Author: FAAM Staff

By America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) The terms traditional and contemporary are as common as nitrogen and oxygen at Native art events, yet these words don’t advance thoughtful discourse about Indigenous art. Rather, they cripple it. Separately, they can be misused, vague, or trite, but when paired together in a false dichotomy, they are insidious. The contemporary era is our current era in art. If we want to advocate for Indigenous arts’ place in the global art world, we have to speak the art world’s language. Contemporary art follows modern art, [1] and—depending on your perspective—begins in 1989 with the fall…

Dreamwork, From Here to There: The Photography of Gracelynn Growingthunder New photography by Gracelynn Growingthunder (Nakoda/Kiowa) will be on view in an art show curated by Georgeanne Growingthunder (Nakoda/Kiowa). What: Opening reception + launch party When: Monday, January 6, 2020, 6:00–8:00 pm Where: Lobby Café and Bar, 4322 N Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 Georgeanne Growing, aged 8, makes her curatorial debut with this month-long solo exhibition of digital photography by her sister Gracelynn Growingthunder, aged 10. Landscape and architectural photography predominate Gracelynn’s oeuvre; however, she also shoots group shots, particularly of historic gatherings, such as the Kiowa Gourd…

The politics of the last year have been volatile, particularly for Indigenous peoples of Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. It is profoundly important that those of us with media platforms use our voices to advocate for fellow Indigenous peoples of the Americas, both to provide hope for the future when the darkness can seem overwhelming and to embody and share Indigenous worldviews for future generations. The arts are one platform where Native people can communicate our perspectives with each other and the greater world at large. Indigenous artists shared their visions of sustainability and resilience throughout 2019, and below are ten…

Santa Fe, NM—The Coe Center is pleased to host an unparalleled jewelry event on December 12. How It Was Handed to Me: The Caesar Family Legacy, organized by Kenneth Johnson (Muscogee/Seminole), gathers jewelers and jewelry from New Mexico, Oklahoma, and beyond into a complex story of generational and creative legacies. Leading the public event on December 12 is a gathering of jewelers connected either through family or apprenticeship legacies. As Johnson explains, this event is about the end project and the process of how Native jewelers pass on their skills and practice to the next generation. The jewelers in attendance…

Issue No. 24, Fall 2019 Click here to purchase a digital copy for $7 from Issuu. To purchase a print copy, select your location: Locations US, New Mexico $9.74 USD US, other than NM $8.99 USD Canada $9.99 USD International $15.92 USD Features Tapis: Blankets in Celebration of the Sled Dog, Michole Eldred (Catawba/Eastern Cherokee descent), 20–25 The yәhaw Phenomenon: Lifting the Arts Together in the Puget Sound, Miranda Belarde-Lewis, PhD (Zuni/Tlingit), 26–31 Alaska Native Basketry: Diversity in the Far North, Bryn Barabas Potter, 32–37 Roma: Cleo’s Story and Indigenous Depictions in Mexican Cinema, Jeannette Martinez, 38–41 Artist Profiles Linda…

Yamagata University’s Institute of Nasca harnesses artificial intelligence to study the Nasca Lines By America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Researchers at the Institute of Nasca at Yamagata University in Japan have identified 143 long-forgotten geoglyphs among the Nasca Lines. These newly rediscovered geoglyphs date from 100 BCE and 300 CE. They feature lines, fish, birds, monkeys, snakes, and even human-like figures. The largest of these spans 197 feet in length. Computer-enhanced images of the rediscovered geoglyphs. Images courtesy of Yamagata University. Used with permission. Nasca Geoglyphs The Nasca Lines are located in southwestern Peru in the high, windless Nasca Desert, one…

Renowned Arts School to Increase Enrollment of American Indian Students Idyllwild Arts Academy and Summer Program to Offer Full Scholarships for Native Students Idyllwild, CA – Southern California’s world-class arts high school and celebrated summer program is offering grant-funded full scholarships to American Indians eager to excel in the arts. Idyllwild Arts Academy and Summer Program sits on a forested mountain campus two hours inland from Los Angeles, on land of historical—and current—importance to the Qawishpa Cahuillangnah (Cahuilla Band of Indians) and all nine sovereign bands of Cahuilla people who have stewarded the land throughout the generations and continue to…

Northern Plains Indian Art Market (NPIAM), which takes place each September in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is sponsored by Sinte Gleska College on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. NPIAM is one of the few Native art markets – along with Haskell Indian Nations University’s Haskell Indian Art Market in Lawrence, Kansas — sponsored by a tribal college. NPIAM is open to artists and descendants of Northern Plains tribes from Canada and the United States. Founded in 1988, the market is in its 32nd year and attracts 50 visual arts from the potentially 23 eligible tribes. The actual market was in a…

Catoosa, OK — The Cherokee Nation sponsored its 14th annual Cherokee Art Market (CAM) on October 12 and 13, 2019. The market takes place at the tribe’s Hard Rock Hotel And Casino Tulsa. This year, Chase Earles (Caddo Nation) won the coveted Best of Show award Kee-Wat: Caddo Home, a ceramic sculpture featuring a Caddo grass lodge and summer arbor, over a bowl of incised, spiral patterns based on Ancestral Caddo designs. Earles of Ada, Oklahoma, harvested his clay near the Red River, where countless generations of his ancestors gathered clay. He hand-processed the shell-tempered clay and fires it outside…

Public Reception: Thursday, November 21, 2019 5:00–7:00 pm PENDLETON, Oregon – Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA) welcomes installation artist Natalie Ball (Klamath/Modoc) to the print studio in mid-November. The public is welcome to a reception on Thursday, November 21 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Ball will share an informal artist talk beginning at 5:30 pm. The reception allows the public to not only meet the visiting artist-in-residence but also see what is happening in the studio. The gallery will display new proofs. This event is free and open to the public. Natalie Ball will spend two weeks…