Description: Join us for a potluck dinner and artist presentation featuring Mill Artist-in-Residence and Hawai'i Triennial 2025 (HT25) artist, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, as she shares about her artistic practice and how listening with the intention of learning—from family, community, and nature—about time-honored traditions and practices has enabled her to examine her identity and connections between Indigenous cultures, Western culture and the environment.
"I'm inspired by the relationship of our ancestors to their environment—how they used skin, fur and membrane in material culture. The subjects of my work are patterns of history, family, and culture. Through the use of synthetic, organic, traditional and modern materials and techniques I build upon the traditions of my people, the Inupiaq and Athabascan. Personal and cultural symbolism forms the imagery. Symbols speak to history, culture, family, and the life of our people; they also speak about abuse, marginalization and the struggles of indigenous people.
I live in a modern world but still depend on the cultural traditions and values of our people, respect of land, animals, sea and each other. I strive to create works that address these issues.” - Sonya Kelliher-Combs
Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq and Athabascan) is a mixed-media artist whose family hails from the Alaska North Slope community of Utqiagvik and the interior village of Nulato. Her family, culture, and relationship to the land influence all aspects of her work. Growing up in a rural community, she observed and practiced time-honored traditional women’s and collective labor, including skin sewing, beading, and food preparation. These experiences taught her to appreciate the intimacy of intergenerational knowledge and material histories, which deeply inform the materiality, symbolism, and structure of her artistic practice.
Save Your Seat: Registration is recommend for this event. We will have a potluck dinner, please bring a dish or drink to share.
Take a Workshop with Sonia: Save your spot in the Creative Outlet: Portable Secrets Workshop with Sonya Kelliher-Combs on Thursday, March 20 from 5:30 - 8:30pm.
This program is free to the public and is made possible by the Hawaii Triennial 2025, Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation.
More information about HT25 can be found at hawaiicontemporary.org and in the HT25 Guidebook.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Exhibition on View: March 22 - June 28
- Potluck Lunch and Artist Talk with Citra Sasmita Thursday, March 20 from 12:30 - 2:00pm
- Creative Outlet: Portable Secrets Workshop with Sonya Kelliher-Combs: Thursday, March 20 from 5:30 - 8:30pm
- Opening Reception: Saturday, March 22 from 5:00 - 8:00pm
About Our Programs: As a place of convergence, the Mill serves as both a community and a physical place–celebrating the power of the arts, bringing people, ideas and perspectives together. We are proud to offer adult and youth programs that focus on awareness of one’s individuality in the contexts of family, community and the natural world. Our exhibitions provide a space to reflect, share perspectives and grow as a community. Our classes & workshops are designed to inspire creativity, foster connections, and provide enriching experiences for all participants. We invite you to join us in the studio.
