yəhaw̓ at King Street Station

About the Project

Where: King Street Station, 303 S. Jackson St., Top Floor, Seattle, WA 98104
When: March 23 - August 4, 2019

yəhaw̓ is an Indigenous-led project that includes satellite installations, performances, workshops and trainings, artists-in-residence, art markets, a publication, and partner events at more than twenty-five sites across Coast Salish territories and beyond. Our programs are accompanied by relationship-building and mentorship opportunities to support continued artistic development in our communities, with the intent that all participants will gain experience and exposure, and build sustaining connections.

The exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station, running from March 23-August 4, 2019, was the centerpiece of yəhaw̓. The title of the show is drawn from the Coast Salish story of people from many tribes uniting around a common cause and lifting the sky together. In the spirit of that story, we used a decolonized curatorial process, inviting all Indigenous individuals living in the region to participate. As a result, the gallery featured work from over 200 exhibitors. Participants came from urban and reservation communities, used many types of media, and ranged from master artisans and Elders to youth and emerging creatives exhibiting their work publicly for the first time.

We hope that yəhaw̓ reflects a nuanced, inclusive narrative that firmly establishes the vital contributions generated by Native thinkers and makers here, and now. By organizing an opportunity for community to speak for itself through a wide range of individual - and sometimes opposing - perspectives, yəhaw̓ un-settles assumptions and centers Indigenous action, Indigenous innovation, and Indigenous agency to author our own stories.

We raise our hands to all the Indigenous artists, the Office of Arts & Culture, and the partners who helped realize this project. Thank you for your trust, your generosity, and your willingness to learn with us.

Together we lift the sky.

- yəhaw̓ curators - Asia Tail (Cherokee Nation), Tracy Rector, and Satpreet Kahlon

About Our Exhibition

• 200+ Indigenous creators were featured in the yəhaw̓ exhibition at King Street Station (with many more represented in our offsite programming and publications)

• Of the 200 exhibitors, about 130 identified as women, and more than 30 identified as Two Spirit / Queer

• 100+ tribal affiliations and Indigenous communities were represented from across the globe

• 149 of our exhibiting artists were based in Washington, with another 24 from Oregon, 19 from British Columbia, 8 from Alaska, and 1 from Montana

• 280+ objects were in the gallery

• Over 2,700 people attended our exhibition opening celebration on March 23, 2019

• From opening day through closing 7,846 people visited the exhibition space

• By our initial open call deadline on April 20, 2018, we received 133 submissions. 64 of those 133 also applied for our mentorship program - meaning nearly half expressed an interest in pursuing training opportunities to further develop their creative practice. 104 of the original applicants were in our final exhibition of just over 200 creatives, with the other half coming from continued outreach over the course of a year of community-based programming.

photos by Mel Carter

Exhibiting Artists

Commissions

Indigenous artists were selected by the yəhaw̓ curatorial team to create artworks responding to the Lifting the Sky story for the exhibition space and on the plaza of King Street Station, including performative works that debuted at the opening celebration:

Natalie Ball
Demian DinéYazhi´
Malynn Foster
Alison Marks
Chai Adera
Timothy White Eagle
Sara Siestreem
Kimberly Deriana (Plaza)
Christine Babic (Performance)
Tsēmā Igharas (Performance)

Outside of these special commissions, all yəhaw̓ exhibitors were paid a modest honorarium of $100 to acknowledge their time and their contribution to the King Street Station show.

Our Budget

In the spirit of transparency we are sharing our expenses from the launch of our project through the end of 2019. These numbers reflect the monies we routed through our fiscal sponsor Na’ah Illahee Fund ($164,655), and do not account for costs that were paid out directly through our partners as part of joint programs, which together make up more than $50,000 in additional dollars going to Native artists and community events.

• Offsite Programs, Publications, and Event Costs (including artist fees, supplies, food, and community curator fees) - $37,228

• Curatorial Team Fees for Tracy, Satpreet, and Asia - $30,000

• King Street Station Special Commissions - $20,500

• King Street Station Exhibiting Artist Honorariums at $100 each - $20,000

• Art Transportation/Installation Costs and Contract Labor - $22,679

• Na'ah Illahee Fund Fiscal Agent Fee at 8% - $13,172

• Mentorship Program Costs and Artist Fees - $9,626

• Documentation/Communications - $7,038

• Graphic Design and Branding - $4,412

Related Programs

Opening Celebration

March 23, 2019

2,700 people joined us on March 23rd to celebrate the opening of the yəhaw̓ exhibition at King Street Station. We opened with an Indigenous Community Breakfast cooked by Hillel Echo-Hawk (Pawnee / Athabaskan) for artists and Indigenous community members, who then got a first look at the show. Our public opening began in the afternoon with remarks and a ribbon cutting by Ken Workman (Duwamish), Randy Engstrom, and Mayor Jenny A. Durkan, followed by a performance from the Lummi Black Hawk Singers & Dancers. Throughout the day there were additional remarks from the yəhaw̓ curatorial team, a telling of Lifting the Sky by Jill & Sasha LaPointe (Upper Skagit / Nooksack), durational performative pieces by Tsēmā Igharas (Tāłtān) and Christine Babic (Chugach Alutiiq / Sugpiaq), and art activities led by Raven Juarez (Blackfeet) and Priscilla Dobler (Mayan).

Closing Weekend

August 1 - 4, 2019

Gallery tours of the yәhaw̓ exhibition were led by Indigenous artists from the show every afternoon, and there were special public programs daily during our closing weekend.

Thursday, August 1 - Performances on the Plaza
Indigenous artists performed live - including bands Black Belt Eagle Scout (Swinomish) and Ghost Horse (Pawnee / adopted Upper Ahtna Athabaskans), alongside the world's premiere Quileute Drag Queen Hailey Tayathy - outside on King Street Station’s plaza 5-7pm. The gallery upstairs was open late in conjunction with First Thursday Pioneer Square Art Walk and the Seattle Art Fair.

Friday, August 2 - Curatorial Panel
King Street Station hosted a panel discussion featuring Asia Tail (Cherokee) and Satpreet Kahlon of the curatorial team, with additional presentations by yәhaw̓ community curators including Jess Ramirez (Indigenous Latinx), Kimberly Deriana (Mandan / Hidatsa), Moe’Neyah Holland, Michael Anderson, and Aiyanna Stitt (Choctaw), followed by Q and A.

Saturday, August 3 - Mentorship Program Artist Presentations
Members of the Mentorship Program gave public talks at King Street Station about their artistic practices and discussed experiences in their respective program cohorts in Seattle, Tacoma, or Portland, followed by Q and A. Presentations were given by Crystal Christopherson (Tlingit), Jennifer Angaiak Wood (Yup'ik), Catherine Cross Uehara (Uchinanchu / Hapa / Okinawan American), Paige Pettibon (Salish), Asa Wright (Klamath / Chickasaw), and Kanani Miyamoto (Hawaiian).

Go to yehawshow.com/mentorship-program to watch videos of the presentations and learn more about the Mentorship Program.

Sunday, August 4 - Exhibition Closing Reception
The public was invited to celebrate with us at King Street Station one last time as we concluded a year of Indigenous-centered programming across Coast Salish territories. We opened with a blessing by Ken Workman (Duwamish), followed by storytelling with Kayla Guyette (Jicarilla Apache), and remarks from the curatorial team. There was a special photo booth created by Alex Britt (Nansemond), and artists shared their yәhaw̓ stories with filmmaker Raven Two Feathers (Cherokee / Seneca / Cayuga / Comanche) for their upcoming documentary.

photos by Alex Britt

Photos

A selection of photos from the Opening Celebration, March 23, 2019.

photos by Naomi Ishisaka

photos by Trevor Dykstra

photos by Jenny Crooks

photos by Sunita Martini