PRESS RELEASE: Sam Noble Museum hosts free public reception for Native American exhibit SPEAK Sept. 13th


The Sam Noble Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma sends this information as posted below:


NORMAN, Okla. – Join us at the opening reception for the Sam Noble Museum’s latest temporary exhibit, “SPEAK: Speak While You Can,” on Sept. 13 from 6-8 p.m. This unique exhibit highlights the importance of Native American languages through contemporary artistic media.

“SPEAK” displays the resilience and creativity of Indigenous peoples and is one part of the fight to keep Native languages alive. Guest curated by artist Tony A. Tiger (Mvskoke / Sac & Fox / Seminole), the exhibit features the work of more than 30 Native American established and emerging artists with roots in Oklahoma. Utilizing the vocabulary of various art forms, including printmaking, painting, installation art, photography, ceramics, mixed media, and textiles, artists comment on the state of their tribal languages and their relation to their communities and the world at large. As the title “SPEAK” makes clear, these artists have an urgent message: that we must speak up with our art, proclaiming with visual voices the message that our languages are the lifeblood of our cultures.

“The ‘SPEAK: Speak While You Can’ exhibition of Indigenous art is a living exhibit,” says Tiger. “When our languages are spoken, our cultures thrive. The next generation holds that place for the following generations and they know who they are.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy complimentary light refreshments and meet the talented artists who contributed to the exhibit. The reception will include a formal program with remarks by guest curator Tony A. Tiger, comments by exhibit artists, and song. Light Native-inspired food and refreshments served by Junebug Catering and visits to the Brown Gallery are also included in this event that is free and open to the public.

The “SPEAK: Speak While You Can” exhibit will be on display at the Sam Noble Museum until Dec. 1, 2024. The museum invites the community to join in this celebration of cultural expression and linguistic diversity.

The Sam Noble Museum is the officially designated natural history museum for the state of Oklahoma and is located on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus at 2401 Chautauqua Ave. 


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