Past/Present/Future: The Artistic Legacy of Truman Lowe

media release: Tonia Lowe will introduce you to the life and work of her father and Hoocąk [Ho-Chunk] artist, Truman Lowe. Truman’s artwork is currently the subject of a new retrospective, Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe, at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., on view through January 2027. We invite you to come learn how a Hoocąk kid born at the Indian Mission near Black River Falls, became a celebrated artist, teacher, and relentless champion of Native American Art.

Registration is required.

About the presenter: Tonia Lowe was born and raised in Teejop. Growing up as Truman Lowe’s daughter meant she was often recruited to help peel willow for her dad’s installation sculptures. Inspired by her dad’s work, she studied Art History in college, earning a BA at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MA at University of Colorado Boulder where she wrote her thesis on Edgar Heap of Bird’s public artworks. She has been working in advertising in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 25 years and is now making her way back to the art world.

Each fall, Madison Public Library and Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison welcome a variety of Native artists, storytellers, and community leaders into library spaces for a series of programs celebrating Indigenous people in and beyond Teejop (pronounced day-JOPE, meaning Four Lakes, or Madison). Beginning shortly after Indigenous Peoples' Day (Monday, October 13), Native folks from different nations lead programs highlighting both traditional and contemporary practices, stories, and community relationships.

This year, six presenters representing different Native tribes will lead programs throughout October and November with a focus on Native art, making and handicrafts. Program participants will have the opportunity to try hands-on crafts like beading, collage, and basket-weaving and understand how techniques and approaches vary depending on the tribal traditions guiding them. 

This year, presenters represent the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oglala Sioux, and Oneida nations. Meet the presenters and sign up for programs at https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/partnerships/initiatives/teejop

If you have questions, please contact community@madisonpubliclibrary.org