By Marketing Communications Intern Sarah Snyder
On the evening of November 9, students, faculty, families, and friends gathered in the galleries of the Miami University Art Museum to celebrate Interconnected: Land, Identity, Community (A Student Response Exhibition) and its winners, along with the 50th anniversary of the relationship between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University.
During the reception, we celebrated all of the Student Response Exhibition artists, as this year’s student gallery was replete with artwork showing talent, in-depth thought, and emotion. By the end of the night, the three winners of the Student Response Exhibition, who were chosen through open voting, were announced and celebrated, as well.
Kayla Becker, Myaamia student and mother of five, won third place for her artwork niila myaamia – I Am Miami. She was awarded $100 for her symbolic and beautifully beaded artwork representing the connection between her and her ancestors.
Learn more about her artwork here, or visit MUAM to see it in-person!
Olivia DeLeon, a junior at Miami with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Museums and Society, won second place with her painting titled Where Do I Stand? She received an award for $250 for her detailed painting that focuses on change, identity, and independence.
Learn more about her artwork here, or visit MUAM to see it in-person!
Our first-place winner is Cassady Edwards, a Miami senior majoring in Art Education and Sculpture! Her artwork titled Ol’ Iron Eyes is a gorgeous hanging display depicting identity, separation, and family in a way that balances industrial metal and light, airy clouds with ease. She received an award for $500.
Learn more about her artwork here, or visit MUAM to see it in-person!
The celebration also held an unveiling of a panel that will be installed in the art museum, detailing the Land Acknowledgement that states that Miami University recognizes and respects the traditional homelands of the Myaamia and Shawnee people, on which Miami University was built. This statement also acknowledges the reciprocal relationship between Miami University and the Myaamia people.
The panel also adds the Committed To Each Other statement, which reads:
“The Miami University Art Museum has a close relationship with the Myaamia Center, and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma has engaged in a processive community curation in these exhibitions, programs, and collections connected to the Miami Tribe.”
We are so proud of all of our artists, and for the strong relationship we share with the Myaamia Center. Interconnected: Land, Identity, Community (A Student Response Exhibition) will be available to view through the end of the semester, so make sure to visit and view the amazing artworks on display!