Sixteen Native artists from across the Pacific Northwest will show their work in Salem this fall when the Salem Art Association opens its first-ever Indigenous Northwest Biennial at the A.N. Bush Gallery.
The free exhibition runs Sept. 4 through Oct. 25 at the Bush Barn Art Center, 600 Mission St. SE, with an opening reception on Sept. 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Artist introductions begin at 6 p.m.
Curator Steph Littlebird, an enrolled member of Oregon's Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes, organized the show. Littlebird is known for her 2019 exhibition "This IS Kalapuyan Land," which reframed the Washington County Museum's (now Five Oaks Museum) portrayal of Kalapuyan peoples and later moved online through Oregon State University.
"Artists range from traditional weavers and beadworkers to painters, performers, photographers, and assemblage," Littlebird wrote in her curatorial statement on the SAA website.
The roster includes Portland-born theatre maker and visual artist Amber K. Ball, who uses beadwork, multimedia and performance to explore Native stories. Ball, a University of Oregon graduate in theater arts and Native American Studies, has received fellowships from the Oregon Community Foundation, the Creative West Artist Fund and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Indigenous Place Keeping program.
Other exhibiting artists include Don Bailey, Blood Poet, Leland Butler, Doug Burgess, Kitana Connelly, Lee Gavin, Leonard Harmon, April Holder, Anthony Hudson, Nakoosa Jack, Kanani Miyamoto, Chantele Rilatos, Joe Scott, Matthew Earl Williams and Shirod Younker.
Three free public talks accompany the exhibition:
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 1–2 p.m. — Artist talk with Amber K. Ball
- Sunday, Sept. 27, 1–2 p.m. — Curator talk with Steph Littlebird
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 1–2 p.m. — Artist talk with Leland Butler and Leonard Harmon
All talks take place at the A.N. Bush Gallery and are free and open to the public.
In an Aug. 25, 2025, Instagram post, Littlebird described the biennial as "the first of its kind in the country" and said it had received a grant from the Oregon Creative Heights Foundation. SAA's current event pages do not reference the grant.
@artnerdforever: "So proud to share the news that the 2026 Indigenous Northwest Biennial has received a grant from the Oregon Creative Heights Foundation! This Biennial is the first of its kind in the country and will feature some of the Pacific Northwest's most consequential Indigenous creatives."
The biennial overlaps with another SAA milestone: the 77th Salem Art Fair & Festival runs Sept. 11–13 at Bush's Pasture Park, giving residents back-to-back arts programming on the same grounds.
The A.N. Bush Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call (503) 581-2228 or visit salemart.org.
Upcoming community events:
- Sept. 4 — Indigenous Northwest Biennial opening reception, 5:30–7:30 p.m., A.N. Bush Gallery
- Sept. 11–13 — 77th Salem Art Fair & Festival, Bush's Pasture Park
- Sept. 12 — Artist talk with Amber K. Ball, 1–2 p.m., A.N. Bush Gallery
- Sept. 27 — Curator talk with Steph Littlebird, 1–2 p.m., A.N. Bush Gallery
- Oct. 17 — Artist talk with Leland Butler & Leonard Harmon, 1–2 p.m., A.N. Bush Gallery
