-
Image and publication design by Phil Kovacevich
History
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA) is located on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in the foothills of Oregon’s Blue Mountains. Crow’s Shadow is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization formed in 1992 by local artists James Lavadour (Walla Walla) and Phillip Cash Cash (Cayuse and Nez Perce). CSIA's mission is to provide a creative conduit for educational, social, and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development.
Over the last 30 years Crow’s Shadow has evolved into a nationally renowned studio focused on contemporary fine art printmaking. From 2001-2017 Frank Janzen was CSIA’s Master Printer. Under his tenure, Crow’s Shadow increased its focus on artist residencies and the publication and marketing of prints. In 2017, Judith Baumann joined Crow’s Shadow as the new Master Printer.
In addition to our printmaking studio, Crow's Shadow also hosts an Indigenous arts program to support people of all ages and experiences to develop their voice and skills as artists. Under the leadership of our Traditional Arts Manager workshops have covered such art forms as basket weaving, cornhusk weaving, star pillow quilting, ribbon skirts, beadwork, and horse regalia. Classes are taught by artists from CTUIR and beyond who want to transmit their knowledge to keep these vibrant and valuable traditional techniques alive and practiced. We also host printmaking and traditional arts workshops for youth, including students at Nixya'awii Community School.
In 2017, CSIA celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the organization’s founding with an exhibition curated by Dr. Rebecca Dobkins (Willamette University and Hallie Ford Museum of Art) and an accompanying publication. That year, CSIA also won the Oregon Governor’s Arts Award.
Crow’s Shadow prints have been exhibited in and collected by prominent cultural institutions, including the Whitney Museum and Biennial, Museum of Modern Art - New York, the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art and the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Portland Art Museum. Crow's Shadow was also profiled in a 2019 feature in the New York Times.
-
Impact Report
In 2022, we published our 30th Anniversary Report. Between 2017 and 2023, we editioned and signed 1,365 prints, 220 people participated in Indigenous Arts workshops, and 28 Nixya’awii students sold prints to the public.
We generated $340,000+ of income for artists through print sales and were part of 24 prominent exhibitions, including the Whitney Biennial (NY). 52 of our prints have been collected by the Library of Congress, 120 by the The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, and over 150 by other institutions and museums including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian.
As we look back on our accomplishments, we are honored to share this report with you and eager to plan Crow's Shadow's future with our community.
-
Permanent Collection
Crow’s Shadow has grown in both art world stature and programmatic vision, expanding its locally based, service-oriented mission to its current iteration, national in scope. The print studio hosts three to six artists annually for two-week residencies. Each artist works with Master Printer Judith Baumann to produce a lithographic edition or a series of monoprints or monotypes. While marketing these works, Crow’s Shadow retains one example from each edition or series for its permanent collection of over two hundred prints by more than sixty artists-in-residence.
Since 2006, Willamette University’s Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon, has presented biennial exhibitions of prints from Crow’s Shadow. In 2010, the museum established a comprehensive, permanent archive of Crow’s Shadow’s prints. This partnership with the Hallie Ford facilitates scholarly access to the collection both through its online collections and the works on display in the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Gallery. The permanent collection of works housed at Crow’s Shadow are often loaned to various cultural and educational institutions. (Please contact us for lending arrangements and availability.)
-
People
Meet the dedicated Staff and Board of Crow's Shadow. -
Staff
-
Board of Directors
-
Team
Phillip Cash Cash
Executive Committee MemberPhillip Cash Cash (Cayuse, Nez Perce) was integral to the founding of Crow's Shadow in 1992, and is a scholar, artist, and performer.
-
Team
James Lavadour
James “Jim” Lavadour (Walla Walla) grew up in the foothills of the Blue Mountains on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon, and is a Co-Founder of Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts.
-
Team
Michael Holloman
Board ChairMichael Holloman is a registered member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation, and associate professor in Fine Arts at Washington State University
-
Team
Kris Anderson
Vice ChairKris Anderson is the principal of Kris Anderson Consulting, a nonprofit and philanthropic consultancy that seeks to build nonprofit impact and sustainability.
-
Team
Prudence Roberts
Executive Committee MemberPrudence Roberts was a Professor of Art History and the Director of the Helzer Art Gallery at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus and one of the original board members of Crow’s Shadow.
-
Team
Alison Mowday Gold
Executive Committee MemberAlison Mowday Gold is an avid art enthusiast and her professional work includes business process optimization, enterprise software implementations and sales and marketing consulting.
-
Team
Leslie Mason
SecretaryLeslie Mason is the Donor Relationship Manager at Willamette Falls Trust, a non-profit elevating Tribal voices and working to create public access at Willamette Falls.
-
Team
Jeremy Red Star Wolf
TreasurerJeremy Red Star Wolf is Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
-
Team
Joe Cantrell
Joe Cantrell is Cherokee, originally from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and has made his home in Oregon for the last 30 years. Among Cantrell’s multiple careers, he has taught at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He is now happily retired and making more artwork than ever.
-
Team
Antone Minthorn
Antone Minthorn (Cayuse) formerly served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) from1997-2001 and from 2003-2009.
-
Team
Gerard Rodriguez
Gerard Rodriguez (Yaqui & Nahuatl) works for Willamette Falls Trust, where he is the Associate Director for Tribal Affairs and Engagement.
-
Team
Patrice Hall Walters
Pat Walters is an original founding Board Member of Crow’s Shadow and has been an integral part of our board since CSIA’s founding in 1992.
-
Team
Mari Tester
Mari Tester is a retired Native executive (Cayuse, Walla Walla, Sioux), with over 33 years of experience in the telecommunications industry.
-
Team
Lisa Watt
Lisa Watt (Seneca) is the Director of the Indigenous Leadership Program at Ecotrust, a Portland-based nonprofit that seeks innovative solutions at the intersection of environmental well-being, economic prosperity, and racial equity. Prior to Ecotrust, Lisa worked in the museum field for over 30 years, the last 18 as an independent consultant. She is a citizen of the Seneca Nation, from the Allegany Reservation in western New York State.
-
-
Image and publication design by Phil Kovacevich
-
Impact Report
In 2022, we published our 30th Anniversary Report. Between 2017 and 2023, we editioned and signed 1,365 prints, 220 people participated in Indigenous Arts workshops, and 28 Nixya’awii students sold prints to the public.
We generated $340,000+ of income for artists through print sales and were part of 24 prominent exhibitions, including the Whitney Biennial (NY). 52 of our prints have been collected by the Library of Congress, 120 by the The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, and over 150 by other institutions and museums including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian.
As we look back on our accomplishments, we are honored to share this report with you and eager to plan Crow's Shadow's future with our community.
-
-
People
Meet the dedicated Staff and Board of Crow's Shadow.