Ribbons in First American art at Exhibit C Gallery in OKC
Exhibit C Gallery presents “Tied to Memory: Ribbons as Art, Adornment and Identity,” an exhibition exploring the quiet, but profound role ribbons play in First American art, culture and personal storytelling. The exhibition will be on display through June 29, 2026.
From ribbon skirts and traditional garments to contemporary paintings and mixed-media works, the exhibition reveals how ribbons serve as more than decoration. They are symbols of identity, resilience, memory and cultural continuity.
Featuring work from ten First American artists representing multiple tribal Nations, “Tied to Memory” highlights how ribbons appear across generations and mediums — stitched into regalia, layered into textiles and painted into visual narratives that reflect both ancestral knowledge and present-day life.
Participating artists include Emma Alcazar (Chickasaw), Amber Duboise-Shepherd (Navajo), Elaine Emmons (Cherokee), Melissa Freeman (Choctaw), Kristin Gentry (Choctaw), Jessica Harjo (Otoe-Missouria), Jennifer Hicks (Chickasaw), Natalie Miller (Chickasaw), Traci Renbarger (Chickasaw) and Renelle White Buffalo (Lakota, Rosebud Sioux).
Each artist brings a distinct voice and cultural perspective. Textile artists transform ribbon into wearable expressions of heritage and ceremony, while painters and mixed-media artists depict ribbon skirts and regalia as visual symbols of strength, womanhood and belonging. Across the exhibition, ribbons appear as threads connecting family stories, tribal identity, language and the land.
Emma Alcazar is a contemporary Chickasaw textile and quilt artist who uses textile art to merge contemporary quilting with traditional Southeastern imagery and Chickasaw language, creating deeply personal and culturally rooted visual narratives.
“In my work, I play with texture, color and language,” said Alcazar. “I’m inspired by spending time in nature and re-imagining traditional shapes and motifs into fabric to communicate my emotions.”
Jessica Harjo is a contemporary First American artist and designer of Otoe-Missouria and Muscogee (Creek) heritage whose work centers on cultural identity, family lineage and the revitalization of traditional Southeastern and Plains aesthetics through modern mediums.
“As an interdisciplinary artist and designer, my work explores new relationships between the digital and traditional art worlds,” said Harjo. “My work displays intersections of traditional ribbonwork, florals, appliqué, elements of nature and other harmonious and symmetric forms mixed with atmospheric color palettes. “
Jennifer Hicks is a Chickasaw painter who, through bold color and portrait-driven imagery, creates contemporary visual stories rooted in Chickasaw heritage and community.
“I generally classify my art as ‘slow art’ due to the time invested in each piece,” said Hicks. “The slow process is important as it allows time for reflection on the history and meaning of the painting and how to best communicate and make art that others will connect with.”
Several works explore deeply personal themes. Some garments are created to honor loved ones, while others celebrate community, survival and cultural renewal. In paintings and textiles alike, ribbons become visual reminders that tradition is not static — it is lived, worn and reimagined every day.
Elaine Emmons is a Cherokee Nation textile artist whose work centers on wearable art rooted in cultural tradition, especially ribbon skirts, dresses and embellished garments that reflect First American identity and symbolism.
Melissa Freeman is a Chickasaw and Choctaw textile artist known for creating traditional clothing and regalia, especially handcrafted dresses that blend cultural symbolism with contemporary design. She describes her work as “conceptual tribal regalia used to represent my cultural past and life experiences in stories told through fabric and thread.”
Freeman uses her art “to bring attention to all that the women of our tribes have done throughout our history.”
Kristin Gentry is passionate about using her art to create different ways to preserve her traditional Southeastern tribal culture of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. A major focus of Gentry’s art is cultural preservation and reclamation. She has described using art to reconnect with her Choctaw identity and to teach others about her culture.
“This exhibition invites visitors to look beyond the surface and consider the meaning carried in color, fabric and form,” said Alexandra Bivens, tourism arts manager for the Chickasaw Nation and exhibition curator. “Together, the artists present ribbons not simply as adornment, but as powerful expressions of identity, resilience and the stories that bind generations together.”
“Tied to Memory” reveals how something as simple as ribbon becomes a powerful thread connecting identity, culture and story across First American communities and generations.
Exhibit C Gallery is open Wednesday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on Exhibit C Gallery, visit ExhibitCGallery.com.
About Exhibit C Gallery
Exhibit C Gallery, Oklahoma City’s premier First American fine art gallery, is a 10,000-square-foot gallery space in the Horizons District of Oklahoma City. Proudly owned by the Chickasaw Nation, Exhibit C Gallery showcases a variety of fine art mediums by First American artists enrolled with a federally recognized tribe. Exhibit C strives to generate awareness and offer exposure for First American artists through fine art sales and superior customer service.
