Artwork copyright Joe Feddersen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Joe Feddersen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Joe Feddersen. Exhibition view of "Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky" at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, Fall 2024. Photo courtesy of Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, by Dean Davis, Davis Photography, Inc., 2024.

Elk at Canoe Race, 2018

Joe Feddersen
American Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (born 1953)

Location: Capitol Campus Child Care Center - Maple Park, Olympia

About the Artwork

Elk at Canoe Race by Joe Feddersen (Okanagan and Arrow Lakes) shows elements of Northwest Native American life that are both current and ancient. Feddersen's art often addresses the complex relationships of Native people with the environment and with their ancient and modern traditions and ways of life. He uses traditional petroglyph forms to represents what he calls their “hybrid culture”. The petroglyphs, spray paint, and layered imagery of this monoprint also have similarities to street art and graffiti. This artwork is part of a curated collection by Renee Adams for the Maple Park Capitol Campus Child Care Center in Olympia. The art selection committee wanted the art to be mainly for the children. They wanted to focus on Northwest artists from diverse backgrounds and geographies, and artworks with color and nature-inspired imagery. The Child Care Center has six classrooms, as well as outdoor classrooms and play spaces, for eighty-four children.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Department of Enterprise Services.

About the Artist

Feddersen was a professor of art at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Western Washington, from 1989 to 2009 and is Emeritus Faculty. He is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Feddersen lives and works in the small town of Omak, in Northeastern Washington. He was honored with a 2024 Washington State Governor's Arts and Heritage Award.