Art Workshop • Indigenous Voice in Urban Lettering

Join artist Hartman Deetz to explore how words, symbols, and public art can become powerful tools for cultural expression and social change.

Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 2-3:30 pm
Registration: Free, recommended for ages 16 and up, 12 and up with accompanying guardian. Register through Eventbrite.

Join Mashpee Wampanoag artist and cultural educator Hartman Deetz for an immersive workshop exploring the intersection of urban-style lettering, Indigenous identity, and activist art. Drawing from graffiti aesthetics, contemporary design, and Native storytelling traditions, Deetz invites participants to examine how words, symbols, and public art can become powerful tools for cultural expression and social change.

Graffiti and urban lettering styles have long served as visual languages for communities pushed to the margins, offering artists a way to reclaim visibility, identity, and voice outside traditional institutions. Emerging from neighborhoods shaped by systemic inequality and exclusion, graffiti became both an artistic movement and a form of public resistance. For Indigenous communities, this history carries an even deeper resonance. Native Americans have endured some of the most extreme forms of institutional marginalization through genocide, forced displacement, cultural suppression, and the ongoing erasure of Indigenous histories and identities.

Living Native artists are often confined to expectations rooted in the past and excluded from broader contemporary art conversations. Hartman Deetz challenges those limitations through a practice that seamlessly blends Indigenous cultural knowledge with contemporary urban aesthetics and activist messaging. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major museum collections, reflecting the growing recognition of Native artists working at the forefront of contemporary art and design.

Throughout the workshop, participants will learn foundational techniques in stylized lettering while engaging in conversations about visibility, resistance, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous sovereignty. Through guided demonstrations, collaborative discussion, and hands-on creation, attendees will develop their own original lettering-based artwork inspired by themes of identity, community, and advocacy. The workshop emphasizes art as both a personal and collective voice, one capable of honoring heritage, challenging narratives, and inspiring dialogue.

Having trouble with Eventbrite? RSVP to 860.443.2545 ext. 2129 or email us at [email protected]

This exhibition and programs are generously supported by Art Bridges and the Community Foundation for Eastern Connecticut. 

Image: Exhibition logo with six featured artworks.