Tuesday, March 19, 2024

A Celebration of Native Art at 3rd annual Artesian Arts Festival

SULPHUR, Okla. – More than 5,000 art lovers are expected to stream into Sulphur Saturday, May 28, for the third annual Artesian Arts Festival.

The Chickasaw Nation is hosting the Memorial Day weekend arts festival at the Artesian Plaza. A community celebration of all forms of art, Native American artists and art are the main focus of the festival.
The Artesian Arts Festival begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m.

The event features diverse art media and a variety of visual art such as paintings, basketry, jewelry, sculpture, metalworking, bead work, textiles and pottery.

Organizers are accepting 90 Native artists for the 2016 Artesian Arts Festival.

Open to artists from all federally recognized tribes, artists will compete in as many as 21 categories.

Cash awards will be presented for first, second and third place in each category, as well as “Best of Show.”

Esteemed artists representing 10 states and a wide variety of Native American tribes will be participating in the Artesian Arts Festival. Artists scheduled to participate include Chickasaw textile artists Margaret Roach Wheeler and Maya Stewart, renowned Cherokee potter Jane Osti, award-winning Chickasaw bladesmith Daniel Worcester, Tim Tate Nevaquaya, and many more.

Dozens of booths lining Muskogee Street in Sulphur will display works of the artists. Artists will also be demonstrating, sharing or discussing their craft in the ARTesian Art Gallery throughout the day.

The daylong festival will also highlight a variety of musical entertainment, tribal dance demonstrations and regalia. Bands will provide continuous entertainment on two stages. The musical line-up for the event includes a range of entertainment such as children’s music, alternative rock, pop, Latin pop, country and more.

Four Native Dance troupes including the Chickasaw Nation Stomp Dancers, Native American Hoop Dance, the Pueblo Enchantment Dancers and Magic Circle Entertainment are scheduled to demonstrate and share native dances.

Food trucks and food booths serving festival fare such as roasted corn, kettle corn, Indian Tacos, barbecue, funnel cakes, ice cream and more are planned for the Artesian Arts Festival.

A special area for children’s activities and a senior citizens’ arts and crafts booth are also planned for the day.

Open to the public at no charge, the Artesian Arts Festival welcomed more than 4,500 to last year’s festival.

For more information about the Artesian Arts Festival, contact the Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts & Humanities at (580) 272-5520, by email at artistinfo@chickasaw.net.

The Artesian Plaza is located adjacent to the Artesian Hotel and Spa, 1001 W. First Street.

A Tribe Called Geek
A Tribe Called Geekhttp://www.atribecalledgeek.com
A Tribe Called Geek is dedicated to offering indigenous perspectives on both mainstream and indigenous geek culture and highlighting indigenous contributions to geek culture and S.T.E.M Fields.

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