Native Visions Reimagined in Glass with Dr. Letitia Chambers

Dr. Letitia Chambers will present a program discussing glass art created by American Indian artists. Chambers is the curator of the exhibit Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, which is slated to travel to ten major museums around the U.S. over the next four years. She also authored the beautifully illustrated book of the same name, which is now in its third printing. The exhibit includes 120 glass art creations and tells the story of how glass art came to Indian Country. 

Leading glass artist Dale Chihuly was the first to introduce glass blowing to American Indian students, which has led over the past 50 years to the creation of an exceptional body of work. In turn, Chihuly was influenced by Native arts. The reciprocal nature of this influence, with Chihuly’s own art enhanced by the inspiration of Native design, is a serendipitous result. Chihuly’s first Native-inspired works in glass were created in 1975, shortly after he created a glass art curriculum and taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Chihuly’s first Native-inspired works in glass incorporated glass threads fused onto the surface of blown cylinders to create designs based on patterns in Navajo weaving. Chihuly art currently on exhibition at The Community Library features a series of these blown glass cylinders. 

The glass art created by American Indian artists not only is a personal expression of each artist but also is imbued with their cultural heritage. Whether reinterpreting traditional stories and designs in the medium of glass or expressing contemporary issues affecting tribal societies, Native glass artists have created a content-laden body of work. These artists have melded the aesthetics and properties inherent in glass art with their cultural ways of knowing. The result is a stunning collection of artworks. Dr. Chambers’ presentation on Native glass art will include slides with images from the book she authored, Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, as well as from the exhibit of the same name. 

The program will be livestreamed and available to view later. Click here to watch online.

Dr. Letitia Chambers is a former chief executive officer of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. In positions in government, Dr. Chambers served as Staff Director of two U.S. Senate Committees and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly. She also headed the state system of higher education in New Mexico. Her private sector experience includes serving for twenty years as President of a Washington, DC, based public policy consulting firm. Dr. Chambers retired from the Heard Museum in 2012 and now lives in Santa Fe, NM, where she maintains a part-time consulting practice. She has served on over 25 boards of directors over her career, including the Vermont College of Fine Arts, the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, the Adams National Bank in Washington DC, Board Chair of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, and Board Chair of the National Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.

“The Rite of Spring”: 110 Years Old and Still Breaking the Rules

It’s hard to imagine a piece of classical music causing a riot, but that’s the word often applied to the audience’s reaction when Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring debuted in 1913 in Paris. Apparently, the arguments between those who loved it and those who hated it became so heated the dancers couldn’t hear the orchestra! Stravinsky’s music (and Nijinsky’s choreography) broke with tradition so dramatically that the piece is often called the first example of modernism in music. In this installation of Upbeat with Alasdair, Maestro Alasdair Neale will describe not just the innovation, but the beauty of Rite of Spring, which the Festival will present during the upcoming Summer Season.

Reservations are required to attend in person. You can register on the Festival website (svmusicfestival.org) or by contacting the Festival office at info@svmusicfestival.org or 208.622.5607. Once reservations are full, you can join the waitlist by contacting the Festival office.

In partnership with the Sun Valley Music Festival. The program will be livestreamed and available to view later. Click here to watch online.

Film Screening and Q&A with Anthony Geffen 

The remarkable human story of Stephen Hawking – the international icon and feted genius. In this definitive theatrical feature doc, unseen archive and unrivalled access to his closest family, reveal, for the first time, both the scale of Hawking’s triumphs and the true cost of his disability and success.

The film, released in 2021, runs 90 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A with BAFTA and Emmy award-winning producer Anthony Geffen.

This program is in-person only. The film and producer Q&A will not be livestreamed or recorded for later viewing. Registration is strongly recommended to reserve a seat.

More about the film: 

Catapulted to rock star status and global fame by his book A Brief History of Time, Hawking became the most famous scientist on the planet. He sought to uncover the ultimate answers to the Universe  and find a Theory of Everything – one mathematical theory that would let us know, in his words “the mind of God.” Yet Hawking also faced a life-threatening and debilitating illness that had changed his life. Motor Neurone Disease robbed Hawking of his ability to walk, move and breathe and ultimately deprived him of his voice.

Hawking passed away in 2018. Now, his immediate family comes together to reveal the triumphs and tragedies of his dramatic personal story. Along with Stephen’s insights in his own words, his children, first wife, colleagues, careers and friends give intimate and surprisingly candid testimonies. They reveal what it was like to live with the superstar cosmologist and expose the toll that Stephen’s increasing fame and disability took on him and his family.

Exclusive access to Stephen’s personal archive, unseen photographs and rarely seen footage bring vividly to life the depth of the struggles Stephen faced, the brilliance of his mind, his determination in the face of extreme adversity, his battle to find a way to communicate, his rise to fame and the message of hope he delivered to the world. Hawking: Can you hear me? peels back the curtain to reveal Stephen as a complex character. This is the very human story of a man in extraordinary circumstances – a husband, brother, father and friend.