November 15-December 12, 2021
Traveling On Native Lands
Curated by Anita Fields
Norman Akers
June Carpenter
Ruthe Blalock Jones
Richard Ray Whitman
Add Space is a project created to bring artworks to public spaces traditionally used for advertising in Tulsa, OK. The fourth iteration of this project, titled “Traveling on Native Lands”, is curated by Anita Fields (Osage) and features works by artists Norman Akers (Osage), Ruthe Blalock Jones (Delaware/Shawnee/Peoria), June Carpenter (Shawnee/Osage), and Richard Ray Whitman (Yuchi/Muscogee) on billboard and bus shelter spaces throughout the city of Tulsa.
When asked by Richard Zimmerman to curate a series of his Tulsa Artist Fellowship Add Space series, I immediately imagined filling billboards and bus shelters with art by contemporary Native artists. Oklahoma is home to 39 tribes, tribal members from many different Nations reside in the urban landscape of Tulsa, yet our presence remains invisible.
A large area of Tulsa is located on the land of the Muscogee Nation. Boundaries of Tulsa encompass the lands of the Osage, Cherokee, and Muscogee Nations.
Traveling On Native Lands reminds viewers who pass by the billboards in their vehicles and wait at bus shelters to board buses as transportation that they are moving through Native land.
The artists selected, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Delaware/Shawnee, Richard Ray Whitman, Yuchi/Muscogee, Norman Akers, Osage, and June Carpenter, Osage/Shawnee, provide glimpses into the thoughts, observations, joys, sorrows, and nuances of their respective communities.
The presented works of the Indigenous artists represent a continuum of refined Indigenous belief systems, social constructs, complex issues faced by Native people, and organized worldviews that challenge a colonial mindset. Native ways of being reside deep in the hearts and minds of the participating artists. The red earth of Oklahoma holds the memory of our diaspora and arrival into Indian Territory. Our art and stories are pertinent components of our survival; something to consider as you travel the roads past billboards and bus shelters with imagery related to Native people.
-Anita Fields
