Artist applications for the 33rd annual Red Earth Festival, scheduled June 7-9, 2019 at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City, are now being accepted. Each year, the award-winning juried arts festival draws thousands of people to a three-day weekend celebrating Native visual art and dance.
The 2019 Red Earth Festival will feature new 10 and 15 ft. wide booth space options, expanded art check in hours for the Adult Art Competition and a Festival Kick-Off Party & Awards Ceremony at the Red Earth Art Center in downtown Oklahoma City.
Artist applications for the award-winning juried art market can be found at www.redearth.org, or obtained by calling (405) 427-5228. Booth space is limited and is filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Red Earth Festival has been listed No. 4 on the list “10 Places in the US where you can experience Native American culture” by Matador Network.com. It is recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Redbud Award for “Outstanding Event” from the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department and recognition as a Top 100 Event in North America by the American Bus Association. USA Today has also included the Red Earth Festival as one of “10 Great Places to Experience Native Cultures.”
The three top award winners of the 2018 Red Earth Art Competition included Cherokee artist Ron Mitchell of Park Hill, OK recipient, of the Grand Award for Best of Show for his painting entitled “Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness.” Nelda Schrupp, a Pheasant Rump Nakota jeweler from Nakota, ND, recipient of the Red Earth President’s Award for “Lulil Bag;” and Tonya June Rafael, Navajo jeweler from Thoreau, NM, recipient of the Kathleen Everett Upshaw Award for her “Sterling Silver Purse.”
First place winners in the 2018 competition by category included: Yonavea Hawkins (Caddo/Delaware), Beadwork; Alberta Henderson (Navajo), Clothing/Textiles/ Weaving; Daniel Worcester (Chickasaw), Cultural Items; Dylan Cavin (Choctaw), Drawing/Graphic/Photography; Lauretta Newby-Coker (Choctaw), Diversified Artwork; and Jolene Bird (Santo Domingo Pueblo), Contemporary Jewelry.
Other winners were Clifton Aguilara (Santo Domingo Pueblo), Traditional Jewelry; Micqaela Jones (Te-Moak Western Shoshone), Painting, Oil/Acrylic; Derek No-Sun Brown (Shoshone-Bannock) Painting, Water-based; Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo), Traditional Pottery; Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo), Contemporary Pottery; and Gene “Iron Man” Smith (Sioux/Choctaw), Sculpture.
For nearly 40 years, the 501 (c) 3 non-profit Red Earth, Inc has been dedicated to its mission to “promote the rich traditions of American Indian arts and cultures through education, a premier festival, museum and fine art markets.” Red Earth is recognized as the region’s premier organization for advancing the understanding and continuation of traditional and contemporary Native culture and arts.
