Visit the Winter Art Market
Visit the Winter Art Market
Shop Native Works at the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center on November 18
Holiday season is upon us and we all have that one (or three) friends who are a challenge to shop for. Either they already have everything or they just don’t know what they want! Here’s an idea: find them something truly unique while not only supporting a small business, but another culture as well. The Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center is hosting the perfect opportunity to check these “difficult” friends off your gift giving list with their annual Winter Art Market on November 18th from 10:00am-4:00pm.
Highlighting Native vendors and their amazing works, the Winter Art Market has become one of the museum’s much beloved events. Director Hayden Haynes was excited to share some details about this year’s market, which is free and open to the public. “The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center (OCC) has a new Beadwork exhibit and a Retrospective exhibit of Carson Waterman’s art,” Hayden said. “We really want to focus on our culture’s artists and all the traditional works that they create. We have 21 Native vendors signed up, each offering their handcrafted specialties.”
Just a few of the vendors you can expect include:
Joni Crouse & Toni Kettle: Handmade holiday wreaths
Penny Minner & Tammy Hoag: Cornhusk crafts and baskets
Cliff Redeye: Leatherwork
Cami Jones: Flower art, ceramics, pottery and Christmas cookies
Denise Sundown: Ribbon dresses and skirts
Lyle Logan: Original artwork and prints
Wanda Wilson: Native jewelry and beadwork
Dave Farnham: Antler and stone sculptures
Janet Dalimonte: Various crafts
There are so many more artists and craftsmen planning to offer their works, and don’t forget there is the museum itself to explore, which also has a gift shop that features not only souvenirs but native tinctures, salves and remedies. And if you are spending all day exploring the museum and the market, you’ll probably work up an appetite. That is why each year the museum has someone come in to offer Native foods for visitors to purchase, with delicacies like corn soup, fry bread, corn wheels and items made with the “Three Sisters”. (Corn, beans and squash).
OTHER EVENTS IN THE WORKS
That’s a big day right there, but once the Winter Market is over, Haynes encourages the public to return to the center to take in upcoming events and explore even more inside the museum. “For 2023, we have the last presentation in Part II of our Fall Speaker series on Wednesday, November 22nd from 6:00-7:30pm,” he said. “Ansley Jemison (Seneca, Wolf Cla.) will discuss ‘Maintaining an Oral Tradition in a Digital World.’ Looking ahead into 2024, March 30th will be our annual juried Haudenosaunee Spring Art Show, and August 2nd will be the opening of our next major exhibition on Cornplanter.”
Hayden also wanted to note, “If you haven’t seen the Living Longhouse yet, we invite you to come and check it out. The Living Longhouse will close for the winter on December 1st and will reopen Memorial Day weekend of 2024. The museum store has tons of new items for shoppers as well, so it’s always worth a visit after you peruse our fantastic exhibits.”
The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center is located at 82 W. Hetzel Street in Salamanca, NY. For more information on the center and any of its events, go to senecamuseum.org, email info@senecamuseum.org or call 716-945-1760.