Libraries to Host Native American Art Reception March 10 in Mullins

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University Libraries will host a reception on Friday, March 10, for the three artists whose work is featured in a current exhibit, ‘Stories, Visions and Memory: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art.’

A “walk and talk” will begin at 3 p.m. in the west lobby of Mullins Library, with Native artists Bobby Martin, Tony Tiger and Erin Shaw. The artists will meet with the public and explain the backstories behind their pieces. A reception will follow at 4 p.m. in the Helen Robson Walton Reading Room. This event is free and open to the public.  

The exhibit is on display throughout the lobby level of Mullins Library until April 26.

Martin is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) tribe and is highly involved in the contemporary Native art world. His work has been exhibited and collected internationally.

“My hope is for my art to become like an old family photograph,” said Martin, whose work in this exhibit is based on his personal family photos. “Perhaps cherished, perhaps stuffed in a box in the attic, but always able to evoke memories every time it is viewed.”

Chickasaw-Choctaw artist Erin Shaw creates in a state of tension, suspended between two worlds. Humor pervades her art, which seeks to reveal truths in unanticipated ways.

“My work as an artist rests in this simple assertion: We are collectors of stories, and the stories we collect shape the people we are,” said Shaw. “I work in this manner that I might see things in a new way.”

Tony A. Tiger is an enrolled member of the Sac and Fox Tribe of Oklahoma with Seminole and Muscogee (Creek) lineage. He is a painter, mixed media and conceptual artist, independent art curator, and art educator who is active in the Southeastern Indian Artist Association and his community.

“My art is fueled by the belief that we are more than reflections in a mirror; we are soul, and we are spirit,” said Tiger. “I create to express the mystery and wonder of existence.”

The exhibit is part of the University Libraries’ ‘Explore Native American Storytelling through Arts, Literature, and Culture’ program, which features guest speakers and rotating exhibits throughout the academic year. As part of the program, Elizabeth Toombs will present ‘It Lives in Stories: Cherokee Stories in the Arts’ at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Walton Reading Room. Guest speaker Ryan Mackey will present ‘Cherokee Meaning’ at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in the Walton Reading Room, as well.

About University of Arkansas Libraries: Located at the heart of campus, David W. Mullins Library is the university’s main research library. Branch libraries include the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library, the Fine Arts Library, the Physics Library, and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Library. The Libraries provide access to more than 2 million volumes and 53,000 journals, and also offer individual and group research help, study spaces, computer labs with printing and scanning, interlibrary loan and RazorRush services, and cultural exhibits and events. The Libraries’ Special Collections unit acquires, preserves, and provides access to materials on Arkansas and the region, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical, and political climate. Visit the Libraries’ web page at libraries.uark.edu to learn more about services and collections.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.