Stories from the Land: Indigenous Voices Connecting Within the Great Plains is an art exhibition and symposium cohosted by the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery and First American Art Magazine. These events seek to revitalize Kansas as a central meeting place by examining the topics of art embodying culture, the environment, and forming regional groups. Indigenous artists, scholars, and allies will explore how Native humanities and visual arts can help people of all background better connect with the land on which they live. These events honor Kansas’s longstanding role as a meeting place between diverse tribes. Lindsborg, Kansas, is part of the ancestral home of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.
Exhibition
The art exhibition Stories from the Land: Indigenous Voices Connecting Within the Great Plains will be on view through March 15, 2019, at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery and the Mingenback Art Gallery.
Participating artists include Norman Akers (Osage), Matthew Bearden (Potawatomi/Kickapoo), Kelly Church (Ottawa/Pottawatomi), Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo), Michael Elizondo Jr. (Southern Cheyenne/Kaw/Chumash), Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee), Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa), April Holder (Sac & Fox/Wichita/ Tonkawa), Matt Jarvis (Osage), Linda Eben Jones (Northern Paiute/ Modoc), Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi/ Choctaw), Chris Pappan (Kaw/Osage/ Lakota), Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute/Modoc), Tony Tiger (Muscogee/Seminole/Sac & Fox), Jodi Webster (Ho-Chunk/Potawatomi), and Micah Wesley (Muscogee/Kiowa).
This exhibition is co-curated by Jean Merz Edwards and America Meredith (Cherokee Nation).
Gallery reception:
Friday, March 8, 5:00–8:00 pm
Note: Birger Sandzén was the Swedish-born painter who mentored Oscar Jacobson (also born in Sweden), who in turn created the program at the University of Oklahoma for the Kiowa Six to study painting. Jacobson was a curator and early champion of Native American art.
Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery
401 N. 1st Street, Lindsborg, KS 67456 | link
Mingenback Art Gallery
335 E. Swensson Street, Lindsborg KS 67456
Stories from the Land Artist Talk
Saturday, March 9
10:30 am–12:00 pm
Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, 401 N First Street, Lindsborg, Kansas
A panel discussion moderated by America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), guest co-curator, with exhibition artists Matt Jarvis (Osage), Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute/Modoc), Tony Tiger (Muscogee/Seminole/Sac & Fox), Jodi Webster (Ho-Chunk/Potawatomi), and Micah Wesley (Muscogee/Kiowa). Free and open to the public.
Symposium
Taking place from March 7 and 8, 2019, the symposium explore diverse perspectives on the interrelationships between Indigenous humanities and the land. Sessions will explore Art Embodying Culture; The Environment; and Forming Regional Groups.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
5:30 – 6:30 pm
Fellowship Hall, Salina First United Methodist Church, 122 N. 8th Street, Salina, Kansas
“Creating Voices from the Land: Sharing History through Art”
Artist Talk with Kelly Church (Ottawa/Pottawatomi) and America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)
Kelly Church presents on Anishinabeg] (Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin) art, while Meredith presents on art by Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. Hosted by the Smoky Hill Museum. Free, open to the public, and does not require registration.
Friday, March 8
9:00 am–5:00 pm
Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, 401 N First Street, Lindsborg, Kansas
Three panel-discussions
We are grateful for the support of Humanities Kansas and the Lindsborg Arts Council in making this exhibition and symposium possible. The views expressed in the Stories from the Land exhibition and during the Stories from the Land symposium are not necessarily those of Humanities Kansas or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
