Oconaluftee
Institute for
Cultural Arts
students Darrin
Bark, left,
and Rose Long,
assemble an
easel in the
gallery space
of the new OICA
Center. An Open
House for the
new facility,
located at 70
Bingo Loop,
is planned for
May.
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In less than two years the
Oconaluftee Institute for
Cultural Arts has outgrown
its space at Southwestern
Community College’s
Cherokee Center and moved
to newly renovated studios.
The former Vocational Opportunities
of Cherokee warehouse and
store has been transformed
into four working studios,
a gallery, conference room,
computer lab and staff offices.
“We were using two very
small classrooms at the SCC
Cherokee Center,” said
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian
member Luzene Hill, OICA program
associate. “We now have
a beautiful gallery for displaying
the students’ work,
plus four large studios. There
is plenty of room for the
students to work during class
and a place for them to work
on projects outside of class,”
said Hill, who has exhibited
at Indian Market in Santa
Fe, New Mexico.
Some of the students'
comments on seeing the new
facility for the first time
were, "I didn't know
it was going to be so nice"
and "I can't believe
it's so big.”
“I sense that the
students feel they finally
have their own space, designed
for them, created especially
for making and displaying
their work” said Hill,
a nationally-regarded installation
artist.
The vision of the late
Principal Chief Leon Jones
to establish a university
for the Cherokee people
is now closer to realization,
according to Hill. Through
a partnership with Southwestern
Community College, which
provides the instruction
and accreditation, and the
Eastern Band of Cherokee,
which provides the funding,
students can earn an associate’s
degree in fine arts.
They study both traditional
Cherokee art and foundations
for contemporary interpretation,
Hill said.
Students who graduate
from the OICA program can
transfer, through an articulation
agreement, to WCU as juniors
and pursue a bachelor of
fine arts degree. Or they
may transfer to any other
public university in the
state with up to 65 hours
of credit. OICA is the only
Native American Institution
of higher education east
of the Mississippi River
dedicated to Native American
arts.
“Not only are we
expanding in space but we
are expanding in recognition,
too,” said Hill. “OICA
is featured in the Charles
Dana Foundation Newsletter
and the National Indian
Education Association web
newsletter.”
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