Schingoethe Center Announces its Fall 2016 Exhibitions and Speakers

Media Contact

Meg Bero, Executive Director

630-844-7844

mbero@aurora.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2, 2016

The Schingoethe Center of Aurora University announces its Fall 2016 exhibitions and speakers

AURORA, Ill. – The Schingoethe Center is pleased to announce the Fall 2016 season of exhibits and programs featuring six cultural events that are free and open to the public. The season begins with the exhibition “WOVEN: The Art of Contemporary Native Weaving” featuring 19 nationally and internationally known weavers and their boundary-stretching interpretations of the art form. Paired with this exhibition is the exhibit, “WOVEN: Traditional” featuring a selection of the Schingoethe Center’s exquisite historic collection of woven containers and rugs.

WOVEN: The Art of Contemporary Native Weaving

Public Exhibition Opening Reception on Tuesday, October 4 from 5-6:30pm

Artist Talk: “Sustaining Tradition” featuring Kelly Church (Ottawa and Chippewa) Tuesday October 4, 2016 |Tapper Recital Hall |7:00pm immediately following the opening reception

Exhibition continues until Friday, December 16

Exhibiting artists:

Bernice Akamine |DY Begay |Brittany Britton| Berdina Charley | Kelly Church | Lola S. Cody |Velma Kee Craig | Carol Emarthle-Douglas | Joe Feddersen | Pat Courtney Gold | Shan Goshorn | Marlowe Katoney | Ka’ila Farrell-Smith |Lisa Telford| Gail Tremblay |Dawn Nichols-Walden |Joey Lavadour |Cherish Parrish |Sarah Sense

WOVEN: The Art of Contemporary Native Weaving

Nineteen renowned indigenous artists expand concepts of Native American Art in the 21st century through their use of non-traditional materials and motifs, putting a new twist on the ancient craft of weaving as fashioned in baskets, rugs, photographs and sculpture.

“The WOVEN exhibition examines selected works of these Native artists’ modern approach to the age-old craft of weaving. Themes examined span weaving as a vehicle to confront difficult historic issues, to the use of traditional techniques and materials to express contemporary societal ideas and influences,” states Meg Bero, co-curator of the show and director of the Schingoethe Center.

The public is invited to attend a free artist talk featuring Kelly Church. Ms. Church is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. In addition to being an artist, Church is an educator and activist for the preservation of her craft.

Many of the artists in the exhibition come from families of weavers whose artistry dates back generations. Kelly Church comes from the largest black ash basket-making family in Michigan, an unbroken line of weavers. “We have a photo of my family making baskets from 1919, but my grandmother once said that we made baskets before they made cameras.” Her exquisite technique combines with unique materials to bring freshness to the craft. Her piece titled “Treaty Hat” pushes the boundaries of these traditions to comment on the loss of her people’s land from which her materials are harvested.

Artist Shan Goshorn (Cherokee) whose work is in the nation’s finest museums, including the National Museum of the American Indian, uses archival photographs and documents to create her containers in the Cherokee tradition. Goshorn does extensive research for each project and has been awarded research fellowships from the Smithsonian and the Eiteljorg Museum among others. She states, “I have found myself drawn to the traditional crafts of my people, specifically basket making, as a way to illustrate my political statements and bring awareness to contemporary Native issues.”

Diné (Navajo) artist Marlowe Katoney comes at weaving from a painter’s perspective. Formally trained as a painter, he grew up watching his grandmother weave. He brings a painterly aesthetic to the traditional Diné pictorial rug motif, creating a contemporary narrative.

Meg Bero, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center and co-curator with Todd Clark (Walaiki) of the WOVEN exhibition speaks to the museum’s new facility as perfectly suited for such shows. “American Indian art is often thought of as a thing of the past, not the present. The artists in this exhibit provoke us to enlarge our notions of what it means to be an indigenous person in the 21st century. The Schingoethe Center is committed to “First Voice”, the practice of having Native folks speak for themselves as opposed to interpretation by the curator,” further states Bero.

WOVEN is a joint project of the Schingoethe Center and I.M.N.D.N.|Native Art for the 21st Century , Curated by Meg Bero and Todd Clark (Wailaki)

WOVEN: Traditional

WOVEN: Traditional is the companion exhibit to the contemporary show. It provides context for the contemporary show by featuring traditional weaving forms and motifs, using examples from the Schingoethe collections.

Fall Lectures

“IMPRINTS: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago” featuring Author John Low, PhD (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), The Ohio State University

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 | 7:00pm | Schingoethe Center

The Schingoethe Center is located at 1315 Prairie Street, Aurora, IL 60506

Visit our website at www.aurora.edu/museum or email museum@aurora.edu

Phone: 630-844-7843

High resolution photos are available to the press at: http://alumni.aurora.edu/press

New Museum Building

“The second season in the Schingoethe Center’s new museum begins on October 4th. Our beautiful new state-of-the-art facility includes space for permanent and changing exhibitions. In addition, the Tapper Recital Hall provides theater seating in an intimate setting for our artist’s talks and scholarly lectures,” states executive director, Meg Bero. Bero continues, “Our exhibits and programs represent our mission which is to cultivate creative community by featuring the art of non-Native and Native American contemporary artists as well as our well-known historic American Indian collection.”

Reservations for the exhibit opening reception and artist talk are appreciated. To register please visit auartsandideas.com, email artsandideas@aurora.edu or call 630-844-4924

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The mission of the Schingoethe Center of Aurora University is to foster inquiry, celebrate artistic excellence, preserve and perpetuate Native American cultures, and inspire a lifelong engagement with the visual arts. The Schingoethe Center of Aurora University seeks to cultivate creative community. Building on its tradition of object-based learning, the museum brings people and objects together using interdisciplinary approaches.

Aurora University is an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning, annually educating approximately 5,200 degree-seeking students at the bachelor’s, masters and doctoral levels. The university has a long tradition of preparing students for lives of service and leadership, and using its resources and expertise to meet the needs of the community. In addition to its main campus and the Orchard Center in Aurora, Ill., AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wis., and at the Woodstock Center in downtown Woodstock, Ill. Learn more at aurora.edu.