FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2006
CONTACT: Andy Graham
andrew@maaa.org

Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection Begins Nationwide Tour

Twenty-two massive crates containing the exhibition Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection have shipped from Mid-America Arts Alliance’s home office in Kansas City, Missouri, and are en route to College Station, Texas. Arctic Spirit will be installed at the J Wayne Stark University Center Galleries, where it opens to the public on October 27, 2006. This is the exhibition’s first stop on its cross-country ExhibitsUSA tour.

Arctic Spirit features more than 125 sculptures, textiles, prints, by Canadian Inuit artists. While most are contemporary pieces, the exhibition includes works dating from 250 BC through the 21st century.

The Inuits, or Eskimos, are a society of natives who live mainly in Siberia, Alaska, Greenland, and the Canadian Arctic. Though many consider the various groups to be homogenous, Arctic Spirit showcases the artistic styles that are distinctly Canadian Inuit. All of the most popular Inuit art themes are considered: family and camp scenes; animals and nature; legends and spirituality; and the Inuit relationship with the Arctic environment. These subjects are presented in varied mediums, including prints, drawings, sculptures, carved ivories, masks, and textiles such as decorated clothing and wall hangings. Maps, text panels, and photographs of the land and artists also provide background information for exhibition visitors.

Arctic Spirit will be on display at the J Wayne Stark University Center Galleries through January 7, 2007. It is also scheduled to make stops in Florida and Alaska, and it will continue to be shown through 2008.

Arctic Spirit is curated by Ingo Hessel who lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and has researched Inuit art extensively for over 20 years. The art was donated to the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, by Dr. E. Daniel and Martha L. Albrecht, whose entire collection amounts to over 2,500 works from and 1,500 books on Native art.

Exhibits USA is a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, the nation’s oldest regional arts organization. Founded in 1972 to foster cultural growth in heartland communities, today Mid-America serves Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, though it also develops and delivers arts and humanities programs for a national audience. Mid-America programs attract upwards of one million people annually in more than 300 communities.

For more information, please visit www.maaa.org, or contact Andy Graham at andrew@maaa.org, 816-421-1388.

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