Curator’s Discussion
James R. Blaettler, S.J. and Tressa Berman, Ph.D.
January 15, 2012
Curator + Artist Led Tour
Led by co-curator Tressa Berman, Ph.D. and artist L. Frank
February 5, 2012
Biographies
Tressa Berman is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D. UCLA) and curator who specializes in visual cultural studies, museums and heritage, contemporary art and society. As Principal of the Institute for Inter-Cultural Practice, she works with NGOs, museums and other non-profits and foundations to realize arts and culture projects. Former Associate Professor of Art and Anthropology at Arizona State University, she is currently Adjunct Professor at the California College of the Arts, and affiliated research faculty at the Centre for Transforming Culture, UTS (Sydney). She is author of Circle of Goods (SUNY Press 2003), No Deal! Indigenous Art and the Politics of Possession (SAR Press, 2012), and numerous journal and magazine articles. Her awards include a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship.
L. Frank Manriquez (Tongva/Ajachmem) is a Native California Indian artist, tribal scholar, cartoonist, language advocate, singer, and self-described “decolonizationist.” L. Frank has exhibited her artwork (paintings, sculpture, weavings, photography, cartoons, regalia) in museums and galleries locally, nationally, and internationally. L. Frank is the co-founder of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival. She works to revitalize indigenous languages as a language trainer utilizing Total Physical Response (TPR) and motivational and experiential methods. She has provided training for indigenous individuals and communities through the annual Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival conferences and workshops and with indigenous communities throughout the US, including Hawaii, and in Australia and Nunavut. L. Frank is also on the board of directors of Neshkanukat, and for fifteen years served on the board of directors of the California Indian Basketweavers Association. She is a strong advocate and practitioner of sustainable living and builds straw bale and waddle and cob buildings. L. Frank is the author of two books, Acorn Soup, a collection of cartoons, and First Families: A Photographic History of California Indians, both published by Heyday Books. She is a regular contributor to News From Native California.
Learn more about The Spirit Within: Creation, Community and Renewal in Indigenous Art