Photos courtesy of tacoma art museum
CONNIE MCCLOUD, CULTURAL COORDINATOR, PUYALLUP TRIBAL HEALTH AUTHORITY, AND JOE FEDDERSEN AT THE OPENING OF “JOE FEDDERSEN: VITAL SIGNS,” OCT. 2, 2009.
Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) invites the public to immerse in the history and traditions of Northwest coastal tribes. On Jan. 9, from noon to 3:30 p.m., the museum will be bustling with cultural performances and hands-on activities for all ages, giving participants the chance to watch, listen and engage in the museum’s Coastal Native Celebration. As a tribute to the occasion, the museum is offering free admission with tribal identification.
“Tacoma Art Museum is honored to celebrate the heritage of the Pacific Northwest as we bring the Joe Feddersen exhibition, ‘Vital Signs,’ to a close. It’s exciting to bring together so many elements of the South Sound’s diverse Native community,” TAM Di-rector Stephanie A. Stebich said.
Cultural performances will include Nooksack wooden flute musician Roderick Harris, a performance from a K’lallam drum and dance group and master artist Al Zantua performing with Quileute Dancers. Known as the Northwest Coast Dancers, they will perform social songs and dances from Northwest coastal tribes.
Hands-on activities will be available for all ages and range from weaving cedar hearts and mask painting to making necklaces inspired by coastal traditions.
Also joining the Coastal Native Cele-bration is Makah wood carver Alex Swiftwater McCarty, who will showcase his skills with a live wood carving demonstration. Dedicated to honoring ancestral wood carving traditions, his current works include carved wall panels, masks, rattles, paddles, totems, drums, serigraphs and monotype prints. Alex Swiftwater McCarty’s carvings will be available for purchase alongside an array of items from local vendors who will be selling
custom jewelry, music and other wooden carvings.
Jonz Catering and The Workz Café will offer a modern take on coastal cuisine by providing Northwest Native lunch specials all day. The specials will be prepared from locally grown products and include dishes such as Alaskan salmon burgers, seafood chowder, corn bread muffins and more.
This event has been developed with dedicated volunteer leadership from Elizabeth de Brie and also from the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency.
Northwest artist Joe Feddersen is a printmaker, basket weaver and glass artist who combines traditional forms and symbols drawn from his Native American heritage with contemporary imagery. His highly regarded work explores the relationship between culture and the landscape, urban place markers and indigenous designs. His touring exhibition, “Joe Feddersen: Vital Signs,” closes at TAM on
Jan. 10.
Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for students, military and seniors (65 and over), $25 for a family (two adults and up to four children under 18). Children 5 and under free, as are members. For more information call (253) 272-4258, visit http://www.TacomaArtMuseum.org or e-mail .
