Mvskoke Art Market expanded in third year

TVLSE, Okla. – The 2024 Mvskoke Art Market was held April 20-21 at River Spirit Casino and Resort in Tulsa. The third annual market, held Saturday and Sunday, featured over 90 Native artists, public lectures, a comedy show, and a children’s activity table.

Visitors speak with an artist at the 2024 Mvskoke Art Market. (Meredith Johnson/MM)

Cherokee artist Bryan Waytula took home the Best of Show Prize for his colored pencil portrait, “The Grass Dancer.” Art is a handed-down family tradition for Waytula, whose mother and grandmother are both Cherokee treasures. “The Grass Dancer” has recently been named as a finalist for the National Portrait Gallery.

New to this year’s program were a series of public lectures. Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Turner Hunt presented, “Symbols, Iconography, and Myth: An Exposition of Muskogean Art Through Time.” Hunt spoke about the archeological and historical context of Muscogean art and creative expression. Hunt’s presentation focused on non-Indigenous misinterpretations of artifacts and contemporary Mvskoke cultural continuity.

Close up of a shell carving by Sandy Fife-Wilson. (Meredith Johnson/MM)

Concluding his lecture, Hunt stated, “As I’ve talked about art through time, how we look about art, I hope that I’ve answered questions and made people think about some things and want to pursue different areas because it’s a really neat thing to look at, our art, our ancestors and how we can use it in the modern day to make a living, to tell stories, to honor our ancestors in the past.”

Scott Hale presented “People Don’t Call… A Picasso a Spanish Painting: Recontextualizing Indigenous Art of North America.” Hale, a scholar and appraiser of Native art, owns Native American Art Appraisals and has worked and studied at the University of Oklahoma, the Gilcrease Museum, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Hale’s lecture gave a history of the collection of Indigenous art and focused on the ever-increasing market for contemporary Indigenous art.

Mvskoke painter Starr Hardridge awon 1st prize in painting for “The Three Sisters.” (Meredith Johnson/MM)

Jason Asenap discussed the Indian art world of the 1970 and 1980s with his father, artist Hollis Asenap in “Portraits of the Artists.” The discussion featured work by Jason that highlighted found polaroid portraits of Indian artists found in McKee’s Indian Store in Anadarko, Okla during the time period.

Wilson family creates Mvskoke design motif cards. (Meredith Johnson/MM)

The market also featured children’s activity tables. The MCN Native Youth Community Project sponsored these tables. The activities featured Mvskoke motif stamp designs and ink pads in numerous colors. The tables were a place children and families could create and take their own art home.

2024 Mvskoke Art Market Award List:

Best of Show
Bryan Waytula

Mvskoke Heritage Award
Kenneth Johnson

1st Place – Innovative Award
Tony Tiger

2nd Place – Innovative Award
Dustin Mater

3rd Place – Innovative Award
Eva Cantrell

Honorable Mention
Jon Tiger

Honorable Mention
Jackie Sevier

Honorable Mention
Leslie Deer

1st Diverse Category
Johnnie Diacon

2nd Diverse Category
Sandy Fife-Wilson

3rd Diverse Category
Jamie Bennett