Although the baskets, ceramics, photographs and other artwork that will be on display inside the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival gallery Thursday afternoon are made by a variety of artists using a variety of crafting techniques, they all share one thing in common.

They are the creations of regional Potawatomi artists.

Thursday is the official unveiling of the new “Life is Art” exhibit, which will feature nearly 30 pieces of Native American art from more than a dozen artists from Michigan and Indiana. The exhibit, which will run through May 22, is the latest event in the One Story project, a yearlong community read organized by various local entities.

“Life is Art” is one of the contributions by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival, two of the central organizers of One Story. While the art exhibit is only loosely related to the novel the project is centered around, Louise Erdrich‘s “The Round House,” it’s intended to promote awareness of modern Potawatomi arts to the greater
community, said organizer and Pokagon artist Jason Wesaw.

“This exhibit is a way for our people and the band to showcase some of the art we are making, and do it in a way so that we can have a dialog with the surrounding community as well,” Wesaw said.

Something that sets his tribe’s work apart from most contemporary art is the fact that most Potawatomi creators incorporate natural materials like clay into their projects, Wesaw said. Artists tend to use these traditional materials in unconventional and unique ways. For example, one artist uses pyrography to burn images into gourds, he said.

“Nothing about our arts and our culture are stagnant,” Wesaw said. “It’s always changing. It’s always evolving. We take our old traditions and push them forward. Hopefully that’s something that other people will see in the art that will
be on display.”

Helping Wesaw with the art exhibit is Dogwood Secretary Bobbie-Jo Hartline. The two have worked together for the last several months to arrange for artists to display their works.

“When you first look at everything in the exhibit, it looks like there’s a wide diversity,” Hartline said. “But the more you look, you can see how closely they are all related.”

Keeping with the theme of One Story, each of the works will have a short description of the artist and the process that went into creating them, Hartline said.

“You can appreciate the visual aspects of each piece from all the way across the room, but when you the read the story behind them they become even more interesting,” she said.

The art will be also be available for purchase, though it won’t be ready for pick-up until after May 22, Hartline said.

The “Life is Art” exhibit unveiling will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dogwood Gallery inside the Huntington Bank Building, at 207 Commercial St. in Dowagiac. Refreshments will also be served to attendees.