Exhibit of Award-Winning Art by Native Youngsters March 20, 2009

A traveling exhibit of national award-winning artwork and writing by young Native Americans will be on view from March 21 to April 19 at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central St., Evanston.

The exhibit, "Circle of Empowerment: Education, Language, Culture, Tradition," includes all 30 of the winning entries in the 2008 Native American Student Artist Competition, organized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education.

The exhibit consists of 21 works of art in diverse media and nine written "personal narratives."

The exhibit title was also the theme addressed by those entering the competition, which was open to Native Americans and Alaska Natives from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade.

A Chicago public school student, Kanowan Kayotawape, who is of Menominee descent, won first place in the third--o-fifth-grade category for her acrylic painting "My Ambitions."

The Mitchell Museum is one of only 11 venues coast-to-coat that are hosting the exhibit, according to the Office of Indian Education’s Web site, http://kids.indianeducation.org.

Admission to the exhibit is included with an entrance donation to the museum. Suggested donation is $5 for adults; $2.50 for seniors, students, and children. Maximum suggested admission per family is $10.
Admission will be free on Friday, April 3, marking the start of a new policy of free admissions on the first Friday of each month. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: http://www.mitchellmuseum.org.