Who We Are
Native POP: People of the Plains - A Gathering of Arts and Culture, a Native art market and cultural celebration, is a free annual event in the heart of downtown Rapid City, South Dakota the third weekend of July at Main Street Square. Native POP features original work by approximately 50 established and emerging Great Plains Native visual artists and performing artists as well as tribal culture bearers demonstrating regalia making, storytelling, and flute making.
We We Are
Native POP: People of the Plains - A Gathering of Arts and Culture is a Native art market and cultural celebration and is a free annual event in the heart of downtown Rapid City, South Dakota at Main Street Square. Native POP features original fine art by approximately 50 established and emerging Great Plains Native visual artists and performing artists as well as demonstrations by tribal members of traditional and contemporary arts such as regalia making, storytelling, and flute making.
MISSION
To share and celebrate Great Plains Indigenous art and culture in efforts to strengthen intercultural dialogue and relationships through equitable art and cultural opportunities.
GOAL
Provide educational information about Native Great Plains art and cultures
Provide an open intercultural environment
Promote and engage Native artists
Create a consistent, equitable market for Great Plains Native art
Share art and culture
Break stereotypes, create positive personal interactions
Create opportunities for collectors and attract tourists to the region
Organizational Overview
Native POP grew out of The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind and Water, and sculptor Masayuki Nagase's themes of community hope and transformation. Inspired by Nagase’s themes, Native POP’s organizing committee set out to create the first Native-focused event at Main Street Square in 2013, aspiring to bring recognition and appreciation to the historic and cultural value of Great Plains Native artists, creators and makers. The Sculpture Project is a 21-piece granite on-site work of public art-in-the-making around two sides of Main Street Square. The Square is a downtown public space featuring special events, arts and culture, live concerts, seasonal ice-skating and interactive fountains that draws 500,000-plus people annually.
The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind and Water's Badlands Tapestry
Native POP is a volunteer-led project. The Board of Director’s partners with Main Street Square for event coordination. Over the last ten years, Native POP's Board of Directors includes strong community leaders who bring considerable knowledge and influence to the table. They are Native and non-Native, artists and arts professionals, and span a wide range of ages. This diverse leadership results in planning and implementation that is inclusive of large portions of the Rapid City area.
Board of Directors
Marie Keller (Sicangu Lakota)
Tawa Ducheneaux (Cherokee)
Gene Swallow (Oglala Nation)
Natalie Stites Means (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe)
Chris Bordeaux (Sicangu Nation)
PRODUCED BY Board of Directors, Executive Director, and all the wonderful volunteers
Raine Nez (Rosebud Sioux Tribe)
nativeartsgathering@gmail.com