PULLMAN — The Department of Women’s Studies at WSU has named artist, social justice activist, mother, vocalist and registered counselor LisaNa M. Red Bear as the Jo Hockenhull Distinguished Visiting Lecturer for 2008–2009.Red Bear will present a talk in the Fine Arts Auditorium at 6 p.m. Feb. 4 following a 4:30 p.m. opening reception for her exhibit, “Threshold: Reclaiming Sacred,” in Gallery 2. The exhibit, which runs through March 13, is free and open to all.
An open reception for Red Bear will be held at 6 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the Native American Cultural House, located at 975 B St. in Pullman.
Of Apache, Mexican and Andalusian heritage, Red Bear was raised in the homelands of Aztlan. As an interdisciplinary artist she works in new media, glass, ceramic and mixed media to create compositions “to honor ancestors and celebrate the sacred beauty in life.” Her work and life converge in the tradition of “la familia” (the family), indigenous resistance, self determination and cultural sustainability.
In her artist’s statement Red Bear said, “My personal art form, my life’s work, is to give voice to my experience as a global citizen. … I seek human rights and healing for those of us who experience or face displacement, relocation and isolation, and poverty in our ancestral homelands.”
Linda Heidenreich, chair of the Department of Women’s Studies, said, “We are excited to bring Ms. Red Bear to the Palouse not only because of her status as an artist, but also because of her commitment to education and community and because of the way in which she is able to use her gifts, as an artist, to work for social change. This connection makes her the ideal Jo Hockenhull Distinguished Lecturer for 2009.”
Red Bear’s artwork has been widely exhibited throughout the Pacific Northwest, and her performance art video short “Uranium Womyn 238” was awarded Best Experimental Film at the Toronto ImagineNative Film Festival. It is included in the WSU exhibit.
A first-generation college student, Red Bear holds a Master of Fine Arts and was named a Humanities and Arts Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Also a Certified Human Rights Educator (University of Minnesota) she is currently working toward a Native American Mental Health Specialist credential and further developing her Thunder Youth Arts Project.
This year’s Hockenhull lecture is sponsored by the WSU Department of Women’s Studies; Department of Fine Arts; Museum of Art; Plateau Center for American Indian Studies/Tribal Liaison Office; Chicana/o Latina/o Faculty Staff Association; the Visual, Performing and Literary Arts Committee (VPLAC); and the College of Liberal Arts.
Gallery 2, in the Fine Arts Building, is open 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
