An exhibition of artwork by the Native American class at VSA North Fourth Art Center will open this Friday at the UNM Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. Nearly two-dozen vivid paintings and drawings will be on display. Native American Visions: Illusions of Traditional Life will show through November 2005 in the Ortiz Gallery. The exhibit opens on Friday, June 24, with a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
Exhibiting artists and Native American students include Nicky Arango, Elaine Archuleta, Cari Lynn Carlston, Lannette Silver, Joe Tenorio, Helene Valdez, Derrick Wanoskia and their teacher Sam Bautista.
A Native American class began several years ago at VSA North Fourth Art Center as a way for Native Americans with developmental disabilities to learn about Native American culture. Artist/ teacher Sam Bautista is from Laguna Pueblo and knows from nearly ten years teaching art to people with disabilities that Native Americans with disabilities suffer culture loss just as other Native Americans can when they are not in touch with their traditions. “For Native Americans,” Bautista explains, “art is not just a form of expression but is a culture we carry within ourselves.”
What began as art instruction in a weekly classroom setting soon expanded to include visits to feast day celebrations and the annual Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow in Albuquerque. The study of traditional Native American culture informed the students’ artwork and strengthened their identity as artists and as advocates of disability culture.
In January 2004, a partnership was formed with VSA North Fourth Art Center and the Alfonso Ortiz Center at UNM that has included educational programming, poetry readings, performances, visits to Maxwell Museum and opportunities for exhibition.
Native American Visions: Illusions of Traditional Life is sponsored by the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies, the McCune Foundation and the Maxwell Museum Association, and is funded in part by William E. and Judith P. Boebert.
VSA North Fourth Art Center provides creative and cultural access and exploration for people of every ability through the arts. North Fourth Art Center is operated by VSA arts of New Mexico, a member of the national VSA arts network affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816
Posted by scarr at June 22, 2005 10:28 AM