Friday & Saturday, August 29-30: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Orcas Center
— from Michael Riordan —
Lummi Mask
This coming weekend, Lummi native artists will display their work in the “Visions of Xwe’chi’eXen” Art Show and Sale, to occur August 29-31 at the Orcas Center in Eastsound. Sponsored by the Lummi Nation and Lummi Cultural Arts Association, it will feature about 20 Lummi artists showing recent artwork.
Shasta Cano-Martin, Lummi Tribal Council member and artist said, “The show’s theme is meant to increase public awareness of the Lummi interpretations of Xwe’chi’eXen: what it stands for, what it means to our ancestors, what it means to us today, and why we need to preserve and protect it for future generations.” Xwe’chi’eXen is the site of an ancient Lummi village at Cherry Point, where faceless corporations hope to build North America’s largest coal export terminal, which would defile this sacred site and nearby waters.
One of the featured artists is Candace Solomon, whose art is inspired by her Coast Salish heritage but also reflects her own contemporary design style. Her artwork has been commissioned for community gatherings and events, as well as by state and national organizations. Her latest commissioned art piece, “Mother & Daughter,” was done for the Portland Area Indian Health Board; it will be used for the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s Protecting Our Children Conference in 2015.
Other featured Lummi artists will include carvers of wood and bone, bead-workers and jewelers, graphic artists, muralists, weavers, painters, poets, orators, photographers, writers and musicians.
The Lummi Cultural Arts Association is composed of Lummi tribal member artists. With the help of the Lummi Ventures Program, it has been bringing various art opportunities to community members through art shows, events, and presentations — both on Lummi tribal lands and within the San Juan Islands, the ancestral territory of the Lummi people.
“Visions of Xwe’chi’eXen” is free and open to the public, located at Orcas Center, 917 Mt. Baker Road, Eastsound, WA 98245.
The show will be open:
Friday, August 29: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday, August 30: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Sunday, August 31: 9 a.m. to noon.
See its website: www.orcascenter.org.
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