'Migrations: New Directions in Native American Art' at Sheldon Jan. 8

Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present "Migrations: New Directions in Native American Art," opening Jan. 8 and on view through April 25.

The exhibition includes artwork of six emerging Native American artists who have completed residencies at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, N.M., or at the Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts in Pendleton, Ore. The artists represent a wide range of stylistic approaches, tribal affiliations and use of media.

Marjorie Devon, director of the Tamarind Institute, said each artist has experienced fluid boundaries of culture and their work embraces both the traditional and the modern. The artists with works in the exhibition are: Steven Deo (Creek), Tom Jones (Ho Chunk), Larry McNeil (Tlingit/Nisga'a), Ryan Lee Smith (Cherokee), Star Wallowing Bull (Chippewa, White Earth Reservation) and Marie Watt (Seneca).

The institutes participating in "Migrations" share three goals for the exhibition: Presenting the work of Native American artists working with a contemporary vocabulary, broadening the understanding of contemporary Native American art, and encouraging serious discussion about Native American artists.

The exhibition title, "Migrations," was chosen because of its diverse implications of movements between eras, cultures, places, artistic mediums, and between obscurity and limelight. A catalog, which accompanies the exhibition, includes essays by Lucy R. Lippard, Gerald McMaster, Kathleen Stewart Howe and Jo Ortel.

The museum will present two programs in connection with the exhibition:

Feb. 16, artist Marie Watt will present a talk in Sheldon's Ethel S. Abbott Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. She will speak about her interest in textiles and sewing circles, a social community event that she compares to a barn raising. As a member of the Seneca, Watt sees great importance in the giving and receiving of blankets as a way of showing honor to people for being witness to important life events. Watt will conduct a sewing circle at the Lincoln Indian Center during the afternoon before her lecture.

On Feb. 27, the Standing Eagle Drum Group will perform in the Sheldon's Great Hall at 2 p.m. The group includes both drummers and dancers.

The "Migrations" project, partially funded by grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, was developed to identify and showcase emerging Native American artists who are working with a contemporary vocabulary. The Nebraska Arts Council and the Sheldon Art Association have provided additional support for the exhibition at Sheldon.

Sheldon Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects focusing on American art. Sheldon, 12th and R streets on the UNL City Campus, is open free to the public during regular hours. The museum's hours are: Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Monday. For information or to arrange a tour, call (402) 472-4524. Additional information is also available on the Sheldon Web site, www.sheldon.unl.edu.