Native American artists to create lasting Elgin voice

The Trickster Art Gallery, in partnership with the Elgin Public Museum, Side Street Studio Arts and the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, will present a unique "Native POP" exhibit from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Side Street Studio Arts Theater, 15½ Ziegler Court in Elgin.

This kid-friendly event, celebrating Native American Heritage Month, is free and open to the public.

Three Native American artists from the Trickster Gallery - Brent Learned, George Curtis Levi, and Joseph Hopkins - will team up sharing a 24- by 30-inch canvas to create a theme and produce original art with inspiration and help from the audience right before their eyes.

The artists will paint nothing without verbal audience interactive participation. Images will be added as long as they focus on the agreed theme for the art. Group conversations must continue for the hour to create and make the art representing the voice of Elgin through a distinctive Native brush.

"Native POP is the expansion of exploring other mediums of expression and creativity while keeping within the traditional subject matter," said artist Hopkins, a Native American of the Muscogee (Creek) Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma.

Native American artist Learned, of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma, adds that "Native American artwork is always evolving. As we change, so do our cultures and so does our art. This show is a reflection on all of that."

Levi, an artist and a member of the Southern Cheyenne Tribe, notes that his family provides him with inspiration and motivation.

The live art will remain as a piece of the Elgin community at the Side Street Studio Arts after the event where the Elgin voices will be shared for a long time to come.

For more information, visit www.trickstergallery.com. Inquiries should be directed to info@trickstergallery.com or (847) 301-2090.