Growing up in Tempe, Arizona, Chelsea Bighorn (Lakota, Dakota, Shoshone Paiute Irish American) attended powwows with her grandmother and sister. With each outing, Bighorn added to her growing collection of beaded earrings.
Inspired by close study of her earring collection, Bighorn’s beadwork and fringe pieces combine traditional Native American design with elements from her Irish American heritage to capture fond memories of watching powwow dancers in their brightly colored and embellished regalia.
Dittmar Gallery at Northwestern University will showcase Bighorn’s artwork in the exhibit “Regal Adornment” from Jan. 9 to Feb. 3. An opening reception will take place Thursday, Jan. 9 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Dittmar Gallery also will host a hands-on workshop with the artist on Thursday, Jan. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. Bighorn will provide a brief history of the jingle cone dress dance and teach participants how to roll mini cones and make chainmail inspired by her own jingle cone project.
The workshop is free and open to the public. Space is limited to 20 attendees. RSVP online.
Dittmar Gallery is located on the second floor of the Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. For more information visit the Norris Center website.
Bighorn holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently an artist in residence with the Chicago Artist Coalition, her work has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art, SITE Santa Fe, Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco and the Center for Native Futures in Chicago.
Chelsea Bighorn’s ‘Regal Adornment’ exhibit opens at NU on Jan. 9 is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.