The film "Hopi Pottery: Connections Through Time" premiered Nov. 13 at the the Tewa Community Development Center in Polacca, Arizona.
Attendees ranging from children to elders and were welcomed by Larson Goldtooth, who is one of the artists featured in the film and a Council Member for the center. Carrie Heitman provided a brief history of the Mellon grant-funded project and the stages of the work over the last two and a half years.
The documentary follows Hopi artists Karen Charley, Larson Goldtooth, Darlene James, Valerie Kahe, and Emmaline Naha on their trip to New York City to see ancient and historic Hopi pottery collections at the American Museum of Natural History, and back home to First Mesa.
"We showed the film, then had lots of wonderful questions and comments from audience members," Heitman, associate professor of anthropology in the School of Global Integrative Studies, said. "This prompted some great discussion."
The event ended with a poetry reading by Darlene James, another artist featured in the film.
Photo: Artist and project team member Larson Goldtooth welcomes everyone to the film premiere event at the Tewa Community Development Center.
Photo: Karen Charley, artist and Hopi Community Lead for the Hopi (Re)Connections Through Time project, discusses the museum collection visits to the American Museum of Natural History, the process of creating the films and the positive impacts she hopes it will have on Hopi youth.
Photo: Artist and project team member Darlene James recites a poem she wrote about the process of creating Hopi/Tewa pottery.
