IACB Features Angela Two Stars in a Special Exhibition

Angela Two Stars - Language Arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

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April 5, 2019  

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA: The Sioux Indian Museum, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, will feature an exhibit of artwork by Angela Two Stars.  The exhibition will run from November 2, 2018 to January 14, 2019.  On November 2, an opening reception will be held for the exhibit from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The artist will be available to discuss his work during the reception.  The reception and exhibition are both free and open to the public.  The exhibition will run from April 26 through July 12, 2019. On April 26, an opening reception will be held for the exhibit from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The artist will be available to discuss her work during the reception. The reception and exhibition are both free and open to the public.

Angela Two Stars, an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, is a multimedia artist whose work focuses on contemporary Native American issues.  She holds a B.F.A in Drawing with a minor in Printmaking from Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, Michigan.  She currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she works as an artist and the curriculum coordinator at Bdote Learning Center, a Dakota and Ojibwe language immersion school in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Her artwork explores the Dakota language of her tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. She imbeds Dakota phrases into her artwork as a means to draw awareness to the plight of Native American languages and the current efforts being made to revitalize them. The artwork she creates utilizes a mixture of both drawing and printmaking techniques. For Two Stars, the printmaking provides a transfer process that speaks to the similar way in which language is transferred from one generation to another. Craft materials are also incorporated into the works as a means to share the role women had in the creation of blankets, skirts, and other art forms.

Inspiration for her work comes from her identity as a female Dakota artist. The Dakota language has served as the catalyst for her reconnection with her cultural roots and the exploration of her identity as an Indigenous person.  She also looks to her young children for inspiration. For example, she examines commercial toys marketed to their age range, then creates similar items that are culturally relevant and facilitate learning of the Dakota language.

Two Stars utilizes the power of art to create positive change and raise awareness of the endangered status of Indigenous languages. She hopes to share with her audience both the history of Indigenous languages as well as current language revitalization programs meant to ensure their survival for future generations.  Her work acts as a didactic tool, and employs interactive elements to address how language learning requires active participation.

Prices for the artwork can be obtained by contacting The Journey Museum Store at (605) 394-2201.  To purchase artwork after the exhibit closes, please contact Angela Two Stars through her website at www.angelatwostars.com.

* Exhibition brochure

The Sioux Indian Museum, managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is located in The Journey Museum, 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701.  For admission fees and hours of operation please call (605) 394-6923.