Art in the Parks 2013

Celebrating folk art in Oregon with special presentations at state parks throughout the month of June.

Five Oregon artists will deliver special presentations about the history and cultural significance of their craft at state parks across Oregon during the month of June. “Art in the Parks” is sponsored by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) along with the University of Oregon’s Oregon Folklife Network (OFN), the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Each artist will appear with a folklorist from the OFN, the state’s designated folk and traditional arts program, in collaboration with a local arts organization.

All events are free and open to the public, and all ages are welcome—no registration is required. One-time day-use parking permits at Silver Falls State Park and Smith Rock State Park cost $5. For more information about the Oregon Folklife Network, visit http://ofn.uoregon.edu. For directions to the parks, visit www.oregonstateparks.org.

Visit our website for more information about the programs happening throughout Oregon’s state parks in June!

Confluence Project & TEDx Talk

What is Confluence Project?

At seven points along the Columbia River Basin, an unprecedented endeavor continues to unfold. Here, where rivers meet and indigenous people once gathered, the Confluence Project explores the intersection of environment, cultures and a regional history that reaches back many hundreds of years.

Confluence Project is a collaborative effort of Pacific Northwest tribes, renowned artist Maya Lin, civic groups from Washington and Oregon and other artists, architects and landscape designers. The project stretches more than 300 miles from where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean, to Clarkston, WA, with sites in both Oregon and Washington. Each of its seven sites features an art installation by Ms. Lin that interprets the area’s ecology and history, encouraging the visitor to reflect on how the surroundings have changed over time. Each references a passage from the Lewis and Clark journals.

With distinctive artworks and restored native habitat, the four currently completed sites create new points of contact – confluence – between nature and art; past, present and future; and the enduring communities of the Pacific Northwest-its Native People and more recent visitors and residents.

Confluence Project Artist, Lillian Pitt and her mentee, Toma Villa: TEDx Talk
A recent TEDx ConcordiaUPortland event included accomplished Pacific Northwest Native American artists, Lillian Pitt and Toma Villa. In this video, enjoy Lillian and Toma’s expressions of gratitude for what their ancestors have provided them, their passion for passing the gifts of their ancestors on to the next seven generations, and the ability of art to help them honor and share these gifts.

Watch the video HERE.

Telling Our Stories: Self-Documentation Toolkit

by Sanna Parikka, OFN Intern

This week, the Oregon Folklife Network presented an educational website called “Telling Our Stories” at the annual Latino Roots Celebration of the University of Oregon. The event was hosted by the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies and Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United). “Telling Our Stories” is an interactive website which offers a guide to cultural documentation for anyone who would like to tell stories, whether they are about themselves, their family, or their community. The free and interactive lessons include beginner and advanced photography, video and audio recording, interviewing skills, drawing, community mapping, archiving, and more.

The website is currently in the beta-testing stage, and we welcome comments and questions at ofn@uoregon.edu.
Visit the Toolkit website at http://blogs.uoregon.edu/toolkit/.

Create! Eugene

Create! Eugene: August 1-31
Workshop Opportunity

Create! Eugene is a month-long creative arts festival of workshops taking place in August that showcases the creative workshops available in Eugene and the surrounding communities.

Anyone is welcome to give a workshop on a specific skill or creative activity. To set up a workshop, contact the artist or organization hosting the space directly using the email link provided within each listing or call by phone.

Some free spaces are available at the Lane Community College in downtown Eugene. Contact Jenette Kane (kanej@lanecc.edu) to reserve one of these spaces (Free spaces may have limited availability).

Click HERE to list your workshop with Create! Eugene.
Registration is free, but in lieu of a monetary fee, it is asked that you link the website createeugene.org on your website, blog, social network or other form of web media (if applicable). Contact Brent Hanifl at info@createeugene.org and send the URL address for confirmation.

Create! Eugene’s partner hotels will offer special discounted rates to participating visitors. To take advantage of these deals, contact the property directly by phone or from their website. More information available at: http://www.eugenecascadescoast.org/create/deals/

Contact Brent Hanifl at info@createeugene.org or (608) 792-5746 for more information.