Community Folk Art Center presents ‘Three Brothers: The Art of Oren Lyons, Rick Hill and Tracy Thomas’ beginning Dec. 9

Community Folk Art Center presents ‘Three Brothers: The Art of Oren Lyons, Rick Hill and Tracy Thomas’ beginning Dec. 9November 27, 2006SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

The Community Folk Art Center, 805 E. Genesee St., a unit of the Department of African American Studies in The College of Arts and Sciences, will present the works of three Haudenosaunee artists in the exhibition “Three Brothers: The Art of Oren Lyons, Rick Hill and Tracy Thomas,” beginning Saturday, Dec. 9. An opening artist reception will take place Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. The artists will deliver gallery talks on Dec. 16 at noon. The show runs through Jan. 6, 2007. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission to the exhibition, opening artist reception and gallery talks is free. Metered parking is available on adjacent streets and there is paid parking in nearby lots. The Community Folk Art Center is convenient to Centro and SU campus bus routes.

The Community Folk Art Center will continue its Cinema Thursday series on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. with a screening of the films “Hidden Medicine” and “Trudell.” “Hidden Medicine” deals with the relationship between Native Americans and the environment. Co-written by Lyons, the story takes place on Onondaga Nation territory. “Trudell” tells the story of Native American poet and activist John Trudell and his message of active personal responsibility to the earth, its inhabitants and descendants. Admission to the films is $3 for adults and $1 for students.

Lyons, a member of the Onondaga Nation, is a faithkeeper, a guardian of traditional knowledge, and professor of American Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he is director of the Native American Studies program. He holds a degree in fine arts from SU. Lyons worked in New York City as a commercial artist and served as planning director of Norcross Greeting Cards. He has exhibited his works extensively. Since returning to Onondaga in 1970, he has been a leading advocate for Native American causes. On May 25, 2006, the Trustees of the New York State Department of Education awarded him their highest honor, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor.

Hill is a member of the Tuscarora Nation. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and holds a master’s degree in American Studies from SUNY Buffalo. He teaches Native art history and other courses at SUNY Buffalo and has held museum positions at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. His work can be found in several museum collections.

Thomas is a member of the Mohawk Nation, and resides at the Onondaga Nation. An artist since childhood, Thomas has exhibited his work internationally, primarily with other Haudenosaunee artists. He has designed logos for Amnesty International’s Year of the Indigenous Peoples, the North American Indigenous Games and Team Haudenosaunee.

For more information, contact the Community Folk Art Center at 442-2230.