Official Guide to Art Week Great Falls, Montana March 15th-19th, 2023
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/797502
PORTFOLIO ~ P.39 TEXT BY AMY JOYNER Photos courtesy of Paris Gibson Square Musuem of Art N amed for the historical entre- preneur and politician Paris Gibson, who is credited as the founder of Great Falls in 1883, a large focus of the permanent collec- tion in the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art consists primarily of modern and contemporary art. The growing col- lection and rotating exhibits carry that commitment to current creators and happenings in the art world. "Paris Gibson (Square) is the only contemporary art museum in north- central Montana, and it offers artists a springboard for launching themselves into the art world," says Kristi Scott, curator of art at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. Three such exhibits are featured during Western Art Week 2017 at The Square. "Western Art Week showcases mod- ern-day, quintessential 'Western' culture, as represented through art," Scott says. The first exhibit Scott describes is Emer- gence: A Collective of Plains Indian Warrior Artists, showing in The Square's Thayer Gallery since October. Scott says, "Oftentimes, the favorite subjects of artists who participate are Native Americans. An exhibition like Emergence is extremely important during this event. Native voice is under- represented during Western Art Week and The Square is honored to provide a platform for Indigenous artists to express themselves." "While so many non-native artists focus on Native Americans, the five art- ists who make up the Emergence exhibit at The Square represent themselves and their culture from their own perspective. The viewer can experience the artwork, which use the artists' own life experienc- es, heritage and contemporary culture as subject matter," Scott says. Members of the newly formed collaborative group Creative Indig- enous Collective bring together their contemporary indigenous art that is thought-provoking and empower- ing, Scott says. Artist and Collective member John I. Pepion says, "I think it's time to tell the world of our stories from our perspective and not by a > p a r i s g i b s o n s q u a r e m u s e u m o f a r t PARIS GIBSON SQUARE MUSEUM OF ART Connecting Visitors with Contemporary Art Collections ABOVE: "Land of the Forgotten" - Acrylic on Canvas, Lauren Monroe Jr. BELOW: "AIM Forward" - Oil on Canvas, Louis Still Smoking