Author to discuss contemporary Native American women artists

Phoebe Farris, editor of the book Women Artists of Color: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook to 20th Century Artists in the Americas (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999), and professor of art, design and women’s studies at Purdue University, discusses contemporary female Native American artists at 4:10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in Skelton Lounge, Chase Hall, 56 Campus Avenue. The public is invited to attend at no charge.

Farris teaches courses on feminist art criticism, gender and multiculturalism, art education, art therapy and art and design. She wrote and edited Voices of Color: Art and Society in the Americas (Humanity Books, 1998).

Farris received a Fulbright and National Endowment of the Humanities grants and was named a Rockefeller Scholar in Residence. A resident at Harvard University’s Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue and at the Women’s Leadership Institute, Mills College, she has an international reputation in the field of women’s studies.

As founder of and faculty adviser to Purdue’s Native American Student Association, and as a member of the Powhatan-Renape Nation, Farris is involved in local, national and international Native American issues, frequently consulting on Native American art and culture.

Active in the contemporary art world, Farris has exhibited in venues worldwide, including the 1996 Women of Color video production at the Beijing International Women’s Conference.

Farris received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the City College of the City University of New York, a master’s degree in art therapy from Pratt Institute and a doctorate in art education from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Her talk at Bates is sponsored by the Office of Affirmative Action.