IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2007
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine:
724-738-4854
gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

Native American artist, historian visit Slippery Rock University

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – A Native American artist and Navajo art historian will discuss their work and Native American identity when they visit Slippery Rock University to give a lecture April 19 at 12:30 p.m. at the Advanced Technology and Science Hall auditorium. The event is free and open to the public

Edgar Heap of Birds (Hock-e-Aye) is a painter, sculpture and professor of art at the University of Oklahoma. He specializes in large-scale drawings, acrylic paintings and outdoor sculptures. His work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute and National Museum of the American Indian. This will be the first public talk about his outdoor art project titled “Most Serene Republics” for the Venice, Italy, International Exhibit. The project in part will be memorials to the 16 Native people who died as part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows in Europe in the 1890s.

Shanna Ketchum is a critic and historian of contemporary Native American art. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she has lectured internationally. She will discuss the significance of Heap of Birds’ work as well as other “Tran cultural art, emphasizing the issues of tribal identity.

Their visit is part of the University’s April 18-29 Kaleidoscope arts festival. SRU’s College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts launched Kaleidoscope six years ago to celebrate the arts. Festival highlights this year include Brave New Plays, the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra, Harvey Pekar, R.L. Stone and “Shakespeare’s Birthday Dinner.” For the complete schedule, visit www.sru.edu.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.