S2E23: Allison Bremner (Tlingit)

Allison Bremner (Tlingit, '23 Cultural Capital Fellow) recounts the pivotal moments that led her to embrace her cultural heritage through art, like the sparks that flew at the Celebration dance festival in Juneau. Her words paint vivid pictures of her artistic evolution, from the early days of form line painting to her deeply respected mentorships. Allison candidly discusses the balancing act of a self-employed artist, from the thrill of commercial success to the profound duty of crafting traditional pieces for cultural ceremonies. She opens up about the support system that's crucial not just to survive but to thrive in this space, weaving a narrative that affirms the significance of community in an artist's life.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The myth of the starving artist isn't something
that I would want any artist,let alone our people, to strive
for.
I would love it if artists feltgood about making money and if
they didn't find ways to giveback to their community so that
they can be successful doingwhat they love.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
First Peoples Fund presents the Collective Spirit
Podcast.
The Collective Spirit moveseach of us to stand up and make
a difference, to pass onancestral knowledge and simply
extend a hand of generosity.
The Collective Spirit podcastfeatures Native artists and
culture bearers who discuss thepower of Indigenous art and

(00:57):
culture.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
My name is Allison Bremner.
I am a multidisciplinaryTlingit artist with a focus on
painting, and I'm from Yakutat,alaska, currently based in
Washington state.
So it was in, I believe, 2010,.
I attended a biennial dancefestival in Juneau, alaska,

(01:20):
called Celebration, and it'sjust this incredible gathering
where Native people from allover Southeast Alaska come
together to dance, you know, andobviously to reconnect.
But it was my first time toCelebration in a while.
I had gone when I was a babyand a kid, but it was really my

(01:43):
first time back as an adult andseeing our art come to life
through dance, through regalia,through these massive masks.
It completely changed my worldSeeing our art come to life like
that and I knew immediatelythat I had to be an artist.
That very same day, I went tothe local mall and I bought a

(02:06):
little canvas and I did my firstform line painting, which is
our traditional system oftwo-dimensional design.
I did my first form linepainting of a sun and, looking
back, the technical aspect ofthe form line I did was terrible
because I had no training, butI'm still really proud of the

(02:26):
feeling behind it.
After that initial experiencewhere I knew I wanted to be an
artist, I didn't know where togo from there, so I went the
traditional art school route andI spent a year at Emily Carr in
Vancouver, bc, and I reallyloved it.

(02:48):
I have nothing but great thingsto say about the support that
they give Indigenous studentsthere.
But I had one non-Indigenousprofessor tell me that this is
the direction that Native art isgoing.
This is where Native art willbe in the future, and it didn't

(03:09):
sit well with me, and so thatwas a sign that I needed to find
a more traditional for lack ofa better word traditional route
of education, and I also wantedto learn our traditional arts
like form, line and carving, andthat's not something I was
going to be able to learn at auniversity at that time, and I

(03:32):
had the very good fortune fromthere of being able to work with
David Albert Boxley and DavidRobert.
I have two sides to my practice.
I have the commercial side, andthat's the work that pays the
bills and I put in galleries tosell and it's a little bit more

(03:56):
contemporary.
It's a little more humorous,definite use of what could be
considered contemporary colors,and I do collage and mixed media
things.
And then I have the traditionalside of my practice that the
commercial side kind of fundswhere the traditional side are

(04:20):
pieces that I don't put onsocial media.
I don't put on my websitebecause they are for traditional
, ceremonial or cultural useSomeone's regalia for dancing or
something that a clan hascommissioned for a potlatch or
something for another clan toown and I don't post them
because I don't feel likeownership of those pieces.

(04:42):
It's just an honor to be ableto help with that visual
expression of the culture.
I think the reception has beengood because I balance it with
the traditional side.
So I might be out making apaddle with Burt Reynolds lying
on a bearskin rug to sell, butthen when I go home I'm doing

(05:06):
other projects for the clansthere and I think that balances
things out.
Yes, I'll be really real and sayfinances as a self-employed
artist can be pretty difficult.
I really paid my dues anddidn't make very much like the
first 10 years that I wasself-employed.

(05:27):
Very much like the first 10years that I was self-employed
and the timing worked out wellbecause I was single and didn't
have kids at the time so I couldlive that lifestyle where I was
just immersed in the art andlearning and trying to build a
career.
I will say that the myth of thestarving artist isn't something
that I would want any artist,let alone our people, to strive

(05:50):
for.
I would love it if artists feltgood about making money and if
they didn't find ways to giveback to their community so that
they can be successful doingwhat they love.
So something that helped me wasfinding peers in my art form

(06:12):
who were very open and willingto talk about money and to give
advice, and someone where Icould ask hey, I have this
upcoming project, what do youthink about what they're
proposing to pay me?
And my friend would come backand say well, you should be
asking for this and this.
And I'm still working onthinking of myself as someone

(06:37):
who can make money.
So finances, taxes those wouldbe the main things.
First People's Fund is, I feel,like one of the few big national
organizations who are givinggrants to artists to do what we

(07:00):
love and help the community.
So, starting out, I've alwayshad First Peoples Fund on my
list of places I wanted to workwith, and so it was really neat
to get to do the project that Idid get to do with First Peoples
Fund yes, I'm so excited totalk about it.
So, as I mentioned earlier, I'mfrom Yakutat, alaska, which is

(07:25):
about population 500.
There is one school and youcan't drive in, you have to fly
in or take a ferry and it's thenorthernmost Tlingit village-5
students and do a 16 by 4 formline mural.

(07:46):
And just a side note, I found,with applying for grant
applications, the ones that I'mmost passionate about when I'm

(08:11):
like this is my dream project.
I want to do a mural in my homevillage with the kids and share
the art.
It's not a project for a museumor a prestigious show, but the
ones that I'm most passionateabout tend to be the grants I
tend to get.
I just got back from Yakutat andwe did 10 days and it was just

(08:35):
a dream.
I had the K-5 students and allthe teachers gave me a set
schedule where I got to have acertain block of kids for a
certain amount of time.
I pieced the mural up into ageand skill levels, so the
kindergartners helped me paintthe whole base white for the
mural and then the older kidscame in and helped with the more

(08:57):
intricate parts of the formline and then the second and
third graders came in and didthe medium chunks of painting.
But it was such a joy becausethat was my goal as an artist
when I started was to go out,learn the art and then come back
and share it.
The mural ended up beinginstead of 16 by 4, just for the

(09:18):
space that they had, we endedup changing it to 8 by 8.
And I'm so excited they'reworking right now to get it up
on the wall.
On the last day we had all thekids come in and sign their name
on the back.
We had eight Sharpies going.
It was really fun and just sucha treat.
So thank you so much to FirstPeoples Fund for making it

(09:39):
happen.
Maybe to folks who are thinkingabout applying for a fellowship
, definitely do it.
I would say, if you don't getchosen on the first round, to
try again, just keep going andkeep pushing.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
And when you do get it, it's all worth.
It is to honor and supportIndigenous artists and culture
bearers through grant-makinginitiatives, culturally rooted
programming, and training andmentorship.
Learn more atfirstpeoplesfundorg.