History of Northwest Coast Art: Steve Brown and Jackson Polys

Описание: Welcome to the fourth presentation in the Totem Heritage Center’s History of Northwest Coast Art speaker series. We want to start our presentation this evening recognizing that the Totem Heritage Center is located on the traditional lands of the Taantá Kwaan and Sanya Kwaan people of the Tlingit First Nations.

Our goal with this series is to expose students and viewers to the art and culture of the Northwest Coast’s First Nations. This series of 6 virtual presentations focuses on a variety of Northwest Coast Art topics with conversations between artists, historians, and educators. If you have missed any of the previous presentations, check out our Ketchikan Museums YouTube channel.


Tonight’s presentation will be followed by a Q&A with the Native Arts Studies Program students who are participating in this Zoom class.

Steve Brown was a student of Bill Holm’s, curator for Northwest Coast Art at the Seattle Art Museum, Native arts curator with Sealaska Heritage Institute, as well as an accomplished artist, teacher, and author. Steve's books, The Spirit Within, Native Visions, and Sun Dogs and Eagle Down provide insight on Northwest Coast art (all of which we have in the Heritage Center’s library so anyone in Ketchikan is welcome to come take a look). Steve has shared his knowledge and skills with students at the Totem Heritage Center since 1979, teaching classes in carving, engraving, jewelry design, history, as well as the Island Carvers Canoe workshop.



Tlingit visual artist, carver, and filmmaker Jackson Polys began carving with his father, Nathan Jackson, and his work examines the constraints and potential in the desire for Indigenous advancement. Jackson has worked as a visual artist under the names Stephen Jackson, Jackson Polys, and Stron Softi, and his work has been exhibited at the Alaska State Museum, the Anchorage Museum, Artists Space, Hercules Art/Studio Program, the James Gallery, Ketchikan Museums, and the Sundance Film Festival amongst others.