CGCC Welcomes Heard Museum Curator to Pecos Campus

Interested in learning more about Native American history in Arizona? Join CGCC and Marcus Monenerkit of the Heard Museum on Monday, October 23 in the Agave Room at the Pecos Campus for an intimate look at Native American heritage and culture. Marcus is the Director of Community Engagement for the Heard Museum and an expert in Native American art and history. Some of the exhibits he has curated for the Heard Museum include: Beautiful Games: American Indian Sport and Art, American Indian Codetalkers, N. Scott Momaday: Poems and Paintings, Stars and Stripes in Native American Art, and Sole Stories: American Indian Footwear.

Marcus will available for the following timeslots on October 23:

Session 1: 8:30 - 9:45 a.m.

Session 2: 10:00 - 11:15 a.m.

Session 3: 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Session 1 & 3: Managing Change- American Indian Sport Exhibition.

Examine the educational benefits of creating museum sport exhibitions.

This session will take participants through a catalog of exhibition photos and anecdotes connected to the Heard Museum’s exhibition: Beautiful Games: American Indian Sport and Art. The story is guided by 15 years of research focused on the goals of exhibition pedagogy, art education, and alternative models for resource stewardship.

Session 2: Natural Collaboration- Why, Who, and How.

Participatory session that seeks answers to questions about the best practices for meaningful and purposeful collaboration. Session examines Native

Pragmatism. Introduced by Scott Pratt, U of Oregon. Native Pragmatism is a look at the origins of the most American philosophy and the American Indian connection to its framework of community, interaction, pluralism, and growth.

About Marcus Monenerkit

Marcus has worked in the museum field for 19 years. His career began at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution. He has been at the Heard Museum since 1998. Presently, he is the Director of Community Engagement for the Heard Museum. His formal education includes a Bachelor degree in Anthropology from Wichita State University, and a Master of Nonprofit Studies from Arizona State University. His goals are to continue to strive for knowledge using a multidisciplinary approach, and define the importance of art to both sociological theory and practice.

What is the Heard Museum?

Heard Museum – Incorporated in 1929, the museum’s mission is to be the world’s preeminent museum for the presentation, interpretation and advancement of American Indian art, emphasizing its intersection with broader artistic and cultural themes.

Since its founding in 1929, the Heard Museum has grown in size and stature to become recognized internationally for the quality of its collections, world-class exhibitions, educational programming and its Dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art, the Heard presents stories of American Indian people from a community perspective, as well as exhibitions that showcase the individual work and beauty of traditional and contemporary art.

The Heard Museum sets the standard for collaborating with American Indian artists and tribal communities to provide visitors with a distinctive perspective about the art of Native people, especially those from the Southwest.

Empty Bowls Fundraiser Fights Hunger One Bowl at a Time: Event Benefits Thousands of Local Families in Need

Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) has teamed up with the Chandler Christian Community Center (CCCC) to fight hunger and raise money for families in need through its Empty Bowls Service-Learning fundraiser event. The event will be held Tuesday, October 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. inside the Student Pavilion at the Pecos Campus.

Attendees can purchase their own hand-crafted ceramic bowls designed by CGCC Ceramics student artists for $10, and enjoy a cup of soup donated by Dilly's Deli, Liberty Market and Whole Foods. All proceeds benefit the CCCC to feed those in the community who might otherwise go without food.  

"We are grateful for the opportunity to support Empty Bowls for CCCC through service-learning. It is a unique opportunity for Ceramics students to apply what they are learning in their courses to meet needs in the community," said Alexandra Cannell, Service-Learning Coordinator at CGCC."

Empty Bowls at CGCC is part of a district wide fundraiser that raises funds for families in support of World Food Day (October 16), a day of action for people around the world to come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger. Empty Bowls raises thousands of dollars annually for local charities. Last year's event raised over $4,000 for the CCCC.

For more information contact Service-Learning at 480-732-7069 or by email at alex.cannell@cgc.edu. 

New ceramics mural depicts principles of art and design

Four of 13 panels of the new ceramics mural
depict light, texture, line and space.

All good art embodies at least one, though you may not recognize it right away.

The principles and elements of design are taught in all art classes and are the focus of a new mural installed at the Chandler-Gilbert Community College’s (CGCC) Pecos Campus in April.

Created by ceramics lab technician Sam Hodges through a grant funded by the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction, the 13 panels of the mural represent the six principles (balance, proportion, repetition, rhythm, emphasis and variety) and seven elements  of design (space, form, time, color, light, texture and line). Each panel measures 2 feet by 4 feet, and provide a practical demonstration of how the elements and principles are utilized in art.

The mural was installed on the north exterior wall of the ceramics studio facing the Environmental Technology Center, a location chosen by the artist.  “It was important to place the mural in a location that was easily accessible by art students, so they could be used as a reference or to open a dialogue,” said Hodges.

Hodges started as an art student at Mesa Community College (MCC) and was chosen along with two other students by her instructor Linda Speranza to do an 38' x 17' mural for that college. The project opened a doorway to a career in public art.  She also began working at CGCC.

In 2010, Hodges conceived and proposed the creation of a mural demonstrating the principles of design for MCC, which was approved and installed on the art building. As staff at CGCC, she saw a need to have a similar mural at the Pecos Campus and widened the scope to include the elements of design as well.

Though the grant, which included the addition of the elements of design being added to the original six principles at the MCC campus, was approved, the funding was less than requested. The donation of all of the glazes by Amaco as well as the donation of all the clay saved approximately $3,500. David Andersen also charged a much lower fee to install the murals.

“The murals are representative of a circle of support for public art,” said Hodges. “I was given the opportunity as a student to become a public artist, which led me to propose and create art that is funded by the public and supported with corporate donations and allows me to engage other students in the production of public art.  It’s very rewarding.”