Sharon Hoogstraten: Dancing for Our Tribe
Exhibition Dates: October 20 – November 30, 2024
Exhibition on view: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Artist Talk: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 7:00 PM
Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, Riverside, Illinois
Reservations required – please register https://riversidelibrary.libcal.com/event/13247515
The FlexSpace will be open on Wednesday, November 6th from 5:30-6:45 for a special viewing prior to the artist talk at the Library

Publication: Dancing for Our Tribe
Available at the gallery and online here https://www.riversideartscenter.com/purchase-catalogues/sharon-hoogstraten-dancing-for-our-tribe

The Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace is pleased to present Sharon Hoogstraten’s photography exhibition, Dancing for Our Tribe. The artist will give a talk on the evening of Wednesday, November 6th at 7pm at the Riverside Public Library, just around the corner from the gallery. All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for the artist talk – register here https://riversidelibrary.libcal.com/event/13247515.

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The Potawatomi dancers’ movements work in tandem with their colorful regalia. Swaying fringe symbolizes prairie grasses. The jingle of 365 small metal cones represent blessings. Sharon Hoogstraten’s Hasselblad large format camera captures these traditions as they intertwine with present day life. Her life-sized photographs framed by cedar strips – one of the four sacred plants of the Potawatomi – show the details of the handmade ensembles. Moreover, these are portraits of individuals. The faces show expressions of passion and pride of a culture that will be preserved and continued through the tribal members dance and through Hoogstraten’s portfolio.
–Joanne Aono, curator

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Artist Statement

In the heyday of the Anishinaabe Confederacy, the Potawatomis were spread across Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Pressured by the westward expansion of the fledgling United States of America, they became the most treatied of any Indian tribes. Forced removals and multiple treaty era relocations resulted in cultural chaos and an enduring threat to their connections to the ancestors. Despite these hardships, they have managed to maintain (or restore) their rich heritage.

Beginning with Citizen Potawatomi Nation, my home reservation in Shawnee, Oklahoma, I called on all nine nations of the scattered Potawatomi tribe. I have produced photographic evidence and a permanent record of present-day Potawatomis wearing traditional regalia modified to reflect the influence and storytelling of contemporary life. While the old silver monochrome portraits that captured Native life at the turn of the last century are a priceless record of those times, they also contribute to the impression that most Great Lakes / Woodland Indian Tribes exist only as remnants of a dimly remembered past. These formal portraits, accompanied by personal statements, portray a fresh reality of today’s native descendants and their regalia; people who live in a world of assimilation, sewing machines, proud military service, and high resolution digital cameras.

The Potawatomi Nations have merged loss and optimism to reinforce their legacy for generations to come. The old arts of language, ribbonwork, beading, and quillwork are being learned from the elders with a renewed sense of urgency. Preserving Potawatomi culture, tribal members are translating traditional designs into their own artistic celebration of continuing existence—thus lighting the path forward for the next seven generations and beyond.

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Sharon Hoogstraten is a Chicago photographer and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She holds an MFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago after receiving a BS from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her art has been shown in solo exhibitions at the State of Illinois Building, Chicago; University of Chicago, Rockefeller Chapel; Kalamazoo Arts Council; the Elmhurst History Museum; and in group exhibitions at the Illinois State Museum; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution; and the American Indian Center, Chicago.

Hoogstraten’s art has received media coverage by the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and WTTW among others. She has given lectures and presentations across the country. Publications of her photography have received awards from the Eric Hoffer Foundation and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Museum acquisitioned the complete collection of Sharon Hoogstraten’s CPN portraits. Her photography is held in numerous private collections. Her book, Green City Market: A Song of Thanks was recognized by the Chicago Public Library Foundation at the Carl Sandburg Literary Awards event.
https://www.behance.net/HOOGSTRATEf665?locale=en_US

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Riverside Arts Center
32 East Quincy Street
Riverside, Illinois 60546

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 1-5pm, Closed Sundays – Wednesdays and major holidays.
All of our exhibitions are free and open to the public.

For press inquiries or additional information contact Gallery Director, Joanne Aono at jaono@riversideartscenter.com

www.riversideartscenter.com

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