Peninsula College is excited to welcome back sculptor and Cherokee Nation citizen, Karen Sixkiller, for her solo art exhibit, Cancer Sticks: Corruption of Sacred Tobacco, which sparks conversation and challenges perspectives. Sixkiller's latest exhibit will be open to the public at ʔaʔkʷustəŋáw̕txʷ House of Learning, Peninsula College Longhouse, on Tuesdays through Thursdays from 12:00–3:00 pm, January 7 – June 19, 2025.
Sixkiller's award winning ‘Cancer Sticks'; feature eight beaded trompe-l'œil cigarettes each in their own ceramic ashtray and the 'Un-American Spirit' beaded necklace as well as new sculptural work in beads, bronze, and ceramic. Sixkiller's meticulous artistry offers a unique Native perspective on the use and abuse of tobacco.
Karen Sixkiller is a contemporary Cherokee Nation sculptor and Washington native residing on the Olympic Peninsula. Her experiences and influences working in public health and K-8 education have coalesced in her passion for teaching new perspectives through art. She has a permanent public art installation in Tahlequah, OK and currently several temporary installations in Olympia, WA and Lake Oswego, OR. Her work has been featured at multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous art shows.
For more information or to schedule a gallery tour, please contact ʔaʔkʷustəŋáw̕txʷ House of Learning, Peninsula College Longhouse at longhouse@pencol.edu or call (360) 417-7992.