Art Exhibition Showcases Native American Art
The Rooted in Relations art exhibition opened in early February at Mesa Community College’s Southern and Dobson campus to feature indigenous artists whose displayed creative works explore themes of identity, culture, and relationships with their community and land.
The exhibition, a first of its kind at MCC, is organized by the Art Department and highlights the different perspectives of culture Native Americans have through a variety of mediums such as painting, drawing, jewelry, photography, poetry, digital animation and gourd rattles.
“The goal of the exhibition was to really illustrate how these artists celebrate interconnection, strength, and sovereignty that come from indigenous identity and relationships with the land, the language, the culture, and the community,” said art gallery coordinator Tracey Blocker.
Calls for the application submissions were published on a website called CaFÉ in the fall where a prompt was put up for regional artists to respond with applications and images of their work. A selection committee then sat to review and to select the final pieces that were displayed in the official exhibition.
Though the group exhibition wasn’t aimed towards students, they were nevertheless invited to submit their applications and have the opportunity to present their art.
Second year animation student Liliana Gonzales was one of two MCC students that delivered their work in the show out of four that submitted their pieces. Gonzales submitted an ink and acrylic marker piece highlighting her mixed heritage, as well as an animation reel on a tablet.
“I think it’s just there to support other native artists, while also getting a glimpse of checking out artists in different tribes, cultures, and to see how really different we are. You can see the many styles when going into the exhibition, while some of them are colorful, some of them look traditional,” said Gonzales.
“It’s really great to see how many different kinds there are. Even like when reading the specific tribe we are each in, it’s amazing to see how there’s any difference, and different age groups too,” she said.
Gonzales further explained why the importance of indigenous representation mattered. She recounted times as a child where the only representation she could find of indigenous people were in the hospitals she would visit on reservations and in museums. She described the lack of representation as sad, saying she felt like history.
Gonzales said that being able to have the Rooted in Relations exhibition show the art works of indigenous artists living in that present moment helped her to not “feel as forgotten, in a sense.”
The opening night of the exhibition, which took place on Feb 4, gave guests the opportunity to meet the artists and try Native American cuisine served by Chef Nella from Nella’s Innovative Creations.
Nella gave remarks on the significance of the served food at the reception, explaining its authenticity to the tribes in Arizona.
Alongside were remarks from community partner Unique Yazzie who spoke about her work with Cahokia of Phoenix in supporting indigenous artists.
In addition, committee member and professor of sociology and Native American studies Dr. Mona Scott Figueroa gave a land acknowledgement.
“I mean it was exactly what we were hoping for. There were over 100 people in attendance at the opening and the gallery holds 179, so it was a full house,” said Blocker about the turnout on opening night.
