Cheyenne Arapaho Artist Edgar Heap of Birds to Give Lecture at
U of M February 10

For release, January 19, 2012
For press information, contact Simone Notter Wilson (901) 678-4164

HOCK E AYE VI Edgar Heap of Birds, Cheyenne Arapaho artist and professor of Native American Studies and fine arts at the University of Oklahoma, will give a lecture entitled "Heads Above Grass, Indigenous Voices of Political Public Art" at the University of Memphis on Friday, February 10 at 6 p.m. in room 250 of the Art & Communication Building, 3715 Central Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Working in visual arts, intervention and performance, Heap of Birds has had a dynamic influence on the development of First Nation contemporary art across North America. One of his first Native Host projects was created for New York's City Hall Park in 1989. In 2007, the National Museum of the American Indian invited Heap of Birds to participate in the Venice Biennale. His project, "Most Serene Republics," was located throughout Venice and honored the warriors who were coerced into performing in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and specifically those who died while the show toured Europe. A frequent lecturer and guest artist, his work has been exhibited and collected extensively worldwide. He has received awards from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), The Rockefeller Foundation, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Heap of Birds earned his MFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and his BFA from The University of Kansas in Lawrence.