New Seminole art exhibit to open in Fort Lauderdale Arts & Entertainment Community News by Damon Scott - October 6, 2022September 19, 2024 “Dancers” by Tia Blais-Billie is part of the exhibit. (Courtesy image) A new exhibit featuring Seminole artists is coming to the History Fort Lauderdale museum next month. “Chono Thlee: Sparking a new era in Seminole art,” is scheduled to open Nov. 6 and run through Jan. 10, 2023. The exhibit, created in partnership with the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, is designed to mark Native American Heritage Month – observed each November. The exhibit “highlights new contemporary works by Indigenous artists that analyze elemental relationships for the future, based on community foundations of trust, truth, dignity and integrity,” a Sept. 28 news release from History Fort Lauderdale said. “Chono Thlee” is the ninth art exhibition the museum has done in partnership with Seminole artists. “Settled by our Native American ancestors, the city of Fort Lauderdale continues to be a home to the rich stories and influential culture their children hold dear,” Patricia Zeiler, executive director of History Fort Lauderdale, said in the release. “Chono Thlee” is curated by Tara Chadwick, curator of exhibitions at History Fort Lauderdale, and includes contemporary and traditional media, including oils, acrylics, fiber, glass, metals, mixed media and digital art. The exhibit will show the work of 13 Seminole artists – Durante Blais-Billie, Tia Blais-Billie, Nick DiCarlo, Jacob Osceola, the late Jimmy Osceola, Leroy Osceola, Daniel Tommie, Samuel Tommie, Shonayeh Tommie, Gordon “Ollie” Wareham, Krystle Young, Brian Zepeda and Corinne Zepeda. The artists are scheduled to be on hand for a meet and greet, with music and storytelling, at an opening event Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. Another event featuring the artists is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 9:30 a.m. Last year’s show – “A Return to Self: The Art of Healing” – displayed the work of 25 Seminole artists, the largest number ever featured in a single exhibition. In addition, one of the museum’s permanent exhibits, “From Dugouts to Dream Yachts,” traces a line from the Seminoles through the ever-changing use of Fort Lauderdale’s waterways for travel, commerce and tourism. Daniel Tommie loaned the museum a small dugout canoe for the exhibit – about five feet long by eight inches wide. For more information, go to historyfortlauderdale.org or call (954) 463-4431. History Fort Lauderdale is located at 231 SW 2nd Ave in Fort Lauderdale. “Sun on Water” by Samuel Tommie is part of the exhibit. (Courtesy image) Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Share on Digg Share