Public Art & Community Dialogue Series
Storytelling Circle
with Roger Fernandes, a Fred Hutch Public Art and Community Dialogue artist.
Join us as we introduce our selected Indigenous artist, Roger Fernandes, as part of the Public Art & Community Dialogue Program, sponsored by ODEI.
Fred Hutch employees and the broader community are invited to engage in a storytelling circle that centers solidarity, history, culture and traditions. In this two-way interaction between the listener and the storyteller, we encourage participants to use this time for personal reflection and connection. These stories and reflections will inform our commitment to inclusion, and how we represent that commitment in visual form.
Featuring
Roger Fernandes
I am a Native American artist and storyteller whose work focuses on the art and legends of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. I am an enrolled member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe and I have a B.A. in Native American Studies from The Evergreen State College and a Masters Degree in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University.
I have worked in the field of Native education for over 40 years and use both art and storytelling as basic pathways for Indigenous learning. As such, I do classroom presentations for students and trainings for teachers to utilize their inherent gifts of art and story.
As a storyteller I help the audience see the meaning of storytelling in their modern lives and as an artist I strive to have them use this gift to enhance communication and learning.
About the Public Art & Community Dialogue Program
Led by the Fred Hutch Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, the Public Art and Community Dialogue program provides an opportunity for employees and the broader community to be in dialogue about community solidarity and our pursuit of equity in research and healthcare. This program will foster ongoing dialogues with marginalized and oppressed communities to inform our commitment to inclusion, and how we represent that commitment in visual form.
Selected artists from underrepresented and minoritized communities will develop public art expressions for Fred Hutch banners and flags that will be informed by these dialogues. These images will reflect the themes, emotions, expressions, history, culture, and aspirations of the affinity communities and the commitments of Fred Hutch to deepen our anti-racist and inclusive efforts in scientific excellence.