PORT ANGELES — Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Field Arts & Events Hall personnel have partnered to produce the first show held in the new gallery at Field Hall and have issued a call for artists.
The show, “sčáy ʔaʔ cə nəxwsƛ̕áy̕əm ʔay̕c̕ɬtáyŋxw” or “Creations of the Klallam People” will showcase nəxwsƛ̕áy̕əm artists from the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes.
It will be on display from July 27 through Sept. 29 and will be a feature of Field Hall’s Grand Opening Weekend July 27-30.
All interested nəxwsƛ̕áy̕əm artists are encouraged to submit their work for consideration by May 1.
Artwork can include carvings, basketry, paintings, prints, photography, graphics and jewelry.
The show will be curated by Roger Fernandes, artist and member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe.
“We will be able to share our history, culture, language, art and tell our ancestors stories,” he said. “We look forward to the invitations to our other Indigenous families and relatives in the coming years. In 2025, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe will be hosting the canoe journey event in our territory.”
For more abut how to enter artwork, contact Fernandes at gallery@ fieldhallevents.org or call 206-696-1911.
The show featuring Klallam art will open at 5 p.m. July 27 with a special welcoming ceremony presented by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Field Hall leadership.
“Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has worked with Field Arts & Events Hall for many years,” said Frances Charles, Tribal chair. “It is gratifying to witness the completion of this beautiful building that is built on our Klallam territory land.”
“Creations of the Klallam People” will share traditional Coast Salish art styles as a learning experience for the audience.
The Port Angeles Waterfront Center will include Field Arts & Events Hall, the Lower Elwha Klallam Cultural Center and the Marine Discovery Center.
Field Hall Executive Director Steve-Raider Ginsburg said of the project:
“Field Hall is constructed on the traditional lands of the Klallam people, and it’s always been part of the vision of the Port Angeles Waterfront Center to build a campus that will celebrate arts, sciences and the history and culture of the Klallam people — specifically the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.”
“Together, Field Hall, Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes are working to ensure and recognize the importance of that connection as we showcase the traditional and contemporary Salish of the Klallam speaking tribe on the North Olympic Peninsula.”
Scheduled to open in 2023, Field Hall will host local, regional, national and international music and performance artists in its 500-seat auditorium.
Field Hall also includes a conference and event center to suit groups from 20 to 300 people in downtown Port Angeles, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Field Arts & Events Hall was made possible through the behest of the late Donna M. Morris of Port Angeles and the donation from Dorothy Field to purchase the land, along with corporate and individual donors who value a vibrant arts community on the North Olympic Peninsula.
For more information, see www.fieldhallevents.org.
