Fort Nisqually Living History Museum is seeking submissions for a juried art exhibit that will open at the Fort in September 2016. “Inspired by Fort Nisqually” is made possible with support from the Fort Nisqually Foundation. The foundation is offering a purchase award and several cash prizes. Historic Fort Nisqually was a workplace, a node on an international trade network, and home to a diverse population. Today it is a living history museum that brings the past to life with the help of interpreters and reenactors.

“Fort Nisqually’s past and present can be very inspiring,” said Exhibit Curator Chris Fiala Erlich. “We are excited to see what local artists create in response to the sights of the present and the stories of the past.” She says artwork could be inspired by Fort Nisqually in several ways: Artwork might be inspired by the sights and sounds of the Fort as it is today, a living history museum: there are gardens brimming with heritage crops, reenactors dressed in the clothing representative of the Fort’s 1850s population, and original and reconstructed 1850s buildings. Artwork might demonstrate (or reinterpret) the materials, techniques, and styles of mid-19th century arts that found expression at the Fort – beadwork, leatherwork, carpentry, needlework, scrimshaw, etc. Artwork might be an interpretation or commentary on the Fort’s history – its people or events. The Fort has a voluminous research library available by appointment.

The exhibit is open to all artists, with a limit of three entries per artist. All entries must be original and completed within the last three years. All mediums are welcome. The submission deadline is July 29. For more information, visit www.fortnisqually.org.