Faye Heavyshield’s show at the Pulitzer has Indigenous roots

As a student at the Alberta College of Art and Design in the 1980s, native artist Faye Heveshield did not see her family’s culture as representing much in the works she studied.

She responded by placing her experience and that of her community at the center of her work.

“That’s what led me to start thinking about referring to my personal history as a Blackfoot person. To this day, I’m still developing that vocabulary for referring to the earth, referring to the body, and experimenting with materials,” she said.

“Forum” Recently opened an exhibition of the Canadian artist’s work At the Pulitzer Center for the Arts, an unusual opportunity to see Heavishield art in an American museum. Pulitzer Curator Tamara Schenkenberg curated the show through August 6.

Heavishield is a member of Kanai nationAlso known as the Blood Tribe, they are part of the Blackfoot Confederation who live on the plains of Canada. Her work includes drawings, photographs, sculptures and multimedia installations.

Cuttings can look deceptively simple, but they grow from deep roots.

“Most important of all, I think, is the effect of the quietness, or tranquility, of the environment in which I grew up,” Heveshield said at the Pulitzer Hotel one morning, as workers made final show preparations.