Native American high school students and professional artists to display artwork April 7-28 in UW-Superior's Kruk Gallery

Talk about it

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The American Indian Art Scholarship Exhibit at the University of Wisconsin-Superior marks its 11th year with high school students and professional artists from around the region exhibiting their artwork April 7-28 in the university’s Kruk Gallery.

Forty-two students from nine schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota are submitting work for the exhibit, which recognizes the creativity of outstanding Native American high school artists.

The exhibit also includes work by 21 established Native American artists from throughout the region. Jonathan Thunder, a member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, is this year’s featured artist. He will exhibit his work and present a special workshop for the participating high school artists.

The exhibit concludes April 28 with an artists’ sale from 3 to 5 p.m. in the lobby outside the gallery followed by a closing reception from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery. At the reception, top student works will be named and a student artist selected by exhibit judges will be offered a $1,000 scholarship to UW-Superior. The students’ artwork will be judged by a panel of professional artists who are exhibiting work at the show.

The American Indian Art Scholarship Exhibit is popular around the region because it offers young artists an opportunity to display their work and to learn from fellow artists, said Ivy Vainio, multicultural affairs specialist at UW-Superior and the show’s organizer.

The exhibit also is recognized as an opportunity for the public to see the work of many established Native American artists. A recently published study by the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota noted that the UW-Superior exhibit is unique among student art shows in the region because it places the work of professional artists with that of high school artists, providing encouragement for the young people.

This year's exhibit will include work by students from Superior High School, AlBrook High School, Ashland High School, Cloquet Senior High School, Fond du Lac Ojibwe School, Denfeld High School in Duluth, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School, Oneida Nation High School in Green Bay, Wis., and First Baptist Christian Academy in Park Rapids, Minn.

Established artists exhibiting work will include Petrina Arnold, Gordon Coons, Jes Durfee, Jill Fortin, Orvilla Long Fox, Carl Gawboy, Jerry Kirk, Annette Lee, Douglas K. Limon, Marcie McIntire, Wanesia Misquadace, Steve Premo, Josef Reiter, Karen Savage-Blue, Eve Schultz, Gordon van Wert, Gerald White, William Wilson, Delina White, and Susan Zimmerman.

The exhibit is free and open to the public in Kruk Gallery, located in Holden Fine and Applied Arts Center on the UW-Superior campus. Gallery hours during the show are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday when exhibits are in place. For more information about gallery hours call 715-394-8391.

Holden Fine and Applied Arts Center is located on Catlin Avenue and 19th Street on the UW-Superior campus. For directions to UW-Superior and maps of campus, go online to www.uwsuper.edu/directions.

The American Indian Art Scholarship Exhibit is sponsored by UW-Superior’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, First Nations Center, and the Visual Arts Department.

UW-Superior is Wisconsin’s Leading Public Liberal Arts College, preparing students for lifelong learning and rewarding careers through more than 26 undergraduate and graduate programs offered on campus along with degrees offered through distance learning. The university is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and plays a central role in the University of Wisconsin System’s Growth Agenda for Wisconsin.

Tags: daily updates, superior, arts, and, entertainment, education