Neebin Southall (Chippewas of Rama First Nation), FAAM contributor here. This past week, America Meredith and I took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona, to table a media booth for First American Art Magazine at the 58th Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market. I had never been to the Heard Fair before, nor spent time in Phoenix, so the days were packed with new experiences.
On Thursday, we first casually explored Phoenix. The street art was fabulous.
- “Old Pueblo” breakfast at the Good Egg!
- This wall was completely changed a few days later, as part of Paint PHX.
- Roosevelt Row
- Roosevelt Row
[Click on pictures to enlarge]
Later that afternoon, we headed to Scottsdale’s arts district to check out the galleries and the Scottsdale ArtWalk. There was an incredible amount of beautiful art on display. One gallery even had pre-Columbian work, which I did not get a chance to photograph but was amazing nonetheless.
- Canadians welcome at the Scottsdale ArtWalk with Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Rama Chippewa). Photo: A. Meredith (Cherokee)
- Loloma jewelry at Waddell Trading Company, with a publication by the Wheelwright Museum, where I work!
- Fantastic bison sculpture by Mark Fischer (Oneida) outside of River Trading Post
- Starr Hardridge (Muscogee Nation) at MEI Gallery.
- Ira Lujan (Taos Pueblo) demonstrating glass blowing techniques.
- Scottsdale arts district at night
After Scottsdale, we headed back to Phoenix. Next on the list was 1Spot Gallery, for the opening of Nihiáłchíní éí bąąh – For Our Children. 1Spot Gallery features contemporary Native art and is a pretty cool avenue for experimental, socially conscious work. I had the pleasure of meeting Damian Jim, a Navajo artist and graphic designer whose work I have followed online; Katja Lehmann, who wrote a guest article, “Byting Willows” for my Exploring Native Graphic Design column; and Bahe Whitethorne Sr. and his son, Bahe Whitethorne Jr. (both Navajo); among other attendees. Bahe Whitethorne Jr. created a painting with electric colors during the opening, which was raffled off after he completed the piece. America won the raffle! We stopped by the next morning to pick up the piece. After the 1Spot Gallery opening, we made a brief appearance at Halo Piercing and Jewelry for their artist reception for Pat Pruitt and Marla Allison (both Laguna).
- 1Spot Gallery, with a mural by Randy “Boogie” Barton (Navajo)
- Damian Jim (Navajo) outside of 1Spot Gallery.
- Live painting with Bahe Whitethorne Jr. (Navajo)
- Bahe Whitethorne Jr. signs his piece.
- “8 oz for you, 8 oz for me” by Eunique Yazzie (Navajo).
The next day included more exploration of the area, errands, and of course, attendance of the Heard’s Best of Show Reception and Dinner. The dinner was excellent, and a time to catch up with friends. Unfortunately, I missed the “Bejeweled & Bedazzled” fashion and accessories show, but I did manage to get a few photos of some of the award-winning work, before a volunteer hustled the crowd out. A number of people I know won ribbons. Congratulations to all the winners! To see the full list of winners, click here.
- My friends Orlando Dugi, Ben Harjo Jr., and Ken Williams with their collaborative pieces, a dress and purse set.
- Silverwork by Nelda Schrupp (Pheasant Rump Nakota), 2016, at the Heard Fair
- Cristina Danforth (Oneida Nation) at the Heard Fair award preview, Phoenix, Arizona
The Heard Fair commenced, and on Saturday and Sunday we worked the booth with help from our generous friends. We handed out hundreds of magazines, signed people up for subscriptions, and raffled off beautiful works of art. On Sunday, I had a chance to look around and take some photographs. There was so much to see. I even bought a few things for myself. It was good to see old friends and meet new people.
- Booths at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix!
- Rosa at our magazine booth
- Friendly visitors, Lara Evans (Cherokee) and Suzanne Newman Fricke.
- Suzanne and Lara perusing No. 10
- FAAM Booth
- crowd scene
- crowd scene
- perusing the booths
- Christopher Short interviews Ben, Jen, and Orlando
- Sandra Okuma (Luiseno & Shoshone-Bannock) and Barbara Harjo
- Mateo Romero (Cochiti Pueblo) with friend Sun Rose Iron Shell (Sicangu-Oglala Lakota)
- Emmett Navakuku (Hopi-Tewa)
- Peter Boome (Upper Skagit)
- Crystal Worl (Tlingit-Athabascan)
- Cara Romero (Chemehuevi)
- Cara Romero (Chemehuevi)
- L. Eugene Nelson (Navajo)
- Terrance Henry Booth Jr. (Tsimshian-Pima-Tohono O’odham) and Gianna Rose Willard Flanery (Haida)
- Fashion Designer Penny Singer (Navajo)
- Melissa Melero (Paiute-Modoc) and Karma Henry (Paiute)
- Sheridan MacKnight (Ojibwe-Lakota)
- Basketmaker Theresa Secord (Penobscot)
- Samuel LaFountain (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
- Photographer and designer Eugene Tapahe (Navajo)
- Heard Fair, Phoenix, AZ
- Heidi BigKnife (Shawnee)
- Sun Rose Iron Shell (Sicangu-Oglala Lakota)
- Designer Loren Aragon (Acoma Pueblo)
- Young ledger artist Wakeah Jhane (Comanche-Blackfeet-Kiowa)
- Shaaxsaani (Tlingit) with her award-winning purse.
- Breakdown begins
After the market, we had breakfast with some friends and stopped by the Heard. I finally had a chance to look around the actual museum and was surprised and pleased to see that they had work from the Great Lakes in one of their exhibitions. There were some gorgeous Ojibwe bandolier bags, among other work. Then, we then hit the road back to Santa Fe.
- Teri Greeves (Kiowa-Comanche), Jill Ahlberg Yohe (Minneapolis Art Institute), and Janet Berlo (University of Rochester) evaluate pieces in the Heard’s collections and discuss work for an upcoming art show.
- The Great Lakes representing in Phoenix, Arizona!
Thank you to everyone who made the trip an action-packed experience!
All photos by Neebinnaukzhik Southall, unless otherwise noted.
1 Comment
I’m looking for an artist that I saw there. I have a pic of him with sunglasses on, standing beside his painting. I’ve had the hardest time tracking down his info.