Contemporary Showcase
A two-day curated exhibition featuring Native American art and performances premieres at La Fonda on the Plaza this August.
A two-day curated exhibition featuring Native American art and performances premieres at La Fonda on the Plaza this August.
For two days only, La Fonda on the Plaza will welcome more than 20 contemporary Native American artists for a brand-new curated exhibition, Sovereign. The event, organized by Farahnheight Fine Art, will happen in the La Terraza ballroom on August 16 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will include fine art, performances and music. Not an ordinary art exhibition, the event is geared toward bringing all aspects of the vibrant Native art scene to the masses and highlights some of today’s most innovative young artists. Serving as a philanthropic arm of the event is the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts.
“The vision, once we knew what space and infrastructure we had available, was a multi-tribal, gender-equal exhibition representing as many tribes as possible and for it to be a curated contemporary Native art show,” says Gregory Farah, owner of Farahnheight Fine Art. “It’s not booths or tables, but a curated show platforming and promoting the who’s who in contemporary Native art of early to mid-career artists.”
Among this year’s exhibitors are Craig George, Avis Charley, George Alexander, Shondinii Walters, Jaime Chavez, Melissa Cody, Douglas Miles, Monty Little, Sandra Cohoe, Randy Barton and Steven Paul Judd, to name a few. As Farah explains, the show will not be curated by artist, but rather by the work and aesthetic. “An artist might have four pieces, but they won’t necessary be grouped together; they’ll be peppered around with like imagery,” he elaborates.
From 6 to 10 p.m. both nights, the exhibition moves from being an art show to an interactive art experience that has a more “party-like atmosphere.” On Friday night, Barton will host
his curated event “Sovereign Social Club” where he will create a boiler room atmosphere of music, fashion and performances. Featured will be Rezcoast Grizz, Liv the Artist, Neon Nativez and NEO, among others. Saturday evening has been dubbed “Rumble on the Roof” where two rock bands—derek Miller and Scotti Clifford & Spirits Cry—will perform.
“My gallery is producing this event, but it’s by no means my event,” says Farah, who worked with the resort and artists such as Tony Abeyta to get Sovereign off the ground. “It’s a group effort. There are a lot of people who are lending their creativity and names to the event.”