Art Exhibit At Tulsa's Gathering Place Celebrates Native American Culture

A new art exhibit at the Gathering Place features work from 13 tribal artists with the Osage, Muscogee, and Cherokee Nations.

It is titled WeAre and will be on display inside ONEOK Boathouse through Sunday, November 26th.

Laura Clark is the Curator of Public Art for Gathering Place and a member of the Muscogee Nation. She said, "Every artwork has a story."

Some of those stories have been passed down from generation to generation.

"Our tribal histories are world histories," said Clark "We have been here for a long, long time and so when you come to see a Native American art exhibition you are touching a deep, deep place in the history of America."

WeAre takes a deep dive into the cultural identities of the three tribes; Osage, Muscogee, and Cherokee.

"Each tribe has their own unique culture and so this is an expression of those cultures," said Clark. "It is not any one idea or one theme, it is about who each artist feels they are as a Native American."

Among all the colors on the walls is a black and white photograph taken by Osage artist Ryan RedCorn.

"He submitted a piece that is a lot of corn with this beautiful depth, shadow, and light," Clark adds the piece has two meanings. "The Native American peoples in the Americas have relied on corn for tens of thousands of years for our sustenance. It is a very important part of our culture. It speaks to him about his own family called RedCorn and his father in particular was responsible for saving the heirloom seeds of the red corn for the Osage Nation."

The art exhibit also features an interactive finger weaving station where the community can come and add colorful yarn and ribbon. Clark said it is a collaboration that tribes still do today.

"Finger weaving is something that these tribes still do and so our team put together this loom so that those that come and interact with the exhibition can get a taste of what it's like," she said.

On Sunday, November 12th at 2 p.m. several of the artists will be at ONEOK Boathouse for a panel discussion about their pieces. The event is free to attend.

The featured artists in the WeAre exhibit are:

Kalyn Barnoski (Cherokee Nation)

Roy Boney, Jr. (Cherokee Nation)

Shane Brown (Cherokee Nation)

Troy Jackson (Cherokee Nation)

Karin Walkingstick (Cherokee Nation)

Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee)

Yatika Fields (Osage/Cherokee/Creek)

Ryan RedCorn (Osage Nation)

Jarica Walsh (Osage Nation)

Jimmie C. Fife (Mvskoke)

Kenneth Johnson (Muscogee/Seminole)

Bobby C. Martin (Muscogee Creek)

Melinda Schwakhofer (Muscogee Creek)