May 8, 2017Comments are off for this post.

This Week on Close Up Baltimore

"Ashley Minner and Sean Scheidt are this week's Close Up Baltimore storytellers. They have decided to focus on elder immigrants to disrupt the hateful rhetoric flying around. Ashley and Sean want to show that good people come from every part of the world and also that immigrants built/build Baltimore."

Like Close Up Baltimore on Facebook, Follow @closeupbaltimore on Instagram, Follow @elders.of.baltimore for outtakes and behind the scenes!

March 29, 2016Comments are off for this post.

Contemporary Southeastern Native Artists Panel

Native Speakers Series UNCP '16
As part of UNC Pembroke’s Native American Speakers Series, a panel of American Indian artists will discuss the topic of Southeastern Native art on Thursday, March 31 at 7 pm in the University Center Annex. The panel includes:

- America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), a painter, printmaker, educator, and editor of First American Art Magazine;
- Jessica Clark (Lumbee), a Robeson County painter and educator;
- Ashley Minner (Lumbee), a community-based visual artist and scholar from Baltimore, Maryland; and
- Terry White, a Lumbee artist from Robeson County.
Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.

The event is hosted by the Department of American Indian Studies and the Southeast American Indian Studies Program, and sponsored by PNC Bank.

For more information:
Phone: 910.521.6266
Email: ais@uncp.edu
Web: www.uncp.edu/ais

September 26, 2015Comments are off for this post.

UNCP Native Speakers Series 2015

unc_pembroke_logo

Ashley Minner is pleased to have been invited- along with America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), a painter, printmaker, educator, and editor of First American Art Magazine, Jessica Clark (Lumbee), a Robeson County painter and educator, and Terry White, a Lumbee artist from Robeson County- to participate on a panel on Contemporary Southeastern Native Art as part of the University of North Carolina's 2015-16 Native Speakers Series.

The series features nationally recognized American Indian scholars and artists who will delve into diverse topics and issues including Lumbee history, Native cuisine, health and wellness and Southeastern Native art.

Admission to the series is free, and it is open to the public.

Native Artists Panel
March 31, 2016
7:00 p.m.
University Center Annex

This event is sponsored by PNC Bank, a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.. Other sponsors include the Department of American Indian Studies, Museum of the Southeast American Indian, the Southeast American Indian Studies Program and the Office of Academic Affairs. For more information, email ais@uncp.edu, or call 910.521.6266.

December 2, 2014Comments are off for this post.

Carlton Turner, Ashley Milburn and Ashley Minner on the Marc Steiner Show

West Baltimore: Looking Back, Looking Foward

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

October 24, 2014 – Segment 4

We close out the show with a discussion of ROOTSfest and an event reflecting on it, with: Carlton Turner, Executive Director of Alternate ROOTS; Ashley Milburn, Artist and Co-founder of Culture Works; and Ashley Minner, Community Artist and member of Alternate ROOTS Executive Committee.

October 23, 2012Comments are off for this post.

Taller Portobelo Norte Artist Residency, Summer ’12

Last July, I participated in a two-week artist residency at the Taller Portobelo Norte Art Colony in Portobelo, Panama, which was made possible by an Artistic Assistance grant from Alternate ROOTS. Taller Portobelo Norte (Portobelo Workshop North) is “a collective of emerging and established artists and scholars that seeks to expose the world to the beauty and vibrancy of the African Diaspora; it's arts, culture, traditions and peoples.”

I chose to go to Portobelo to develop my work as a visual artist and to continue my research on the African-Indigenous Diaspora. The people of Portobelo are descendants of the Cimarrones, enslaved Africans who escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together as outlaws in the jungle. One of the first parts of the “New World” to be pillaged, Christopher Columbus originally named the port "Puerto Bello," meaning "Beautiful Port," in 1502.

“Today Portobelo is an economically depressed town, and the majority of its inhabitants make their living from either fishing, tending crops or raising livestock. …Homes are situated among the ruins of the colonial fortifications, half of which retain some of their original form, half of which are meager piles of cut stone and coral.” The very same month of my visit, “the UNESCO World Heritage Committee placed Portobelo and nearby Fort San Lorenzo on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing environmental factors, lack of maintenance and uncontrollable urban developments.”

While staying in the nicest house in town, being conscious of the fact that I was in a position of great privilege as an American, and upon hearing some of the stories of past artist residents’ projects, I at first felt very limited in what work I thought I could conscionably do in Portobelo.  It seemed ironic that I would come to a place to learn from and interact with other survivors of colonialism and historical trauma, only to fear that I, myself, could perpetuate the problem. Though Portobelo is a very beautiful place, I didn’t feel that I had the right to go off and paint watercolor landscapes. Though I was inspired by the beauty of the people of Portobelo, I did not feel good about documenting them just for the sake of making a drawing or painting.  I didn’t know them. They didn’t know me.

Adjoining the house is the actual, physical “Taller Portobelo Norte,” the small artist studio space used by all of the artists in the collective. I was welcomed into the studio by Gustavo, one of the first people I met in Panama. Gustavo and several artists of the colony paint or work on other projects in the taller every day. Many people of the town often stop by to visit. I just sat in and talked with them for the first few days. We became fast friends. After that time, I started to feel like it would be alright with me to honor my new friends with portraits if it was alright with them, but I didn’t want to impose on them by disrupting their work time to ask them to sit for me.

In Portobelo, there is a style of painting that is done on canvas with wide stretchers. As a final step, the sides of the canvas and often the painted image itself are embellished with broken shards of mirror. I asked Gustavo if they happened to have a mirror lying around. He produced a large piece of mirror, which I used to do a self-portrait in pencil. Everyone in the Taller ooh-ed and ah-ed over my portrait. Everyone who stopped by the Taller that evening did the same thing.

Almost at once, there was a long list of requests for portraits, on which I was happy to get started. I had an audience while I was working every day. People would come to the taller just to see my progress. They came to take pictures of my drawings, which made me feel very good.

I made friends with some of young people of Portobelo soon after I arrived. Before long, I had an entire group spending time with me. I gave them a set of watercolors and set them up with space to create their own drawings and paintings in the taller, which were very beautiful. One teenager in particular came to sit with me almost every day. He said that he wished he could draw like me. When I answered that he can draw like me, he asked how and if he would have to go to school to do it. I said that school helps, but you can learn on your own and anyone can learn to do it.

One of the most renowned painters of Portobelo, who is also a leader of the Congo community and Gustavo’s Dad, requested that I draw his portrait. This was a great honor for me. He promised to bring me a bottle of Colombian liquor in exchange. Although I told him that this wasn’t necessary, he soon brought the bottle and I thought to myself that this was smart of him to make sure that I held up my end of the trade before I had to fly home. I did.

The most “finished” piece produced while I was in Portobelo was a portrait of Gustavo as a “Moderno Rey Cimarron Congo” or “Modern Cimarron Congo King.” The piece was collaboration between Gustavo and I. We first discussed the content and concept of the portrait, in which Gustavo appears dressed in his contemporary soccer shirt as well as a traditional Cimarron crown, to the point that he is the living legacy of his ancestors. Gustavo helped with the drawing of the Cimarron crown. He is also the author and painter of the text in the piece, “Moderno Rey Cimarron Congo Hijo de Portobelo. Tierra con vestigios de Africa, selva, salitre y sol; Modern Cimarron Congo King Son of Portobelo. Land with vestiges of Africa, jungle, sea salt and sun.”

In exchange for this portrait, Gustavo gifted me one of his paintings. Knowing that he sells his paintings to make a living, I asked him if he was sure and how much money he was losing by giving me that painting. His answer about the price surprised me, as I don’t have much experience in pricing my own work. I then asked him for how much he would sell the portrait that we created together and his answer was even higher based on dimensions and detail. This conversation truly caused me to reexamine my practice of giving most of my art away.  My last few projects have all included portraits of people whom I know and love. I have felt that it is my privilege to document them and that the appropriate way to recompense for the gift of that privilege is to give them the finished piece. However, this does not help my economic situation or my ability to further my career. Gustavo helped me to understand this.

I’m now back in Baltimore, working on rearranging my life to include more time to create my art. My friends from Portobelo and I stay in touch; I generally hear from someone every day. We are planning my next visit. In the meantime, my self-portrait is hanging in the taller.

August 30, 2012Comments are off for this post.

First People’s Fund Professional Development Workshop Minneapolis, Minnesota

Last month, I was given the incredible opportunity to attend a First People’s Fund Professional Development Workshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota on behalf of Alternate ROOTS.

“Founded in 1995, First Peoples Fund's mission is to honor and support the creative community-centered First Peoples artists; and nurture the collective spirit® that allows them to sustain their peoples. [Their] vision is to communicate to the world the roots and philosophy of Indigenous artistic expression and its relationship to the collective spirit of First Peoples. [They] strive to provide support and voice to the creative Indigenous artists who share their inspiration, wisdom, knowledge and gifts with their communities.”

The workshop was attended by recent FPF grantees who were recognized for their artistic excellence, their commitment to sustaining the cultural values of native people and for their potential as entrepreneurial artists to cultivate their practices into small businesses. There were artists from a variety of disciplines- actually each person was skilled in many disciplines- and almost every region of the United States was represented. There was a Blackfeet Writer from Seattle, a Master Pasamaquoddy Basket Weaver from Maine, a Choctaw Potter from Oklahoma, a Lakota Artist from South Dakota who creates traditional horse armor, an Oneida Comedian from Wisconsin and others, including myself… A Lumbee Community Artist / new ROOTer from Baltimore.

The trip proved to be an invaluable experience. Not only did it serve to reconfirm my belief that the degree of separation between all Indian people is about 2 at greatest (as opposed to the normal 6), it reminded me that my drive to do the work that I do comes from a cultural place and understanding.

Our discussion was opened with the First People’s Fund core values of “Generosity, Respect, Integrity, Strength, Fortitude, Humility, Wisdom, and Community-mindedness.” These values are required for participation in all FPF programs, were implemented as guiding principals over the course of our time together and are, of course, all values that we ascribe to as contributing members of Indigenous communities.

We launched into an intensive two-day series of workshops containing practical information that was never given to me during my time in art school and would be useful to any artist. Basic business and financial literacy skills were presented to us in a culturally specific and accessible way. We were also given business planning and self-assessment tools, budgeting forms, money management and pricing tools (with actual formulas), as well as marketing tools. All of these workshops were interspersed with artist presentations, Q&A sessions with foundation/grant-making experts and a world-renowned “Arts Attorney” who taught us about legal issues concerning intellectual property. For example, did you realize that you, yourself can legally place a © or a ™ on your work and this gives fair notice to the world that it’s your intellectual property (without filing any paperwork)? All of the knowledge that we received could easily be applied to a for-profit artistic practice or a non-profit organization that supports the work of artists.

The work that First People’s Fund does falls neatly in line with the Mission of Alternate ROOTS- to support the creation and presentation of original art, in all its forms, which is rooted in a particular community of place, tradition or spirit. It was interesting for me to see that all of the artwork done by the FPF grantees is rooted in Social Justice as well as the protection of the natural world, whether the art form was traditional or contemporary!

There is no doubt in my mind that a continued relationship between the two organizations would be logical and mutually beneficial. I am making a personal commitment to encourage more Native American artists who live and work within the geographic area that ROOTS serves to become members of ROOTS and to also apply to First People’s Fund as appropriate. I hope that additional opportunities for exchange between ROOTS and FPF will be created. There is much to learn and share

James Star Comes Out shares his Artist in Business Leadership grant project with us at the Cowles Center for Performing Arts. 'Our values are a tool to manage our lives...they strengthen us to accomplish anything we want.' - James Star Comes Out  Photo by Miranne Walker.

Group Shot, Photo by Miranne Walker.

August 30, 2012Comments are off for this post.

Taller Portobelo Norte Artist Residency, Summer ’12

Taller Portobelo Norte Summer Art Colony, Colón, Panamá 2012

July 7, 2012Comments are off for this post.

The Native American After School Art Program

Mission

The Native American After School Art Program (NAASAP) unites Native American youth and assists them in developing skills and perspectives that will result in an increased knowledge and sense of pride in their cultural identity. Through community arts programming, youth will become self-empowered to effect positive change in their own lives and in the Native American community of Baltimore.

Purpose

The Native American After School Art Program (NAASAP) exists to provide a safe, structured, environment for Baltimore’s Native youth to assemble themselves together. NAASAP programming presents Art as a vehicle for young people to address issues that are important to them. NAASAP will lift up the voices of Baltimore’s Native American youth as they are empowered to work creatively toward real goals. Their sense of purpose, efficacy and ownership of their community will grow in this process.

We will pursue the following goals in order to move towards accomplishing our mission and purpose:

  • Create a safe, positive, nurturing, learning environment
  • Emphasize the crucial connection between knowledge and pride in one’s heritage, one’s sense of self-identity and one’s aptitude for success
  • Facilitate youth’s development of skills through experiential learning that will   benefit them both in the classroom and in their lives outside of school
  • Make strong use of the arts in all aspects of programming
  • Assist youth in developing a sense of ownership, citizenship, efficacy and the importance of working for positive change in their community
  • Help facilitate a youth-run process of program planning and implementation
  • Engage youth in community asset mapping to educate them about what resources are available to them as community members
  • Foster intergenerational working relationships between different age groups of young people; young people and the Native American Senior Citizens in all aspects of programming
  • Continue Native cultural and traditional practice
  • Share our stories as Native people
  • Practice consensus building
  • Promote nutrition and wellness through cooking and gardening
  • Promote “green” practices as Native stewards of the earth

July 7, 2012Comments are off for this post.

Hard Workin’ Pilgrims

Hard Workin' Pilgrims: Lumbee Indians in Baltimore City Industry, 2011

July 7, 2012Comments are off for this post.

Community

Ashley Minner with students at the Baltimore American Indian Center.