. He continued in art and design for two years in technical school and finished with high grades.

Later, Bevziuk served in the two-year mandatory Soviet army. After he married in his mid-20s, Volodymyr started a family, and built a career in construction, finishing apartments and houses. It wasn’t until about age 40 that he decided to go back to developing his drawing skills.

He started attending master classes, learning through videos on the internet, reading and putting his training to practice in his paintings. A few of his paintings were selected to be displayed in local exhibitions next to other artists.

After arriving in Utah more than a year ago, Bevziuk began painting the farmhouses, bookcliffs, mountains and fields dotted with horses in Emery County, his new (though temporary) home. His paintings indeed show a love of working from nature and painting landscapes. He continues to seek his unique style and develop his skills.

This is Bevziuk’s first-ever solo exhibition. It was organized thanks to longtime friends Benjamin and Sarah Wolford and their newly-made neighbors in Ferron. Bevziuk continues to paint from his home in West Jordan where he resides with his family.

Let It Be will be on view through Nov. 3. Volodymyr Bevziuk will be at Gallery East for a closing reception and gallery talk from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3. Students, faculty, staff and the public are invited. The gallery is located in the Central Instruction Building.

The gallery is free and open to the public during the academic year. Gallery East’s Fall 2023 hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Closed weekends and holidays.

For questions, contact Noel Carmack at 435-613-5241 or by email at noel.carmack@usu.edu.

The vibrant colors and sounds of the beaded jingle dresses and feathered headdresses and the beat of the drums gave a Harn Museum audience a dynamic show for all the senses. This was only the beginning of the festivities for the celebratory holiday of Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Harn Museum of Art Thursday night. 

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates and raises awareness of the many cultures of Indigenous people. It acknowledges that Native people are the first inhabitants of the Americas and deserve to be recognized, represented and empowered.

Gainesville is the only city in Florida to change the name of the holiday from Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in 2018, making Gainesville a huge hub for the community. While 574 tribes are federally recognized, there are several more nations across the country.

Generations of people enjoyed an array of activities and events, all curated to celebrate the rich cultures, histories and contributions of Indigenous People. Multiple tabling partners showcased community resources and information with the common mission of highlighting the beauty of Indigenous culture.

Many indigenous people gave museum-goers a taste of culture through different art expressions. From beaded clothing to clay pottery, each table presented a piece of different tribes from across two continents.

Duana Whitehorse, a 76-year-old from the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma, makes unique clothing and moccasins for every occasion by hand. Using deer hide, feathers and colorful beads, each intricate piece takes days to create. 

His wife, Maria Irizarry Whitehorse, a 73-year-old from the Taíno tribe in Borikén, modeled her husband’s handmade designs. Maria’s modest tea dress was designed to give women the ability to breastfeed children while they work on the fields and place them in the back when their child is done eating. 

“It feels good to make our own [clothing] because we’re proud of it,” Maria said.

The scheduled events for the night included two choreographed dances and a drum and dance demonstration with Maria Irizarry Whitehorse, Duana Whitehorse and Terrell Anquoe. Little bites and refreshments were offered all night long.

The performance was opened by the Indigenous Peoples Task Force who works to educate people about the existence and presence of indigenous people. One of their goals is to permanently change the name of the holiday everywhere.

The lively dance and drum performances are an outlet for storytelling. The dances, labeled incorrectly by many as war dances, are dances of prayers. Duana Whitehorse explained the motions of the dances and the differences in regional dancing traditions which differ from the clothes they wear to the style of dance. There are four different styles of women’s dancing and six different styles of men’s dances depending on age group.

Artists and friends Silvestre Hernandez-Reyes and Mario Mutis exhibited their handmade crafts alongside each other. Ten years ago, they started creating projects together and learning from each others’ crafts.

Hernandez-Reyes is a 46-year-old metalsmith and jewelry designer from the Comanche and Totonac tribes. He works to educate people about the jewelry making process and how to be proud of it. He incorporates symbols like the warrior jaguar, the frontier and the moon which is representative of the cycle of women into his pieces. Hernandez-Reyes sells his jewelry at local farmers markets and galleries.

Mutis, from the Muysca tribe, is a 34-year-old 3D arts professor at Santa Fe College. He creates functional hand-painted clay pottery with various uses including musical, spiritual, or educational. The pieces he creates are not for sale because they act as a form of expression and communication. He creates his art and gifts it to family and friends.

“My job in Santa Fe teaching feeds like my belly, right?” Mutis said. “And this stuff feeds like my spirit because I’m happy giving it to somebody.”

The metal casting technique he uses is a communal process done by Muysca people

that requires the breath of several people to reach the temperature required to create the clay pottery. 

“Teaching that process is just as exciting as giving somebody a thing because you’re transmitting knowledge,” Mutis said. “And you know that whatever happens to me, that knowledge stays alive.”

People are identifying as indigenous more than ever. The Native American population count more than doubled since 2000, despite being enumerated since the 1860 Census. Now, people are taking DNA tests and recognizing and identifying with their ancestry. Despite this, there are still large stigmas and misconceptions surrounding the Indigenous community. 

“It’s pretty bad because everybody’s realizing that they can say yes [to their Indigenous identity] but my mom will not say she’s indigenous,” Maria said. “Because she says they think we’re savages.”

The first misconception people have about indigenous people is that they exist in the past context or do not exist at all anymore.

“A lot of people have their understanding and their relationship with those people is through media or movies, or books,” Mutis said. “We have to remember that we’re still existing, we’re still thriving. We’re still struggling, but we still exist.”

Another misunderstanding is that Indigenous people are only native to the United States or Canada. Hernandez-Reyes’s family comes from North Mexico while Mutis’s ancestry is from the Cundiboyacense region of Colombia.

A massive common error people make is homogenizing Indigenous peoples’ identities and believing they are all the same and part of a one group. In reality, they have very different values, traditions, religions and practices. Maria and Duana Whitehorse have learned to compromise in many ways because of their different backgrounds and traditions. The Taino is a matriarchal tribe, while the Kiowa is patriarchal. Maria grew up on fish and vegetables while her husband eats deer and buffalo meat.

Despite all the differences between the tribes and nations, family and community is an essential value to everyone.

“We will fight back as hard as a man or harder because when it comes to defending your child or your family [you do] what you got to do,” Maria said.

There are many ways to learn more about each tribe. While the internet is a great resource for many, Hernandez-Reyes urges the importance of travel.

“You need to go into the deep of the land. That is when you really see the diversity,” Hernandez-Reyes said.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is an important holiday in recognizing, appreciating and learning from the indigenous people and their rich histories.

“It [Indigenous People’s Day] means everything because we’ve been denied for so long. “Bringing it out now makes us proud that we’re there, that we’re doing something,” Maria said.

The Harn Museum MUSEs, volunteers of the Museum Undergraduate Student Educators, ran and organized a large portion of the event. It executed several activities and crafts in order to give museum-goers an interactive experience. In preparation for the museum night, the MUSEs visited the Florida Museum of Natural History’s exhibit on indigenous communities.

Another resource available to attendees were the docents. The volunteer museum educators gave brief art tours, a more approachable option of exploring the new exhibit. The four “Art Blast Tours” lasted about 15 minutes each and gave groups a snippet of what the collection has to offer. The tours explored the Florida Impressions Exhibition and the Modern Gallery. 

This event was made possible by UF Student Government support whose funding gives students free memberships. The Harn’s Museum Nights occur every month and are free to the public. 

Contact Molly Seghi at mseghi@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @molly_seghi.

Details

By Native News Online Staff

October 14, 2023

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is pleased to announce that award-winning artist and educator Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe/Sičáŋğu Lakota) has been named new Thomas G. and Susan C. Hoback curato of Great Lakes Native cultures and community engagement.

A culture bearer, grandmother and fifth-generation quillwork artist known for flora and fauna designs, Raphael has created pieces that are in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and the Eiteljorg. 

Raphael also has an impressive background creating and implementing cultural, educational and human services programs within tribal communities, and she has served as an instructor and guest lecturer.

“Working with curators and the museum’s education and public programs staff, Monica Raphael has a major role in cultivating working relationships with artists and tribes and developing events for the public, with a special emphasis on Native cultures of the Great Lakes region, which is her background,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said. “Monica’s past association with the Eiteljorg already has made an impact on the community we serve, so we are thrilled that she has joined the Eiteljorg team as the Hoback curator.”

Until joining the Eiteljorg Museum last month, Raphael had been a self-employed artist in southwest Oklahoma since 2018, creating quillwork and beadwork jewelry and ribbonwork clothing.

“I am thrilled to join the Eiteljorg team of dedicated individuals who have already made a positive and impressive impact sharing the Eiteljorg mission,” Raphael said, “and I am excited to bring my creativity and knowledge of Great Lakes Native American cultures, languages, philosophies, teachings and ways of knowing to the Eiteljorg, museum visitors and the greater Indianapolis community.”

Raphael’s pieces have received awards at Native art markets such as the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Indian Market in Phoenix and Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival, and have been featured in magazines highlighting Native American arts.

An enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Monica Raphael grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then lived near Traverse City in Suttons Bay, Michigan.

Understanding cultural dynamics was key when she worked for the Grand Traverse Band from 2002-2012, developing a behavioral health program for Native youth to increase local high school graduation rates. She obtained federal grant support for that program, which included managing a youth dance company, Mino Bimaadziwin, for which Raphael served as artistic director, choreographer and costume designer. Four students she trained won champion titles in hoop dance. The program was so successful that it was replicated in a Hopi community in the Southwest.

After 25 years helping to make data-driven change in tribal communities, Raphael in 2018 made a career change to follow a lifelong dream of becoming a full-time artist. In 2021, she was awarded the prestigious First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital Fellowship and the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation LIFT Award. Her work as an artist also brought her to the Eiteljorg multiple times for Indian Market and Festival and an artist residency, and later led to her joining the museum staff as Hoback curator of Great Lakes Native cultures and community engagement.

Great Lakes Native arts and cultures are important to the Eiteljorg. Through a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the museum in 2019 acquired more than 400 such artworks and cultural items that greatly increased the depth of its collections in that category. Beautiful examples of beadwork, basketry, carvings, mixed media and other items were included in the acquisition. Some of the Great Lakes works are on view now in Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America, in the museum’s new Native American Galleries that were reconstructed and reinstalled as part of the Project 2021 capital/endowment campaign.

The public can meet her at upcoming events including a gallery tour Nov. 3 and a quill stitch workshop Nov. 17.

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A Minnesota graphic designer is exploring what the Minnesota state flag is made of through a new exhibit in Brooklyn Park.

“Deconstructing the Minnesota Flag” at North Hennepin Community College takes a look at how art is both subjective and symbolic.

The Minnesota state flag has hung untouched for years. Luis Fitch, an artist who calls Minnesota home, said he believes it has never changed.

“It does not represent where we are right now as a state,” Fitch said. “Not just from demographics, but just in general. The state of mind of the community.”

Designer Luis Fitch stands in front of a piece of his “Deconstructing the Minnesota Flag” exhibit at North Hennepin.

The current flag is also a recent topic of conversation. Minnesota lawmakers have pushed for some time to redesign the flag for a number of reasons, including the emblem that is considered offensive to native Americans. A commission got to work in September to craft that redesign.

In addition to being an artist, Fitch was selected to lead that commission. His deconstructing project is not connected to that work.

‘Deconstructing the Flag’

At the exhibit, Fitch is taking the flag apart. He shows it at eight different stages as he removes key design elements. In particular, it showcases the power of symbolism.

The first iteration of the flag in Fitch’s exhibit showcases it as it looks today.

“I don’t know exactly what is bothering the community, but what happens if we start with the flag the way it is and pay attention at first?” Fitch said.

The first layer is the flag as it is. The second removes the shotgun and axe from the foreground of the image.

“It makes it less violent, and there is less of a story,” Fitch said.

Still, Fitch said there is a story to be told.

“We don’t know what the story is, but it doesn’t have to take too much to understand that the Native American is not touching the land that the white person has,” Fitch said.

The third iteration removes the land and person in the foreground. The fourth version removes people entirely.

For the fifth layer, Fitch pulled the years and Minnesota writing. The sixth removes all graphics– and is a look at the land alone.

One of the final iterations of Fitch’s project removes all written graphics and people, leaving the land and a blue background.

“You really have what probably Native Americans first encountered when they first moved here. And that’s the sunset, the river, and the land,” Fitch said.

The seventh layer removes all iconography, leaving a blue flag. For the eighth:

“You remove the color blue because even the color has meaning, and finally you have a white flag,” Fitch said. “Everything has meaning.”

A New Conversation

Fitch hopes his exhibit provokes questions. It looks like it already has. North Hennepin student MJ Schuster said it got her thinking about symbolism.

“You can just assign meaning to really little things, or what people consider to be throwaway things, or things people pay no attention to. But people can really identify with it positively or negatively,” Schuster said.

Schuster’s class got a chance to redesign the flag.

Fitch explains his exhibit and design process to students at North Hennepin.

“I don’t think I realized how bad it was, how extremely colonizer-focused it was until we started doing this project,” Schuster said.

The deconstruction is sparking conversation. It also is an opportunity to create a new story and a symbol for years to come. She said she is hoping a new flag is more representative of Minnesota’s indigenous peoples.

“It almost makes you wonder, if the deconstruction process looks the way it was, why did you add things the way you did?” Schuster asked.

The exhibit opened up on Oct. 12. It’s free and open to the public and runs through Dec. 18 at the Joseph Gazzuolo Art Gallery at North Hennepin. More information about the exhibit is available on North Hennepin’s website.

People can also submit their own ideas and designs for the state seal and flag to the committee. More information about what they are looking for and how to submit is available on the redesign commission’s website. Those submissions are due by Oct. 30.

Brooklyn Park

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs in composition that gives voice to ‘a lot of unexpressed grief’ over loss of salmon

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined a group of Alaska Natives, artists and environmental activists last month in Fairbanks for a performance that expresses Indigenous peoples’ grief over the shrinking population of salmon and other impacts of climate change on the far north.

In his composition performed during a climate change workshop at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Yo-Yo Ma’s mournful strains reflect the sorrow that Alaska Native peoples feel at the loss of once-rich salmon runs decimated by climate change and overharvesting.

The tempo builds early in the composition before it gives way to cries of outrage in the verses of a poem composed for the occasion by Gwich’in filmmaker, screenwriter and activist Princess Daazhraii Johnson from Arctic Village.

The poem is entitled “When We Were Salmon,” and Johnson describes it as a sort of lament about the state of planet and its peoples.

“We do have a lot of unexpressed grief about what it happening,” she said, “and from my perspective as an Alaska Native person, it’s like so many families are not able to fish anymore up and down the Yukon River and feed our families and communities.”

That was the theme of three workshops held this summer in Fairbanks by a group that included the Alaska-based indigenous-advocacy organization Native Movement, the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Association of Interior Native Educators and UAF Climate Scholars.

The workshops were presented in partnership with a program run by Yo-Yo Ma’s organization called Our Common Nature, which explores how culture connects people to one another and the natural world.

“It was really a pilot program, of sorts,” Johnson said in a recent interview with other workshop participants. “We brought in elders, and we listened to traditional stories from the region, and then we brought in a lead artist for every workshop that we did.”

But the stories related by elders and other workshop participants weren’t just focused on the loss of salmon. The conversations also brought comfort, and healing for other emotional pain, as highlighted in a final event called “Gath and K’iyh: Listen to Heal.”

“Gath in the word for King Salmon in the Benhti Kenaga dialect,” she said, “and then k’iyh is the word for birch — the birch trees.”

Mato Wyuiyuhi, who helped facilitate the musical component of the workshops, says he found comfort in Ma’s composition.

“It was really a cool thing,” he said, “because it was mournful, but it wasn’t glum or it wasn’t really solemn. It was like a really beautiful thing.”

Wyuiyuhi is a musician, filmmaker and a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe of Pine Ridge, S.D. His professional experience includes work as a composer for the hit television series “Reservation Dogs.”

Wyuiyuhi says he appreciates what he calls the “spiritually centered” approach to grief in workshop sessions.

“So I think that sacred element was really good,” he said. “And then, yeah, moving forward, how do you integrate the type of grief into something that can actualized through music?”

Another workshop participant, Eli Wasserman, brought his experience as an educator who gives music instruction to kids in Baltimore schools that don’t have enough funding for the arts.

“So I definitely took my music education background, teaching people how to write music and make music and why music is important, and kind of create together,” he said. “And then brought that to the workshop.”

The hundred or so people who attended the workshops included kids who, like all the participants, were welcome to join some of the jam sessions held during the workshops, which included a Sept. 4^th finale with Yo-Yo Mah at the University of Alaska President’s House on the UAF campus.

“Throughout all these workshops, we’ve really thought about everybody who enters that space as being a participant, whether they are an organizer, or an artist, or an elder,” says Aurora Bowers, a communications organizer for the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition. She herself picked up a fiddle to accompany Ma in the final workshop concert.

Bowers says the workshops showed how music can bridge cultural divides and heal the trauma of climate change.

“It’s a massive, massive issue to be facing,” she said, “and so we really need tools to be able to feel our way through that.”

On Jefferson Boulevard, the new gallery Tureen, the brainchild of Cody Fitzsimmons and Chris Scott, inhabits a building with tin ceilings and the original 1912 tile floor. The couple, previously based in Houston, opened the space over the summer with an ambitious exhibition that encapsulated their programming. The group show, entitled Eugenics in the Garden, criticized imperializing Western aesthetic tradition, seeing it as a dead-end.

Now, Mark (on view until Oct. 14) introduces the work of Alaska Native artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs, of Iñupiaq, Athabascan, German, Irish, Scottish, and Danish descent. Enter to find a red slash, a length of found wood coated in automotive paint that curves and tapers to a point. It looks like a wound, a gash. It could be a tusk, the relic of something animal. The artist prods the ambiguity. The supreme tactility of the materials is intrinsic to what makes this exhibition evocative. It takes on the porous boundaries between Western and Indigenous cultures, but first and foremost, in its delicate marriage of beauty and latent violence, it makes you think and feel.

Both Eugenics and Mark clinch Tureen’s spot as an important gallery in the local constellation, a serious and conceptually rigorous trailblazer off the beaten path—neither in the Design District nor the Riverfront area—gloriously fringe.

“We’re very interested in underrepresented artists and underrepresented histories,” Fitzsimmons says. “Artists who ask questions about those things.”

On the walls for the current show, the “Secrets” and “Pink Slips” series offer pouch-like shapes: reworkings of the walrus-tusk form imbued with community meaning as a shape used in parkas. In Credible Secrets, the intricate, sewn repositories blend U.S. Geological Survey maps, thread, and human hair. Others add beading techniques to walrus stomach, seal intestine, or reindeer hide. Referencing the 35 abuse claims brought against the Catholic Church by Alaska Native communities (a too-small reported number, the artist points out), the pouches walk a line between beauty and repulsion.

“A lot of times I use recycled items, found garments that I give new life to, and sometimes content,” Kelliher-Combs says.

“I’m interested in ideas of Western consumption,” she says, and “Western definitions of things from the land, including Indigenous people and ways. Categorizing and quantifying.” Also of interest is the very idea of a collection, “because a lot of our material history, for Indigenous people, minority populations, is housed away in these huge collections far, far away from us, without access.” In her recent “New Artifacts” series, she’s playing with ideas of definitions, “And who has the power to define what things like artifacts are.”

This is not the first time Kelliher-Combs’s work has broached abuse, marginalization, and violence. Her pieces in a 2018 group show entitled The Un-Heroic Act: Representations of Rape in Contemporary Women’s Art in the U.S.—phallic shapes fashioned from sheep rawhide and stuck with porcupine quills—drew critical acclaim and slipped into a New Yorker musing by Jia Tolentino that spoke to the #MeToo movement.

It’s also noteworthy that she is currently being exhibited in four locations: at Tureen in Dallas; at STARS gallery in Los Angeles, which is co-presenting Mark; at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, in a show that touches on “gut knowledge,” exploring its resonance as a vehicle for Indigenous voice and highlighting Kelliher-Combs as one of the only artists working with marine mammal gut; and in the New York group exhibition Young Elder, a tongue-in-cheek presentation of the very relevant tension and synchrony possible between old and new.

Such dialogue is exactly what Fitzsimmons wanted. Fitzimmons began with a career in fashion branding. But drawn to the art world, he soon moved from New York back to Houston, where he held a job at high-caliber gallery Hiram Butler. Then he decided to open a gallery where he could hone his distinctive vision.

During the pandemic, Fitzsimmons pivoted to art advising, and in those long months, he and Scott, who is an attorney, plotted their move to Dallas. The duo have been avid art collectors, and their taste preceded them. Their Houston townhouse was featured in that city’s Paper City magazine in a feature whose photos bear witnessing.

“They’ve amassed an audacious array of paintings, photographs, and sculptures . . . often provocative, sometimes startling, and occasionally disturbing,” the author writes. Their aesthetic for the gallery, Fitzsimmons is quick to point out to me, is no different.

“Freedom is very important to me,” Fitzsimmons says—hence his decision, unlike many gallerists, not to represent a stable of artists. Instead, he prefers a model in which he is not in competition with galleries from New York, Los Angeles, or elsewhere. If he wants to show their artist, he can more easily do so. “The gallery doesn’t have to see me as a threat,” he says. This, he hopes, will allow him to be nimble, original, and ambitious in his programming.

Scott grew up in Oklahoma and has Cherokee heritage, making Tureen the only Indigenous-owned gallery in Dallas. And certainly, this underlies the connection with Kelliher-Combs. “But also, they’re sensitive human beings, who are looking at the whole picture of our country and the world and who are offering an opportunity for voice and for dialogue that’s not always front and center. So that’s beautiful,” she says. “These are people who are doing the work to create the dialogue and the opportunities.”

In many ways, this historic space that used to be Oak Cliff’s first pharmacy—with its chipped tile and tin ceiling—is aesthetically suited to its mission to create space for unspoken, neglected, or buried narratives. “Yeah, they didn’t whitewash it,” Kelliher-Combs says when I point this out. Neither the space nor the stories.

It’s an interesting and rich time in Kelliher-Combs’s career; but in Dallas’ art scene as well.

“And all this is the result of [Scott] Googling me,” she says. Of the duo, in her eyes, taking a chance.

I should also note that Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith’s retrospective exhibition, recently at the Whitney Museum of American Art, opens at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth one day after Tureen’s exhibit closes. And so the relay of a double narrative unfolds. Kelliher-Combs is the one to bring it up, this overlap. “Why has it taken so long?” she asks me of Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith’s solo as we end our conversation.

Indeed, why?

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Eve Hill-Agnus

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Eve Hill-Agnus was D Magazine’s dining critic from 2014-2021. She has roots in France and California and during her time at D wrote…

On Jefferson Boulevard, the new gallery Tureen, the brainchild of Cody Fitzsimmons and Chris Scott, inhabits a building with tin ceilings and the original 1912 tile floor. The couple, previously based in Houston, opened the space over the summer with an ambitious exhibition that encapsulated their programming. The group show, entitled Eugenics in the Garden, criticized imperializing Western aesthetic tradition, seeing it as a dead-end.

Now, Mark (on view until Oct. 14) introduces the work of Alaska Native artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs, of Iñupiaq, Athabascan, German, Irish, Scottish, and Danish descent. Enter to find a red slash, a length of found wood coated in automotive paint that curves and tapers to a point. It looks like a wound, a gash. It could be a tusk, the relic of something animal. The artist prods the ambiguity. The supreme tactility of the materials is intrinsic to what makes this exhibition evocative. It takes on the porous boundaries between Western and Indigenous cultures, but first and foremost, in its delicate marriage of beauty and latent violence, it makes you think and feel.

Both Eugenics and Mark clinch Tureen’s spot as an important gallery in the local constellation, a serious and conceptually rigorous trailblazer off the beaten path—neither in the Design District nor the Riverfront area—gloriously fringe.

“We’re very interested in underrepresented artists and underrepresented histories,” Fitzsimmons says. “Artists who ask questions about those things.”

On the walls for the current show, the “Secrets” and “Pink Slips” series offer pouch-like shapes: reworkings of the walrus-tusk form imbued with community meaning as a shape used in parkas. In Credible Secrets, the intricate, sewn repositories blend U.S. Geological Survey maps, thread, and human hair. Others add beading techniques to walrus stomach, seal intestine, or reindeer hide. Referencing the 35 abuse claims brought against the Catholic Church by Alaska Native communities (a too-small reported number, the artist points out), the pouches walk a line between beauty and repulsion.

“A lot of times I use recycled items, found garments that I give new life to, and sometimes content,” Kelliher-Combs says.

“I’m interested in ideas of Western consumption,” she says, and “Western definitions of things from the land, including Indigenous people and ways. Categorizing and quantifying.” Also of interest is the very idea of a collection, “because a lot of our material history, for Indigenous people, minority populations, is housed away in these huge collections far, far away from us, without access.” In her recent “New Artifacts” series, she’s playing with ideas of definitions, “And who has the power to define what things like artifacts are.”

This is not the first time Kelliher-Combs’s work has broached abuse, marginalization, and violence. Her pieces in a 2018 group show entitled The Un-Heroic Act: Representations of Rape in Contemporary Women’s Art in the U.S.—phallic shapes fashioned from sheep rawhide and stuck with porcupine quills—drew critical acclaim and slipped into a New Yorker musing by Jia Tolentino that spoke to the #MeToo movement.

It’s also noteworthy that she is currently being exhibited in four locations: at Tureen in Dallas; at STARS gallery in Los Angeles, which is co-presenting Mark; at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, in a show that touches on “gut knowledge,” exploring its resonance as a vehicle for Indigenous voice and highlighting Kelliher-Combs as one of the only artists working with marine mammal gut; and in the New York group exhibition Young Elder, a tongue-in-cheek presentation of the very relevant tension and synchrony possible between old and new.

Such dialogue is exactly what Fitzsimmons wanted. Fitzimmons began with a career in fashion branding. But drawn to the art world, he soon moved from New York back to Houston, where he held a job at high-caliber gallery Hiram Butler. Then he decided to open a gallery where he could hone his distinctive vision.

During the pandemic, Fitzsimmons pivoted to art advising, and in those long months, he and Scott, who is an attorney, plotted their move to Dallas. The duo have been avid art collectors, and their taste preceded them. Their Houston townhouse was featured in that city’s Paper City magazine in a feature whose photos bear witnessing.

“They’ve amassed an audacious array of paintings, photographs, and sculptures . . . often provocative, sometimes startling, and occasionally disturbing,” the author writes. Their aesthetic for the gallery, Fitzsimmons is quick to point out to me, is no different.

“Freedom is very important to me,” Fitzsimmons says—hence his decision, unlike many gallerists, not to represent a stable of artists. Instead, he prefers a model in which he is not in competition with galleries from New York, Los Angeles, or elsewhere. If he wants to show their artist, he can more easily do so. “The gallery doesn’t have to see me as a threat,” he says. This, he hopes, will allow him to be nimble, original, and ambitious in his programming.

Scott grew up in Oklahoma and has Cherokee heritage, making Tureen the only Indigenous-owned gallery in Dallas. And certainly, this underlies the connection with Kelliher-Combs. “But also, they’re sensitive human beings, who are looking at the whole picture of our country and the world and who are offering an opportunity for voice and for dialogue that’s not always front and center. So that’s beautiful,” she says. “These are people who are doing the work to create the dialogue and the opportunities.”

In many ways, this historic space that used to be Oak Cliff’s first pharmacy—with its chipped tile and tin ceiling—is aesthetically suited to its mission to create space for unspoken, neglected, or buried narratives. “Yeah, they didn’t whitewash it,” Kelliher-Combs says when I point this out. Neither the space nor the stories.

It’s an interesting and rich time in Kelliher-Combs’s career; but in Dallas’ art scene as well.

“And all this is the result of [Scott] Googling me,” she says. Of the duo, in her eyes, taking a chance.

I should also note that Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith’s retrospective exhibition, recently at the Whitney Museum of American Art, opens at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth one day after Tureen’s exhibit closes. And so the relay of a double narrative unfolds. Kelliher-Combs is the one to bring it up, this overlap. “Why has it taken so long?” she asks me of Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith’s solo as we end our conversation.

Indeed, why?

Author

Eve Hill-Agnus

View Profile

Eve Hill-Agnus was D Magazine’s dining critic from 2014-2021. She has roots in France and California and during her time at D wrote…

Estimated read time: 4-5
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SALT LAKE CITY — Dozens of Native American artists will come to Utah’s capital city to showcase a variety of beadwork, paintings, pottery, sculptures, weavings and more this weekend.

It’s the Natural History Museum of Utah’s 10th year hosting the Indigenous Art Market. Over 45 Indigenous creators will sell their wares Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All art is purchased directly from the artists, who receive 100% of the sales.

“The Indigenous Art Market at the Natural History Museum of Utah offers a wonderful opportunity to experience and collect genuine Native artwork while engaging with the artists in person,” museum store manager Suzanne Ruhlman said in a statement. “It’s so wonderful to meet the artist and hear the story of the piece you fall in love with.”

This is Shannia Crank’s first time at the market. Although she’s sold at a variety of other markets through her family business Puganini Design, she’s not sure what to expect since this weekend’s market also coincides with an eclipse, which is observed differently among Native American cultures. Crank’s Navajo beliefs, for example, dictate that individuals stay inside, face to the east and pray. She plans on observing those traditions the best she can while not interacting with customers.

Crank, a full-time mom and artist, learned beadwork as a teen through online videos and asking others in her community about their techniques.

“When you do the outline of the beadwork and you start to fill it in, you can see the colors. That’s my favorite part is just looking at the whole aspect of it and finding the different colors that lay together so smoothly,” she said. “What I’ve been taught is you should look for the little easter egg in each piece, because how I’m taught is that when you create something, you’re always supposed to leave either a mistake you made or you’re supposed to make a mistake in your work because nothing’s perfect in life. I thought that was pretty beautiful to learn about; you can’t make anything perfect because it just won’t be perfect and that’s OK.”

Crank is excited to see different perspectives on art and a variety of different traditions, techniques and styles at the market. She said it’s a good opportunity for Native Americans living in urban places like Salt Lake City who don’t always have the opportunity to participate in markets and powwows on reservations.

“It’s important to share the culture and to teach others that we’re still here, we’re still part of America in a big way and we still have our influence and power in ourselves to push through and to allow others to explore our diversity,” she said.

Cherokee painter John Balloue agreed that the market will be an opportunity to see a wide variety of artwork.

“There’s going to be a lot of talented people there and a lot of good things to see and do,” he said. “With Native people, sometimes it’s things that you haven’t seen before or a different way of looking at things. Especially now with contemporary people, it’s a newer way of interpreting traditional ideas and traditional values that we may not have seen before.”

Although he was an artistic child, Balloue didn’t begin painting until after he finished serving in the military during the Vietnam War. Initially the classes he took were for his own pleasure, but he eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in art and started his own business. His art has gone through different phases over the years, but Balloue says his work draws on his own experiences in the Native community as well as places and people he’s met in his own life.

“You go someplace or you see something and as an artist, you go, ‘Wow, I could do my twist on that, or that opens up a part of my brain,'” he said. “I’m a child of the ’60s, so I went through a lot of political type of things, but I wanted to share my work that had a positive affirmation of Native lives and Native people from my perspective.”

The event will also feature performances by Ute/Hopi and Blackfood/Navajo dancers with Buffalo Nation; a collections showcase by the Anthropology Department; Indigenous food offerings; artist talks from Navajo artist and photographer Eugene Taphe and Indigenous painter and organizer Jihan Gearon.

Tickets to the market are included with Museum admission, which is free for University of Utah faculty, staff, and students as well as enrolled members of a federally- or state-recognized tribe and any children in their household. Tribal members must present a tribal enrollment card or tribal ID on-site. More information and museum tickets can be found online.

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Twisted Arts, an organization that uplifts LGBTQ arts and artists, is hosting a two-day festival in Tulsa that will showcase Two-Spirit Native American artists from Oklahoma and beyond.

Kevin Lovelace, one of the founders of Twisted Arts, said after moving back to Tulsa, he noticed there wasn’t really a festival for LGBTQ Tulsans.

“So I was like, well, let’s start one just for fun, you know, and needed something to do,” Lovelace recalled.

The inaugural Two-Spirit Festival is this weekend in Tulsa-the tagline: An Indigiqueer Celebration. It will feature a lineup of entertainment, music and a drag show with performer Landa Lakes.

Lakes is a Chickasaw writer, musician, activist and artist who is originally from Oklahoma but currently lives in San Francisco. Lakes derives her name from the Land O’Lakes label that once featured a young Native woman holding up a tray of butter.

The second day of the festival will feature an exhibition and panel on Indigiqueer arts.

Osage performer Marx will be singing new singles from their forthcoming album 2S Sacred. They along with eight other Indigenous artists will be performing as part of a festival that has the goal of giving more visibility to LGBTQ Native Americans, who use the term Two-Spirit to identify themselves.

Marx remembers a time when talking about being Two-Spirit was taboo in the Native community. Now, they’re seeing more events like this one in Tulsa.

“Two-Spirit people are really wanting visibility-for their existence to be honored and to be known.”

Earlier this year, Marx debuted the first single from their forthcoming album titled How Long, about a young Two-Spirit person struggling with belonging. They said the single was inspired by just how many young, queer people contemplate taking their own lives. Today, Marx said there is more space in the community for Two-Spirit people, but there is still more work to do.

At the festival, two members of the community will be honored: John Hawk Co-Cke, retired certified prevention specialist for behavioral health in Oklahoma and identifies as transgender and Two-Spirited and Tony Staton, another activist working to elevate Two-Spirit people in Oklahoma and beyond.

The festival is being put on by Twisted Arts in Tulsa, an LGBTQ arts organization that got its start in 2020. The festival is on Saturday and Sunday at 101 Archer and WOMPA, an arts collective space.

Learn more about the lineup here.

Details

By Elyse Wild

October 12, 2023

Cherokee Art Market
Tulsa, OK
October 14-15, 2023

A celebration of authentic Native art, Cherokee Art Market returns to Hard Rock Tulsa. At one of the largest Native American art markets in the state, guests will enjoy the authentic work of 150 elite Native American artists from across the country. More than 40 tribes will be represented at the 18th annual Cherokee Art Market, with artwork ranging from beadwork, pottery, paintings, basketry, sculptures, textiles, and more. 

Native American Heritage Celebration
Springfield, MO
October 14, 2023

Step into the rich tapestry of America’s indigenous people at the Native American Heritage Celebration hosted at Wonders of Wildlife. Immerse yourself in a world of cultural Native American art and dance, primitive hunting, and outdoor survival. Explore a vibrant and cultural marketplace featuring Native American vendors from across the Ozarks, showcasing their crafts and wares.

Museum Nights
Gainesville, FL 
October 12, 2023

Museum Nights joins the Gainesville community to celebrate the day all week and to embrace Indigenous peoples from throughout the Americas. Join to experience dance, drumming, and art by indigenous artists. Other activities developed by non-Native students will offer opportunities to reflect on and acknowledge the cultures of Indigenous peoples. 

Native American Harvest Powwow
Wheaton, IL
October 14, 2023

Native American Annual Harvest Pow Wow presented by Midwest SOARRING Foundation. All Are Welcome to attend. The event will feature Native American arts, crafts, and food, Native flute playing, men’s and women’s dance contests and dances, and drumming. 

Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day
Allen, TX
October 12, 2023

Chickasaw storyteller Amy Bluemel and area Native American dancers will present a program at 7:30 p.m. at the Allen Public Library in honor of Indigenous People’s Day. Amy Bluemel has performed at the Red Earth Festival, one of the rare events when dancers from America’s Northern and Southern tribes can be seen together in one venue. Various southeastern tribal members will perform some of the oldest dances performed on this continent, some estimated to be around 6,000 years old.

Native American Heritage Celebration of 2023
Springfield, MO
October 13-14, 2023

Come join a time to celebrate Indigenous culture with powwow dancing, presentations, storytelling, vendors, and many different options to learn from. All dancers are welcome to attend the event. 

Native American Storytelling by Chief White Winnebago
Chicago, IL
October 14, 2023

Come join and listen in on this presentation from Chief White Winnebago, who will tell five Native American stories, mostly of Ho-Chunk origin, for all ages. 

Land, Liberty & Loss
Syracuse, NY
October 14, 2023

The Erie Canal Museum, along with Humanities New York, presents “Land, Liberty and Loss,” an exploration of our nation’s founding and how its history often serves as an obstacle to full democratic and civic flourishing. The project is grounded in the historical and ongoing intersections between racial justice, including the centuries-long deprivations endured by Indigenous and Native Americans, and the evolution of the American landscape. 

Native American “Language is Life” 
Tucson, AZ
October 14, 2023

Celebrate the power of Native languages and the inspirational people who are saving them. Since time immemorial, indigenous peoples throughout the Americas have innovated ways to connect across generations, cultures, and continents. The event will be held at ENR2 (Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building). 

Native American Comedian Marc Yafee
Anchorage, AK
October 14, 2023

The Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 87 (Anchorage) is welcoming award-winning Native American comedian, actor and podcast host Marc Yaffee to perform at the midtown Anchorage Embassy Suites Hotel. Marc Yaffee’s diverse comedy career has landed him in 43 states and 11 countries spanning 4 continents. 

Honoring Our Youth: 2nd Annual Gourd Dance 
Phoenix, AZ
October 14, 2023

Join in for our 2nd Annual Phoenix Indian Center Gourd Dance & Social Powwow! The free event will be hosted at the Steele Indian School Park after the Native American Recognition Days Parade. Events start at 11 a.m. with Ground Dances at 11 a.m. & 5 p.m. and Grand Entry at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Shawnee Indian Mission Fall Festival 2023
Fairways, KS
October 14, 2023

The entire family can enjoy a full day of history, culture, activities, entertainment, arts and crafts, and enjoy local food at the Shawnee Indian Mission Fall Festival. Come join as there will also be a Night at the Mission, which will be limited in size and will feature a peek behind the scenes at the Mission.  

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We invite visitors to come with your questions every Thursday to meet a curator in the galleries to discuss works in the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition. This informal, one-on-one conversation-based offering is an opportunity to learn more about the artists, their work and the curatorial vision that shaped the exhibition.

On a quiet October day, with no cruise ships in port, Noah Boos stood looking at a sign right next to a kootéeyaa, or totem pole, on Juneau’s waterfront. The sign breaks down what each of the carved figures are — a bear with curved teeth and large formline eyes, an eagle with a face painted in red on its back, a killer whale with a fish in its mouth — and at the top, a Kaagwaantaan clan member.

“I love these signs,” he said. “(They) tell you a little bit about what the totems are all about.”

Boos said he’s been to Juneau before, but not since the kootéeyaa sprang up. He said he likes that cruise ship passengers can learn so much after getting off their boats. 

“First thing you’d see pretty much would be the totems and the signs,” he said.

This spring, Sealaska Heritage Institute installed 12 kootéeyaa along Juneau’s waterfront. They were carved by Lingít, Haida and Tsimshian artists from clans across the region. 

The organization put up storyboards in late September to educate visitors and protect the poles from mistreatment. 

“These are objects that are sacred for Lingít people,” said SHI’s Ricardo Worl. “And we hope that the storyboards will help people learn more about our history and how sacred these kootéeyaa are for us.”

Each storyboard has a diagram of the pole, with a breakdown of what each symbol is and the story the kootéeyaa tells. It also lists the artist, their clan and clan stories.

Early in the cruise season, pictures surfaced of tourists putting children in the large, brass hands of the Shangukeidí Kootéeyaa. Community members were frustrated with these and other examples of people mistreating and touching the poles.

Worl said SHI discussed erecting barriers to stop it, but decided not to. 

“We thought about that, putting verbiage on the storyboards: ‘Please don’t touch, these are sacred objects.’ But the more we thought about it, the more we believe that everyone in this community has a responsibility to educate our visitors,” he said. 

Worl said mistreatment of the kootéeyaa likely stems from a lack of understanding about what they mean to Alaska Native people. He said he wants non-Native residents and those in the tourism industry to speak up when people act inappropriately with the kootéeyaa. 

“For our visitors, this is an excellent opportunity to learn that this is more than art,” he said. 

The 12 poles are part of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí, or Totem Pole Trail. Eventually, SHI plans to install 30 poles total along the docks, many representing clans. 

The kootéeyaa will give Indigenous people keys to understanding their identities and their ancestors, he said. 

“They tell our history. They tell clan stories. They make connections from our ancestors to our current generations,” Worl said. “Our grandchildren will now be able to come and view the Kootéeyaa and confirm their identity to their ancestors and to their crests.”

Worl said SHI has the funding to commission one more kootéeyaa and is seeking funding for 17 more.

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The Toledo Museum of Art is hoping to open discussion about how we learn history, through an interactive exhibit and educational events.

The CopperFace United Native American Singers and Dancers performed at the museum for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Audience members watched the group as they went through traditional songs and dances, with intermissions explaining the tribal regalia and the significance of each dance.

Joshua Gibbs, the emcee of CopperFace United, explained that the group’s cultural performances are education-based.

“We do bring dancers, we do sing and we do drum,” Gibbs said. “But during those times in between, I try to get in a lot of education, because I’ve always been taught that it’s a whole lot better to educate instead of letting people come up with their own preconceived notions of things because if we tend to educate people that lends to understanding.”

One of the takeaways he hopes people will pass on is that America was built on Native land and that Indigenous people are still here in the United States.

Ohio is one of 16 states where Columbus Day is an official holiday

Indigenous art is featured in “Expanding horizons: The evolving character of a nation.”

Ohio is one of 16 states where Columbus Day is an official public holiday, according to the Pew Research Center.

Other states and cities have moved to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, celebrating and acknowledging Native histories.

Gibbs appreciates the acknowledgement.

“[Columbus Day is] kind of a slap in the face to all of our indigenous peoples of the Americas. So being that changed over to us, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is a win for us,” said Gibbs.

The Toledo Art Museum is acknowledging American history and how it is presented to the general public in its exhibition “Expanding horizons: The evolving character of a nation.”

“A lot of that is Indigenous work that is a part of that exhibition,” Jessica White, the programs and engagement manager at the Toledo Museum of Art, said. “So when we have folks come in here, it is very important to educate them. We could have a performance, but what do you take away from that, what do you take away from these works of art and learn about these artists.”

Erin Corrales-Diaz, the curator of the “Expanding Horizons” exhibit said it emphasizes Indigenous perspectives. Navajo weavings are on loan, and artists wrote the accompanying text and gave input on how to display the art.

In addition to examining overlooked histories, the exhibit also explores myths in American culture and history.

“Expanding Horizons” is open at the Toledo Art Museum until 2025.

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Art Unbound

Black Artists of Oregon: Episode 5

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This is Art Unbound, a joint production of PAM and the Numberz FM. Featuring Intisar Abioto, the guest curator for the exhibition Black Artists of Oregon on view September 9, 2023 through March 17, 2024.

In this fifth installment of the series Intisar interviews Damali Ayo.

Produced by: The Numberz Podcast Network
Music by: King E.D.O.

Writer Ben Moser is used to writing about other people. The Houston native is known for his extensively researched biographies, such as the book he wrote about Susan Sontag in 2019 that won him the Pulitzer Prize.

But his latest work explores a certain part of his own biography.

In The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters, Moser reflects on the experience he had in his mid-20s when he left the United States for Holland.

There, he fell in love with Dutch painters like Rembrandt and Vermeer, and he tells Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty how those encounters helped him build a life for himself there while helping him confront challenging questions about his craft as a young, aspiring writer who’d just moved to an unfamiliar country.

“I was kind of lost in a way,” Moser said. “I was trying to become a writer. I was trying to start this life. And I also had this whole burden of being a foreigner in this new country and didn’t speak the language and all that. And I found my connection to the country through the art and through the artists.”

Spending time learning about the lives and works of the great Dutch artists helped Moser not only learn about his new, adopted home country, but it also helped him make some realizations about himself as an aspiring writer.

One of the biggest takeaways was a reminder that every artist is only a human and starts from obscurity.

“Even really formidable artists — people like Rembrandt or Vermeer — turn out to be just people in a room like everybody else,” Moser said. “So, when you’re young, it’s kind of discouraging because you think, ‘Well, I’m not Rembrandt or Vermeer.’ But you think, ‘Well, they didn’t start out being Rembrandt or Vermeer either. So, I’m just going to try this. I’m going to just take a stab.’”

The book is a blend of immigration memoir and an artist’s reflection on finding his way to success in a creative pursuit. And it ends in Houston as Moser visits his home town and suddenly gains a new appreciation for the place that made him.

And, simultaneously as he takes in works by the Dutch masters at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, he recognizes what he learned from those formidable figures in that faraway place.

“If I hadn’t gone away, I couldn’t have learned what I did from them,” he said.

Fittingly, Moser will discuss the book at an event at the MFAH on Oct. 15, which is the opening day of the museum’s exhibition Rembrandt to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the Armand Hammer Collection.

MORE: What Ben Moser learned from Susan Sontag’s secret archives