Flushing Town Hall Presents Native Artist Spotlight Panel

On Wednesday, December 2, Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, and NativeTec will present a live Native Artist Spotlight Panel to discuss and showcase their contemporary art and its influence on our history.

Moderated by Tecumseh Ceaser, Matinecock Turkey Clan, with Native American artists living in Queens, the Bronx, Long Island and Colorado, this panel will convene to explore the range of their art and what it means to be Native artist in the 21st century.

“Often when people think of Native art, they focus on historic pieces or artifacts from the West,” said Gabrielle M. Hamilton, Director of Education and Public Programs at Flushing Town Hall. “However, this panel will dispel that belief and engage dynamic Native artists from New York City and beyond who are still creating modern, traditional, folk art and handicrafts.”

“To be Indigenous is to be resilient; and all these artist’s works show not only the resilience of indigenous people, but that the culture of the first people of this country lives within them and their art gives voice to their ancestors” said Tecumseh Ceasar, who is also the owner of NativeTec, a co-sponsor of the panel.

The event is free and can be viewed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/flushingtownhall or Zoom at 7:00 PM EST. Register at: http://www.flushingtownhall.org/nativeartist Flushing Town Hall encourages attendees to explore the panelists’ websites in advance of the discussion and to support the local artists.

Tecumseh Ceaser is a Native American artist and cultural consultant of Matinecock Turkey clan, Wampanoag, Metoac, and Blackfoot descent. Born and raised in Queens, the homeland of the Matinecock, he works in the traditional medium and practice of quahog shell (wampum) carving. His goal is to bring exposure to the indigenous groups of Queens and Long Island and draw attention to the fact that Native American culture and art are not stagnant. He frequently collaborates with local tribes to bring cultural programming to their communities.

As a cultural consultant and Native activist, he currently serves as an advisor for the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus at the United Nations, where he advocates for Indigenous Americans' rights to member states, NGOs, and other indigenous nations. He provided cultural education to universities, museums, and institutions including St. John's University, Socrates Sculpture Park, Flushing Town Hall, and NYU. He is in residence at Flushing Town Hall, Socrates Sculpture Park, and IBEX Puppetry.

In addition to Tecumseh Ceaser, the panel will feature:

• Denise “Weetahmoe” Silva-Dennis (Shinnecock/Hassanamisco-Nipmuc) is a retired Southampton elementary school art teacher. She works with acrylic paints. Her professional achievements include two paintings that were selected for the exhibit “In Beauty It Has Begun…” sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Smithsonian Institute. She also won the Parrish Art Museum’s Judge’s Award in the painting category. Silva-Dennis is also an accomplished beadwork crafts woman. The traditional Eastern Woodland style of beadwork was handed down to her from the elder women of the Shinnecock and Hassanamisco-Nipmuc Nations. Her work includes necklace and earring sets, beaded medicine fans, walking sticks, and beaded cradleboards. Her beaded necklaces have been shown at the Louise Himelfarb Gallery and at The Studio Connection, both in Southampton. Several Native American exhibitors carry an assortment of her beaded creations to Powwows throughout the Northeastern United States.

• Lydia Chavez (Unkechaug) from Long Island is currently in Denver, Colorado. Her prime focus is on handmade Wampum jewelry, made from Quahog clam shell, while her other works include painting, beading, lapidary work and traditional Native American craft. Chavez creates contemporary pieces using Wampum, a material with a history revered by Indigenous groups, non-Native shell artists, historians and the like. She combines traditional materials and techniques with modern lapidary technology and unique designs. The inspiration for these pieces has always been to represent Wampum in a respectful manner while showcasing the natural, inherent beauty of the shell but also focusing on the growth and development of the modern Native culture. She has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has works in several museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the New York State museum in Albany, the USFW Long Island Wertheim Center, and a private collection of several belts commissioned by the Seneca Nation. She has made custom wampum belts for private collectors, one of which was sent to be held at the frontlines during the Standing Rock protests. She is working with the Field Museum in Chicago on a two-row replica Wampum Belt and as a collaborative advisor for a new wampum exhibit. She has made jewelry for films and has sent pieces all over the world.

• Jeremy Dennis (Shinnecock), a contemporary fine art photographer and a tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY. In his work, he explores indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation. Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY. He currently lives and works in Southampton, New York on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.

• Tohanash Tarrant (Shinnecock) - From a young age, she shadowed her mother while she sat quietly for hours beading hair ties, lacing shawls, and sewing applique. From the time she could walk, she was taking part in traditional dances at gatherings such as powwows and socials. Now with two children of her own, her attentions have turned from dancing fancy shawl herself, to beading and sewing dance outfits for her children and beading jewelry. In 2016, she launched Thunderbird Designs, a small business featuring handcrafted items made by family members as well as various Shinnecock artists. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, she has applied her sewing skills to creating fabric face masks. She and her team at Thunderbird Designs have given away hundreds of these handmade masks to community members in need. As a teacher and artist, she hopes to share the beauty of her traditions and living culture so that it may be passed down for generations to come.

Flushing Town Hall acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Matinecock People, one of the original tribes of New York, and the first people of Flushing, Queens, who continue to live and work on this land to this day.