S'abadeb (The Gifts): Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists

FAIN: GI-50047-08

Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA 98101-2003)
Barbara Brotherton (Project Director: January 2008 to May 2010)

Implementation of a traveling exhibit and a companion website on the art and culture of the coastal Salish people.

The Seattle Art Museum requests $400,000 to mount a traveling exhibition of the art and culture of the Pacific Northwest Native Coast Salish peoples. It includes 180 cultural treasures from 5500 BCE to contemporary artworks. The project is the first major show of its kind and sheds public recognition on a rich culture whose important contribution to this nation's history has often been overlooked. It will feature innovative uses of technology, including a multi-media Living Archive of songs, stories and oratory that will infuse the exhibition with the voices of the Salish people. Public programming for a wide audience will include a Native film festival, performances and demonstrations, school tours and culturally relevant curriculum materials. An audio guide will accompany the show too. Following Seattle (10/08-1/09) the show travels to the Heard Museum, Phoenix (2/09-6/09), then to the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria BC (10/09-2/10) during the Winter Olympics.

Associated Products

S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists (Exhibition)
Title: S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists
Curator: Barbara Brotherton
Abstract: On view at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) from October 23, 2008 to January 11, 2009, S’abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists was the first ever major traveling exhibition of Coast Salish art. The exhibition engaged 81,387 visitors in a meaningful dialogue about Salish art and culture through a comprehensive exhibition of over 180 objects drawn from fifty museum and private Native collections, some never before exhibited, supplemented with innovative media displays.
Year: 2008
Primary URL: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/interactives/sabadeb/flash/index.html
Primary URL Description: Exhibition website that explores the 5 main themes of the exhibition.

S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists (Book)
Title: S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists
Author: Barbara Brotherton
Abstract: S'abadeb - The Gifts captures the essence of Coast Salish culture through its artistry, oral traditions, and history. Developed in conjunction with the first extensive exhibition of the art and culture of the Coast Salish peoples of Washington State and British Columbia, the book traces the development of Salish art from prehistory to the present. Sculpture in wood, stone, and bone - including monumental house posts - as well as expertly crafted basketry, woven regalia, and works in glass, print media, and painting showcase a sweeping artistic tradition and its contemporary vibrant manifestations. S'abadeb is the Lushootseed term for 'gifts' and invokes a principle at the heart of Salish sculpture: reciprocity, in both the public and spiritual domains. This richly symbolic word expresses the importance of giving gifts at potlatches, of giving thanks during first food ceremonies, of the creativity bestowed upon artists and other leaders, and of the roles of the master artists, oral historians, and cultural leaders in passing vital cultural information to the next generations. The theme of s'abadeb and practices of reciprocal exchange in Salish society are illuminated here through the intersection of art with ceremony, oral traditions, the land, and contemporary realities.
Year: 2008
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/sabadeb-the-gifts-pacific-coast-salish-art-and-artists/oclc/225872625&referer=brief_results
Publisher: University of Washington Press, Seattle
ISBN: 0295988630

Prizes

Washington State Book Award
Date: 10/14/2009
Organization: Washington Center for the Book
Abstract: The book published in conjunction with S'abadeb - The Gifts was awarded the 2009 Washington State Book Award for general nonfiction. Sponsored by the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library, the awards go to outstanding Washington authors.

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