Up & Coming Weekly

November 15, 2022

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 14 UCW NOVEMBER 16 - 22, 2022 Indigenous culture is here, and it's thriving. at is what the latest art exhibit at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County shows. Still Here, Still Native: A Native American Art Exhibit is a special exhibit for the Arts Council to mark Native American Heritage Month. e curator, Savanna Davis, came up with the idea to host a space where indigenous people could share their own stories. She went to the Office of Indian Education— which is part of Cumberland County Schools — and they agreed to partner for the exhibit. "I came to them with the concept, they said they loved it, and we [worked] it out together, and it all came together," Davis said. Eighteen indigenous artists have contributed to the collection of native-based artwork. Davis said that many of the submissions seemed to surround similar themes of identity. "ere are pieces about identity ... living in two worlds," Davis said. "You have a tribal identity, and then you have a present-day identity, and those may not overlap all the time." Some pieces are heirlooms like a piece of local Lumbee Regalia, a quilt made for a couple on their wedding day, and bead embroidery. en there are new art pieces, like a traditional cape made out of plastic bags and moccasins made out of plastic. "It's kind of new world technique meets old world tradition," Davis said. e artwork also shows the not-so-nice side of history. For example, one piece of art, "e Broken Necklace," is about residential schools and how indigenous children were taken away from their homes and forced to abandon their culture and language. A couple of other pieces of art focus on the Miss- ing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic. According to the National Crime Information Cen- ter, 8,162 Indigenous youth and 2,285 Indigenous adults were reported missing. Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. "We wanted to take the time to give it its own space," Davis said. In this corner of the gallery hangs a woman's shawl with red handprints — the symbol of the MMIW movement. In the gallery booklet, there are also resources people can look up to learn more about the movement. One interesting thing about the exhibit is that next to each piece of art is a QR code. at QR code leads visitors to a Wikipedia page that gives more infor- mation about the tribe where that piece of artwork comes from. When you take a step back and look at the gallery as a whole, you see that this art reflects a thriving culture — not a history textbook. "I hope people come in and learn something. I hope that it challenges what they think of when they hear Native Americans or Indigenous people. I hope it helps to make these cultures real and relevant and present. e way we traditionally encounter these cultures is in the dinosaur bones section in the mu- seum so I hope this reverse that," Davis says. "ey are still thriving. It's gorgeous, it's incredible." e exhibit will be on display at the Arts Council until Nov. 27. e exhibit is free and open to the public. HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200 EVENT P R E S E N T S November 25-27, December 2-4, December 16-18 2022 Print & Sign Shop Westwood & Fort Bragg This project is supported by the Arts Council in part by contributions from businesses and individuals, and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources. GilbertTheater.com (910) 678-7186 T I C K E T S A V A I L A B L E A T Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse Suggested by "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp The Sound of Music is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization - www.concordtheatricals.com W�W � The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville presents: ( � Meth ist University Huff Concert Hall / • Friday, Dec. 2nd, 7:30pm Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 7:30pm Sunday, Dec. 4th, 3:00pm TICKETS in Advance: Adults $12.00 Children $7.00 TICKETS at the Door: Adults $15.00 Children $7.00 For more information, text Leslie @ 910-850-6363. www.dancetheatreoffayetteville.org (K-12) (K-12) Under Age 5 is Free Special Thanks to Up & Coming Weekly Exhibit showcases a thriving community through art by HANNAH LEE

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