Otterbein’s Frank Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Humanities Advisory Committee and the Integrative Studies Program, welcomes Carey Newman |  Hayalthkin’geme, indigenous artist from Canada, master carver, author, and maker of The Witness Blanket—a national monument now cared for in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. A traveling version of the blanket is on view at Otterbein’s Frank Museum of Art. This is the first time the sculpture has traveled outside of Canada. The work will return to Canada on December 4, 2022. 

Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Time: 6:30p (refreshments available at 6p and after the talk)
Location: Riley Auditorium, Battelle Fine Arts Center, 170 W. Park Street, Westerville, OH

Newman’s free public lecture will be followed by a conversation with Columbus-based Lakota activist Shelly Corbin | Takóni Kókipešni and Canadian forest ecologist Jim Drescher about the concept of LAND BACK. Corbin, a representative for the Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, has also been on the committee addressing the removal and replacement of the Columbus statue. Drescher, co-founder with Margaret Drescher of Windhorse Farm, Nova Scotia, has been part of the land back gesture with Ulnooweg Education Centre, an indigenous-led charity.

The evening’s presentation will be followed by a reception with the artist and panel speakers. 

Carey Newman is | Ha-yalth-kingeme is a multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist, master carver, filmmaker, author and public speaker and the Impact Chair in Indigenous Arts Practices at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Through his father he is Kwakwak’awakw from the Kukwekum, Giiksam, and WaWalaby’ie clans of northern Vancouver Island, and Coast Salish from Cheam of the Sto:lo Nation along the upper Fraser Valley. Through his mother he is a Settler of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage. In his artistic practice he strives to highlight Indigenous, social, and environmental issues as he examines the impacts of colonialism and capitalism, harnessing the power of material truth to unearth memory and trigger the necessary emotion to drive positive change. He is also interested in engaging with community and incorporating innovative methods derived from traditional teachings and Indigenous worldviews into his process.

He was selected as the master carver of the Cowichan 2008 Spirit Pole, a journey that saw him travel the province of BC sharing the carving experience of carving a 20’ totem with over 11,000 people, a major commission entitled “Dancing Wind” installed at the 2010 Olympic Games, Athlete’s Village in Whistler, premiering the documentary he wrote and co-directed at the Vancouver International Film Festival as well as publishing his first book. He continues to create for and consult with corporations, government agencies, collectors and museums around the world.

Carey was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 and was named to the Order of British Columbia in 2018, and he is the current Audain Professor of Contemporary Art Practice of the Pacific Northwest at the University of Victoria.

 Otterbein’s Museum and Galleries promote creative, scholarly, and educational inquiry through the intentional curation art exhibitions and related programming that interface across the University’s curriculum, particularly the Integrative Studies Program, and into the broader community. Its unique gallery system, which includes The Frank Museum of Art and three other major exhibition spaces, is distributed across campus and into the City of Westerville and hosts over seven exhibitions of work by regional and international artists, annually. This active arts environment, the contemporary art collection, and The Frank Museum’s permanent collection of global art support student internships and training in curation, collection preservation and management, art handling, marketing and design, and other museum-related work. The Otterbein & the Arts: Opening Doors to the World (ODW) global programming, which addresses some of the most important issues of our times, includes an exhibition catalog print series that is published through The Frank Museum of Art.

The Humanities Advisory Committee (HAC) is comprised of Humanities faculty from Otterbein’s Humanities disciplines: English, History, Religion & Philosophy, Spanish and Latin American Studies, and the History, Theory, and Criticism of the Arts (Art, Music, and Theater). HAC works to promote and support the Humanities at Otterbein by supporting faculty and student scholarship and courses. This includes hosting visiting speakers, funding course enrichment opportunities such as fieldtrips, and producing the student-run Humanities journal, Aegis. HAC oversees the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant awarded to Otterbein University in 1984 – one of only thirteen universities nationwide to receive this award. This endowment funds the aforementioned activities on campus and supports faculty research and professional development through project grants and conference travel awards. In 2021-22, HAC is chaired by Dr. Amy Johnson, Associate Professor of Art and Art History.

The Integrative Studies (INST) Program has been a major component of general education at Otterbein for several decades; INST courses facilitate interdisciplinary conversations and co-curricular connections throughout a student’s undergraduate career, and the program is coordinated through the INST Advisory Committee. The INST Advisory Committee consists of faculty members across campus, as well as representatives of the Student Success and Career Development Office, Courtright Memorial Library, and the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center.

All three of these campus organizations have coordinated their support of this interdisciplinary lecture. For further information, please contact Dr. Janice Glowski, Director of Otterbein’s Museum and Galleries (jglowski@otterbein.edu).