Upcoming Trends I see....the Native Voice

Recently I was I was talking to a visitor from the U.K. about trends. She summed up what I have been seeing a lot of lately: the Nordic influence.

I simply hadn't linked the current style cycle under one word: Nordic.

Between 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', knitted cowls, geometric patterns, 'Wallander' and 'Of Monsters and Men,' anything and everything nordic is being embraced.

And I think it will disappear quickly with the spring thaw.

Already, there has been a regression of sorts with geometric patterns finding their native roots. Yup, welcome back Santa Fe and what I see as a Teepee trend.

These Paper Teepee's, or as this french website says Tipi can be found here. 

Maybe there is something bigger happening here. Perhaps there is a rise in our attention to Native Issues and the Native Voice. Politically, there is a greater focus on Native Rights with the Idle No More movement across Canada (and the world for that matter). Even in art there is currently a focus on contemporary native artists, who are often not given much of a platform in art galleries, unless they are controversial.

Now on at the Power Plant in Toronto, their programming is featuring "Beat Nation" an exhibition exploring the influence of Hip Hop on Native Culture.

The Power Plant, a contemporary art gallery in Toronto.

There is also an interesting exhibition of Native Art coming to Ontario (Kleinburg) named, Changing Hands: Art without Reservation 3/Contemporary Native North American Art which is being circulated by the Museum and Arts and Design in the U.S.

Cell, 2010 by Frank Shebageget, from Changing Hands

Looks like interesting things to come!