Sisters of the Great Lakes:
Art of American Indian Women

[Picture of sculpture by Tammy Tarbell-Boehning.]

PICTURED: Three Sisters, Tammy Tarbell-Boehning, 1994. Clay.

SCHEDULE FOR 2008:

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Mashantucket, Connecticut
October 5 - November 30, 2008

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Art Center of Battle Creek, Battle Creek, MI; Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI; The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL; Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center & Museum, Crandon, WI; Fort Miami Heritage Society, St. Joseph, MI; Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorehead, MN; Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI; Nokomis American Indian Cultural Learning Center, Okemos, MI

This landmark exhibition speaks directly to the ways in which American Indians, specifically women living in the Great Lakes region, visually address the complexities of being Indian in a modern world. It is a wonderful cross-section of the multiple ways in which individuals express their identity as women, as artists, as American Indians, and as members of specific native communities. Sisters of the Great Lakes explores the basic motivations and forms individual women use for expressing themselves in visual ways. It counters the often stereotypical views of American Indian art, in general, and Great Lakes Indian art, in particular.

The group of twenty women whose work is included in the exhibition came together as a result of their participation in the Transcending Boundaries project, a year-long series of professional development workshops coordinated by the Nokomis American Indian Cultural Learning Center of Okemos, Michigan. The women initiated this exhibition and accompanying publication project to celebrate their participation in the workshops and as a means of educating others about their work and heritage.

This exhibition is eligible for funding through the Michigan Humanities Council's Arts and Humanities Touring Program. For more information, click here.

Rental fee
(4-week period): $4,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces: 24

Running feet required: 150 to 200 ft.

Insurance Value:
$35,000

Security requirement: Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available: Accompanying publication and related publications for resale; press materials

Rental fee (4-week period):	$4,000, plus shipping
Number of pieces:	24
Running feet required:	150 to 200 ft.
Insurance Value:	$35,000
Security requirement:	Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances
Additional materials available:	Accompanying publication and related publications for resale; press materials

To purchase the publication, Sisters of the Great Lakes: Art of American Indian Women and other merchandise from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program Store, Click Here.

Funding of the research, exhibition and publication was made possible by the financial and in-kind support of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Nokomis American Indian Cultural Learning Center, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, MSU Native American Indian Institute, and the Elizabeth Halsted Lifelong Education Endowment.

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This is an activity supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs