O'odham artistry

TOPAWA, Ariz. —

Whenever Allison Francisco walks into the cozy gallery housing a collection of contemporary work by O'odham artists, the young arts coordinator is filled with a sense of affection and awe.

"It's going to sound corny, but I feel very safe. I feel at home," said Francisco, 33, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, who helped organize the current modern art exhibit at the Tohono O'odham Nation Cultural Center & Museum, which opened in mid-June.

"I'm amazed at how well everything looks," said Francisco, who works as a liaison between tribal artists and the museum. "It feels like this is a place where I can get away from everyone and be close to everyone. It's hard to say or express in English, but that's what it feels like."

The exhibit, "O'odham Brown — What It Means to Me," will continue until February. The museum chose the theme to allow tribal members to create art around the name O'odham, which translates to "Desert People," Francisco said.

Francisco, a painter who interprets her dreams and uses them as the basis for her work, helps find other O'odham artists and helps the museum with setting up shows and exhibits.

Part of Francisco's job also means offering support to tribal artists, such as directing them to the museum's on-site studios where they can work on their craft, or informing them about upcoming programs and classes.

"But it's mostly about getting them more exposure," she said.

And with the tribe's new 38,000-square-foot cultural center and museum, finding a place to display the work of the O'odham artists just got easier.

Most of the museum's permanent exhibits feature historic ethnographic pieces — glass cases displaying collections of grass baskets, carved figurines and ancient pottery.

In the "O'odham Brown" exhibit, there is a collection of modern works — abstract paintings, digital photos and contemporary baskets — by artists Monica Chana, Cody Chavez, Jamie Encinas, Shamie Encinas, Keith Norris, Louann Shannon and Delia Velasco.

Their pieces are on display in the Changing Gallery, an 800-square-foot room that has a circular wooden floor at its center. The room has movable, curved walls that can be angled to form a separate, circular room inside the gallery or can be left at various angles for displays.

"The round part is where things are always changing," said Francisco, while walking past an abstract painting depicting a young O'odham's tongue emblazoned with a tattoo of the Man in the Maze design.

"But on the outside is where things stay the same, like your culture and your history," she said. "If you leave the walls at a certain angle, you can still see those traditional pieces. It's like having a link to your past."

Francisco, who credits her artistic background to her potter grandmother and woodcarver grandfather, grew up in the small community of Sells, the tribal capital of the O'odham Reservation. But Francisco's roots are found elsewhere.

Her father grew up near Fresnal Canyon on the reservation, while her mother grew up across the U.S.-Mexico border, where part of the O'odham Reservation extends.

"In English, it's called Green Wells. In Spanish, it's called Pozo Verde, and in O'odham, it's called Cedagi Wahia," Francisco said. "That's where we come from."

After high school, Francisco was accepted to the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M.

But after having a baby, she left the school in 1995 and returned to the reservation to raise her son.

When he turned 10, Francisco applied for a job with the tribe, which was starting to plan for the new museum, and landed an internship with the Tucson Museum of Art.

"We learned as much from her as she did from us," said Susan Dolan, collections manager and registrar for the TMA. "She has a lot of reverence for her family and ancestors. She has this great sense of joy and this wonderful laugh that lights up the world around her."

Now Francisco is back on track toward pursuing her goal of becoming an arts curator.

"From what I understand, the standards for the center are so high . . . but Allison has what it takes to get her degree and work for the community," Dolan said.

Francisco plans to take advantage of training opportunities and most likely will head back to college.

But not before starting and gathering a network of O'odham artists, she said.

The museum is starting a registry of tribal artists to track their work and so far has signed up 77 O'odham members.

Francisco would like to add more writers, poets, musicians, dancers, actors and performance artists for future shows.

"Most (O'odham) artists don't know one another," Francisco said. "We need to bring them together. We're at a good start, but it's only the beginning. We're just now starting to see the tip of some amazing ideas."

"It's coming together," said Shamie Encinas, 27, a painter whose twin sister, Jamie Encinas, also has paintings in the "O'odham Brown" exhibit. "I'm blown away by what's happening. Allison has the potential to bring everyone together. She's putting herself out there for the artists and people."

Check out www.azstarnet.com/ accent for more images from the Tohono O'odham Nation Cultural Center & Museum's current show.

If you go

• What: The Tohono O'odham Nation Cultural Center & Museum.

• Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays- Saturdays.

• Admission: Free.

• Where: The cultural center and museum is in Topawa, a community 10 miles south of Sells on Fresnal Canyon Road. Sells is 60 miles southwest of Tucson.

• Information: 1-520-383-0201.