Clark County Museum Explores Powwow Tradition
The Clark County Museum is capturing the spirit of the contemporary powwow in “What Continues the Dream: Contemporary Arts and Crafts from the Powwow Tradition,” a colorful exhibit on loan from the Nevada Arts Council’s Nevada Touring Initiative, through Sunday, May 6 inside the museum’s Heritage Gallery located at 1830 S. Boulder Highway in Henderson. An evening reception and gallery talk will be presented from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and powwow arts and crafts demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17. Powwow dancers are set to perform from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 14. The exhibit is included the price of admission to the museum: adults are $2, seniors and children are $1. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Personal quotes from the artists reflect the deep spirituality, family values, sense of community and honor prized by powwow artists and participants. The exhibit includes photos and stunning examples of powwow regalia, including a hand drum, rattle, beaded belt, bracelet, moccasins and a dance stick, among others.
The exhibit includes artwork by Native America artists Wayne A. Burke, Cassandra Leigh Darrough and Gordon Gibson; documentary photography by Ronda Churchill, Lindsay Hebberd and Bruce Rettig; and folk art objects created by Kenny Anderson, William Astor, Arlene Austin, Dean Barlese, John Bear, Lynnaya Comas, Cassandra Leigh Darrough, Deanna Domingo, Ryan Dunn, Rebecca Eagle, Adam Fortunate Eagle, Linda Johnson-Comas, Steven Mike, Bobbie Nordwall, Ken Paul, Burton Pete, Angie Quintana, Debra Reed, Michael Rojas and Francine Tohannie.
The Nevada’s Art Council’s Folklife Program worked with consultants from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, Reno-Spraks Indian Colony, the Las Vegas Indian Center and the Nevada Indian Commission to develop the exhibit. “What Continues the Dream” will tour the state for two years as part of the Nevada Touring Initiative. Partner organizations include the Nevada Indian Commission/Indian Territory, Pyramid Lake Museum, Stewart Indian School, Las Vegas Indian Center and Nevada Humanities, with major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Clark County Museum is a function of Clark County Parks and Recreation, which is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation agencies. The museum is a 30-acre site that features a modern exhibit hall with a timeline exhibit about Southern Nevada from pre-historic to modern times and a collection of restored historic buildings that depict daily life from different decades in Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson and Goldfield.
For additional information on the Clark County Museum or “What Continues the Dream,” call the museum at (702) 455-7955. Information on other Clark County Parks and Recreation events and activities also can be found on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook by visiting http://tinyurl.com/4dfw8ea.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 14th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to more than 2 million citizens and 40 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 8th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The county also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to almost 900,000 residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.