ROCK SPRINGS – The artwork of a sixth-generation descendent of Chief Washakie and Wovoka will be on display at Western Wyoming Community College’s Art Gallery from Oct. 25-Dec. 6.
Talissa Abeyta’s exhibition, “Evening Rain” features work both new and old to serve as a timeline for how far Abeyta has come as an artist and is named for her Shoshone name (Yee-tah Bah-uh-wah). According to Western, Abeyta said her goal is to “make a profound statement of Native people’s humanity and divinity. Ultimately, I aspire to reconcile, heal, enlighten, and honor my ancestors through my artwork.”
“Embracing everything about myself has inspired so much of my work,” she said.
Abeyta was raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation and is inspired by her heritage and culture. She said she feels blessed to be a female Native American artist living in the modern era.
“My art allows me to have a voice and the freedom to express my thoughts and emotions freely with a contemporary approach,” Abeyta said.
The exhibition is being hosted in observation of Native American Heritage Month and the college hopes “Evening Rain” will inspire patrons to be thoughtful in learning about and acknowledging the indigenous peoples who occupied these lands long before European colonialism in North America.
