Maakon Yomi: Our Homelands of the Coast Miwok Art Exhibit and Indigenous Festival

Maakon Yomi: Our Homelands of the Coast Miwok Art Exhibit and Indigenous Festival

Opening Reception & Festival
* Sunday, October 6, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Exhibition Dates:
* October 6, 2024 – January 23, 2025

On view at the Bartolini Gallery from October 6, 2024-January 23, 2025, this exhibit will feature artworks by contemporary Indigenous artists including Gloria Armstrong, Joseph Byron, Henry Frank, Silver Galleto, Nicole Jones, Meyo Marrufo, Robin Meely, Michelle Napoli, Nancy Napolitan, Jacquelyn Ross, Yana Ross, Kathleen Smith, Eric Wilder, and more largely from the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribes located in Marin County and the border of southern Sonoma County.

The exhibit will include paintings, beadwork, clothing, baskets, and more.

The Marin County Civic Center lies within the ancestral and contemporary territorial landscape of the Coast Miwok indigenous people, which encompasses all of Marin County. The diverse landscape of Marin County allowed the Coast Miwok to practice a subsistence living based on hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Prior to the historic development of the site, the Civic Center was located along the edges of a marshland that surrounded the mouth of Gallinas Creek, making it a resource-rich area with relatively easy access to the marsh, the creek, and San Pablo Bay as well as resources from the nearby hills and valleys.

Exhibit curator Meyo Marrufo is Eastern Pomo. While her tribe is from Robinson Rancheria, she has lived and learned from other California tribes, including Yurok, Hupa, Maidu, and Miwok territories. Marrufo has learned from many gifted artists over the years, focusing on cultural arts, regalia making, and traditional foods and cooking techniques.

She teaches classes in Northern California in these methods, focused on continuing this knowledge and renewing it for future generations. Her digital artwork shows examples of basket patterns, traditional dancing, and Pomo life, and is shown throughout California.

On October 6 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, we will host a free all-day festival to celebrate the opening of the exhibit with a panel discussion with the artists, native dance performances, basket weaving demonstrations, traditional food demonstration featuring Nupa (Acorn Soup), artisan vendors, crafts, and more.

Maakon Yomi: Our Homelands of the Coast Miwok is made possible through funds from the County of Marin’s Office of Equity.