Join us on Saturday, December 11th for the opening reception of ᎢᏛᏍᎦ  ᏫᏥᏤᎢ  ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ:  ᎪᏥᎩ  ᏣᎳᎩ  ᏔᎷᏣ  ᏗᎬᏗ,  ᎦᏙ,  ᏃᎴ  ᎪᎵᏍᏗᎯ Weaving Across Time: Contemporary Cherokee Basket Making, Land, and Identity, featuring nine contemporary Eastern Band Cherokee artists who are building on a centuries-old practice of basket making. Sustainably harvesting, dyeing, and weaving materials found throughout western North Carolina, their baskets preserve, store, and celebrate indigenous wisdom, identity, and creativity.

Timed  entry tickets are available at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 pm. This event is free, accessible, and open to all.

About the Exhibition

Weaving Across Time features a recent resurgence of contemporary Eastern Band Cherokee artists who are creatively building on a centuries-old practice of basket making. Learning from mothers, grandmothers, and mentors, these nine artists sustainably harvest, prepare, and dye materials found throughout Western North Carolina, and weave them into exquisite baskets.

Their creative practice is intricately connected to the land - land that has been stolen, extracted, and depleted. The Cherokee have lived throughout what is now known as the Southeastern United States for over 15,000 years. However, broken treaties and forced removal have barred access to ancestral homelands and their natural resources. Development and climate change continue to threaten these environments. Today, mountain rivercane, one of the oldest Cherokee basket making materials, is 98% less abundant than before.

In the face of these conditions, generations of Cherokee have adapted their cultural practices, developing innovative designs and evolving traditions. The interwoven elements of land and cultural identity become embedded into the structure of each basket, a testament to an ongoing process of adaptation, transformation, and resilience. The works on view in this exhibit are more than beautiful objects. They are vessels that preserve, store, and celebrate indigenous wisdom, identity, and creativity through ongoing, contemporary practice.

This exhibition features over forty rivercane and white oak baskets, mats, and miniatures made between 2000-2021. Exhibiting Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Artists include: ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow, Faye Junaluska, Lucille Lossiah, Ramona Lossie, ᏯᏗ ᎺᏂ Betty Maney, ᏗᎳᏂ Dylan Morgan, ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson, ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson, Patricia Welch.  

COVID Safety

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") have declared the novel Coronavirus ("COVID-19") a worldwide pandemic. Due to the capacity of COVID-19 to be transmitted from person-to-person, the Center for Craft requires that all visitors entering the building and galleries agree to act reasonably to limit their use according to the following representations. Center for Craft requires that all visitors act reasonably to confirm and agree to the following conditions. To the extent permitted by law, visitor assumes all risk and agrees that the Center for Craft may reasonably rely on the truth of the following representations in admitting persons to the building and galleries without further investigation.

Visitor is aware of the risk of visiting as a potentially dangerous activity that may cause injury or illness from exposure to disease such as COVID-19, and which may lead to injury, disability, or death of the visitor, other visitors, and their guests. Neither visitor nor any of their guests have experienced signs of sickness (e.g., cough, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, fever, chills, repeated shaking w/chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell) or any other less common symptoms (nausea, vomiting or diarrhea) relating to COVID-19, within 15 days prior to the event.

Neither visitor nor any of their guests, nor any member of their immediate households, has been medically diagnosed to be infected by COVID-19 within 15 days before entering the building. Anyone who may be experiencing symptoms should immediately contact a healthcare provider for further directions and consult cdc.gov/COVID19. Visitor and their guests, who have traveled internationally or as otherwise advised by CDC, by sea or by air within 15 days prior to the event have affirmatively adhered to self-quarantine and CDC guidance cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/. Visitor agrees to abide by all executive orders, directives, guidelines, and ordinances adopted from time to time by North Carolina state, municipal, and federal authorities regarding social distancing and protective coverings and which apply to the operations of the building (which will take precedence over the Standards if different), to abide by all posted COVID instructions and warnings, and to act reasonably to require Visitor’s guests to do likewise, at all times.