Final weaving workshop and week to experience contemporary Native American art exhibit at MAC

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Corine Pearce discusses “Divided Lines” by Jacob Meders with students during a field trip to the “Earth, Sky, and Everything In Between” exhibit.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — “Earth, Sky, and Everything in Between,” Lake County’s first contemporary Native American art exhibit, closes Monday, Oct. 10, at the Middletown Art Center.

This Saturday, Oct. 8, you can gain insight into what being a contemporary Pomo basket weaver, jeweler or mixed media artist means to the artists themselves.

Their responses will be varied but include stories that raise awareness about the history and heritage of the first people of this place, who are still here. They carry, into the present and future, the cultural practices of their ancestors using both traditional and contemporary materials.

“Conversations with Artists” will provide an introduction to the final weaving workshop of the year-long “Weaving Baskets, Weaving Bridges” project. The workshop which will focus on basic coiling for basketry.

Activities begin at 11 a.m. and run to 4 p.m. with conversations with artists from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Preregistration for participation at MAC or viewing on Zoom is required. Please visit www.middletownartcenter.org/weaving to learn more and register.

MAC’s year long Weaving Baskets, Weaving Bridges is a cross cultural collaboration that culminated in this unique and powerful collection of contemporary art work by 31 Native artists. Conversations this weekend include artists Robin Meely, Ali Meders-Knight, Eloisa Oropeza, Fred Briones, Denise Davis and Gemma Benton, among others.

During his visit to the gallery, Robinson Rancheria Tribal Chair Beniakem Cromwell said, “It’s wonderful that there is an opportunity for Native artists to display their work in Lake County. It feels like our voice is being heard here, at home.”

In the final weeks of the exhibit, 550 students grades third to 12 have participated in field trips to the exhibit. Led by cultural educators and in partnership with MAC artists, most students toured the gallery, then made collagraph prints inspired by the display using a professional printing press in the MAC studio. These youth now have an increased awareness of the history and original culture of this place.

Experience this unique and historic exhibit Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and First Friday, Oct. 7, from 10:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. It’s free to the public. For a holistic experience of this powerful and historic exhibit, register for the weaving workshop and artists’ conversations at MAC.

The WEAVING project and Earth, Sky, and Everything in Between exhibit are funded in part through the generosity of Middletown Rancheria, Robinson Rancheria, Big Valley Rancheria, Charlotte Griswold, community members and the California Arts Council, a state agency.

The MAC is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in Middletown.

To find out more about Earth Sky and Everything in Between or other programs, events, engagement opportunities, and ways to support the MAC’s efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County, visit www.middletownartcenter.org or call 707-809-8118.