The Clyfford Still Museum and the Colville Confederated Tribes Partner for the Future
Building partnerships with groups historically excluded from museum spaces is often problematic because of institutionalized power structures, traditions of harm, and systemic barriers. So how can museums — historically extractive by design — shift their practices to empower networks through restorative action? Alongside representatives from the Confederated Tribes of the Coville Reservation located in North Central Washington, WSU Department of Art associate professor Michael Holloman has worked with the Clyfford Still Museum (CSM) in Denver, Colorado, to bridge regional and cultural divides by using their collections as the starting point to build community, foster authentic connections, and open reciprocal pathways for communication.
While working as an Instructor at the Washington State College (WSC) in Pullman during the mid-1930s, influential American artist Clyfford Still assisted in founding a summer art colony on the Colville Reservation for WSC community members and artists working in the area. During his time in Nespelem, Still made over 120 artworks, took photographs, and recorded his experience in journals — which are almost all now in the collection of the Clyfford Still Museum. These objects reveal how Still’s engagement with the Colville community profoundly impacted his work.
