On Thursday, January 15, the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc., in Cherokee, will reopen its newly renovated and enhanced History Gallery in celebration of the cooperative’s 80th anniversary this year. The organization, the oldest Native American cooperative in the US, has been housed at one other site since it opened in 1946.
Photo courtesy of Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc
“This will be a ribbon cutting to present the rejuvenation of the gallery that was built in 1969,” says Taya Houser, an Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI)-enrolled member, textile artist and staff member of Qualla Arts and Crafts. “We’ve had new windows installed, painted cases and brought out additional pieces from our archive.”
The organization operates under the direction of its 350 artist members, all of whom are enrolled in the EBCI and go through a thorough jurying process to become artist members. Applicants submit examples of their work and an artist’s statement and are required to demonstrate their craft before Qualla’s board of directors. Factors that go into the jurying process for both traditional and contemporary crafts include originality, elements of art, design, knowledge, degree of difficulty, marketability and authenticity. If applicants meet the board’s approval, they are then voted on by the full membership.
“This will be a more inclusive view of the many fine arts and crafts created by past and present members,” says Houser. “There will be pieces that are historical, traditional and contemporary.”
Besides the large gallery and retail shop, Qualla Arts and Crafts includes a permanent collection that highlights work by deceased or inactive artists, some of which is on display in the History Gallery along with a timeline that details the cooperative’s history. Among the works found in the shop for sale, as well as in the History Gallery, are paintings, textiles, beaded and metal jewelry, carvings of wood or stone, baskets woven from white oak or rivercane splints, and hand-formed and wood-fired pottery made from locally sourced clay. “This collection highlights the variety of Cherokee talent in art, and these priceless treasures are safely kept so future generations will have a way to learn the older methods used by our people for thousands of years,” says Amanda McCoy, manager of the cooperative.
Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. is located at 645 Tsali Boulevard, in Cherokee. Learn more at QuallaArtsAndCrafts.org.
