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.
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.
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.
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.
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
1st Basketry
Michael Dart
2nd Basketry
Ronda Moss
3rd Basketry
Jacob Waytula
1st Drawing/Graphic Art/Photography
Benjamin West
2nd Drawing/Graphic Art/Photography
Ron Mitchell
3rd Drawing/Graphic Art/Photography
Randy Kemp
1st Painting
Starr Hardridge
2nd Painting
Candace Shanholtzer
3rd Painting
Jimmie Fife
1st Place Sculpture
Danny Beaver
2nd Place Sculpture
A. Wayne “Tay Sha” Earles
3rd Place Sculpture
Grant Morris
1st Jewelry (Stone/Silver)
Nelson Garcia
2nd Jewelry (Stone/Silver)
Antonio Grant
3rd Jewelry (Stone/Silver)
Mark Stevens
1st Pottery
Tama Roberts
2nd Pottery
Erna Wilson
3rd Pottery
Karin Walkingstick
1st Textiles (wearable)
Leslie Deer
2nd Textiles (wearable)
Jaylee Lowe
3rd Textiles (wearable)
Jaylee Lowe
1st Textiles (non wearable)
Randi Narcomey-Watson
1st Textiles (non wearable)
Cathy Abercrombie
1st Beadwork/Quillwork
Deana Ward
2nd Beadwork/Quillwork
Breana Hill
3rd Beadwork/Quillwork
Patricia Belagarde-Cornelius
1st Digital Art
Raven Kemp
2nd Digital Art
Joseph Hopkins
3rd Digital Art
Chad Earles
