New showcase features works by Traci Rabbit, Bill Rabbit, and Gwen Coleman Lester, on display through September 2026
Ponca City– The Pickens Museum has announced the opening of a new exhibition, Contemporary Native Women Artists, now on display in the atrium of City Central, 400 East Central. The exhibition celebrates the strength, dignity, and creative vision of Indigenous women artists, with a special focus on works that bridge tradition, family legacy, and personal narrative.
At the heart of the exhibition are three paintings by Traci Rabbit (Cherokee) , whose work captures the spirit of Native American womanhood with rare emotional power. Rabbit’s paintings embody both fierce resilience and quiet compassion—balancing strength and gentleness in equal measure.
“The people in my family and the people that I was around and raised by, they were all very strong women,” Rabbit said. “So, I guess growing up around that I admired their strength and determination and their ability to rise above bad circumstances.”
Rabbit’s paintings on view include works that explore what she describes as “the way it feels to be female”—to move through the world with fierce dignity, energy, and strength, while also holding space for kindness and grace.
The exhibition also features a painting by the late Bill Rabbit, an acclaimed Oklahoma Native artist known for experimenting freely with style rather than conforming to public expectation. Over the course of his career, Bill Rabbit exhibited widely and earned numerous awards. In 1986, he was designated Master Artist by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Toward the end of his life, he collaborated on paintings with his daughter, Traci, in their shared studio in Pryor, Oklahoma. Bill Rabbit passed away on April 9, 2012.
Additionally, the exhibition includes a powerful depiction of the Choctaw Trail of Tears by Gwen Coleman Lester, a registered artist and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Lester’s work focuses entirely on Choctaw history and culture, using a range of styles and mediums from miniatures to murals. She regularly participates in Native art festivals, museum exhibitions, and competitions. In 2007, she was inducted as a Master Artist by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. The Choctaw Nation has purchased her work and commissioned her murals, and she has created book covers for a major publisher as well as fully illustrating two children’s books.
“This exhibition brings together intergenerational voices—mother, father, daughter, and community storyteller—to show the depth and range of contemporary Native women’s art,” said a spokesperson for the Pickens Museum. “We are honored to present these works in the heart of City Central, where they can reach a wide and diverse audience.”
Contemporary Native Women Artists is free and open to the public during regular City Central atrium hours. The exhibition will remain on display through September 2026.
About the Pickens Museum
The Pickens Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting Indigenous art and culture, with a focus on contemporary Native voices and historical narratives from the Oklahoma region and beyond.
About City Central
City Central serves as a community hub and civic gathering space, hosting cultural exhibitions, public events, and educational programming throughout the year.
PICKENS MUSEUM PRESENTS “CONTEMPORARY NATIVE ARTISTS” EXHIBITION AT CITY CENTRAL
