Indigenous Arts

September 30, 2008 by admin

2008, 326 pages. Published by New Village Press, PO Box 3049 Oakland, CA, 94609,  (510) 420-1361, www.newvillagepress.net

A Magical, Musical Gumbo

September 30, 2008 by admin

Tell about the South. What's it like there? What do they do there? Why do they live there? Why do they live at all?

William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom

The American South is a geographical entity, a historical fact, a place in the imagination, and the homeland of an array of Americans who consider themselves southerners. The region is often shrouded in romance and myth, but its realities are as intriguing, as intricate, as its legends.

Contemporary Art + Philanthropy

August 31, 2008 by admin

2007, 103 pages. University of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney, Australia www.unswpress.com.au (publisher); Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Paddington NSW (sponsor). Available through Hopkins Fulfillment Services, University of Washington Press, (800) 537-5487

May 31, 2008 by admin

Crossing Borders and Boundaries was the theme of the GFE Conference in 2007, and shortly after the GFE and GIA conferences and the Arts and Education Weekend, I left for a trip to Asia including visits to Thailand, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. The GFE conference underscored the fact that one of the most important skills needed now is to be globally literate, which is pretty much being neglected in schools at the moment.

October 31, 2007 by admin

When funders move into indigenous communities they tread a very fine line. On one side of the line they have a duty to undertake sufficient investigation to ensure that they properly understand a funding request and their own role in relation to it. On the other side, obtaining the information may conflict with the ability to acknowledge and give appropriate respect to the applicant's indigenous culture and its bounds.

Relations

August 31, 2007 by admin

2006, 256 pages. The Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe, NM 87501, 505-983-8900

Drumming the Land, Whistling the Wind

August 31, 2007 by admin

For decades the prolific Jack Loeffler has attended to the sounds of New Mexicosounds from nature, conversation, song, and storytellingwhile also hanging out with its legendary iconoclasts and characters. Loeffler's extensive recordings, chronicles, and transcriptions have contributed to the revival of the traditional music of New Mexico. We invited Loeffler to steep us in the place through his medium of sound.

August 31, 2007 by admin

Early in our research on New Mexico, we were encouraged to look at its crops and cuisines for insight into how different cultures in the state have both come together and retained distinct traditions over centuries. In reading, we came across Ancient Agriculture, a text by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera that first appeared in Spain in the sixteenth century and later traveled from the old world to the new, influencing how agriculture is practiced in New Mexico today.

When We Experience Freedom

August 31, 2007 by admin

Changing media policy has affected and will continue to shape how art is made and distributed, whose voices are heard, and who has access to those voices. To take an angle on this multifaceted subject, we invited two articulate media experts into a conversation about their workwork that has profound implications for artists and for social justice activists. Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, interviews Loris Taylor, executive director of Native Public Media.

Sweet Success

April 30, 2007 by admin

An extraordinary and remarkable cultural event occurred this past June at the Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, Nevada. The Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering brought together over 500 weavers representing the nine western states, including Alaska and Hawaii for three days of demonstrations, lectures, workshops, and just a generally fine time. A pervasive air of cooperation, collaboration, and good will made for joyous celebration of the giant strides these basketweavers had made over the past several years.