New Exhibition Featuring Hillary Kempenich (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)

Hillary Kempenich - Paintings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

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June 29, 2018

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA: The Sioux Indian Museum, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, will feature an exhibit of artwork by Hillary Kempenich.  The exhibition will run from July 20 through September 28, 2018.  The exhibition is free and open to the public. 

Hillary Kempenich, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, is a multidisciplinary artist who works primarily in acrylic paint and mixed media.  She currently resides in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where she works full-time as a professional artist.

Although she has been exploring art and other creative avenues since childhood, she first began working in her current technique and style only six years ago.  She draws inspiration for her work from her people and the landscapes of the Turtle Mountain Reservation.  Her paintings are often created spontaneously, applying paint directly to the canvas, without the use of preparatory drawing.  The colors and designs found in the traditional arts of the Chippewa people are often incorporated into her art.  She interweaves her desire to represent Native Americans in a positive light with stories of their past, present, and future.  Her current work focuses on a series of representations of Native American women, with the intent of empowering her own community while also addressing contemporary concerns throughout Indian Country. 

Kempenich has received numerous fellowships and scholarships to support her work including: an Artist in Business Leadership fellowship from the First Peoples Fund, a Social Innovation Summit scholarship and a Social Business Creators scholarship from the Bush Foundation, and an Advocacy Leadership Institute fellowship from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.  Her work has been featured in traveling exhibitions such as Art of the Resistance, produced by Honor the Earth organization, and Bring Her Home, produced by All My Relations Gallery, in Minneapolis.

Prices for the artwork can be obtained by contacting The Journey Museum Store at (605) 394-2201.  To purchase artwork after the exhibit closes, please contact Hillary Kempenich through her website at www.hillarykempenich.com.

* Exhibition brochure

The Sioux Indian Museum, managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is located in The Journey Museum, 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701.  For admission fees and hours of operation please call (605) 394-6923.