Nixya’awii Community School Student Print Exhibition Opening Reception

Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA) is pleased to present Nixya’awii Community School Student Print Exhibition. This special exhibition will showcase the prints produced by a select group of students from the Nixya’awii Community School. The exhibiting printmaking students are: Ermia Butler, Sunshine Fuentes, EllaMae Looney, Helena Peters, Tyanna Van Pelt, and L’Rissa Sohappy. Over the past school year these students have been learning printmaking in the Crow’s Shadow studio under the direction of CSIA Master Printer, Frank Janzen. The students have been visiting once a week and building their knowledge of printmaking, this year making both linocuts and lithographs. Each student has been instructed in the technical aspects of these processes and have produced their own limited-edition prints. The resulting works are of remarkable quality and exemplify the creative potential of these talented young artists.

Please join Crow’s Shadow for the opening reception, on Tuesday May 23 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm, to view the student’s artwork and honor their achievements. Prints will be available for sale, with 100% of the print sale going directly to the student artists. The exhibition can also be viewed during Crow’s Shadow’s regular hours, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, until the show closes on June 30th. The Crow’s Shadow gallery is free to visit and open to the public. This is the third year of this collaborative project; it is funded through contributions to Crow’s Shadow general operating fund, either by direct donation or by print purchases. 

Renowned local painter, James Lavadour, founded Crow’s Shadow in 1992 to provide a creative conduit for educational, social, and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development. Karl Davis, Crow’s Shadow’s Executive Director, feels that this partnership with Nixya’awii Community School perfectly encapsulates the mission statement. Davis says, “We are pleased to continue this collaborative relationship with Nixya’awii, offering new and returning high school artists the opportunity to work in a professional print studio. We hope that this experience serves as a positive creative outlet for the individual students, but also reaches the surrounding community.” 

Student artists featured: Ermia Butler, Sunshine Fuentes, EllaMae Looney, Helena Peters, Tyanna Van Pelt, and L’Rissa Sohappy. 

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Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts is located on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in the foothills of Oregon’s Blue Mountains. Crow’s Shadow is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization formed in 1992 by local artists James Lavadour (Walla Walla) and Phillip Cash Cash (Cayuse and Nez Perce). Our mission is to provide a creative conduit for educational, social, and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development. Over the last 25 years Crow’s Shadow has evolved into a world-class studio focused on contemporary fine art printmaking.