Raven and the Box of Daylight

Before here was here, Raven was a white bird, and the world was in darkness. So begins the story passed down among the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial. This origin story has survived by passing from the lips of one person to the ear of another—from generation to generation. In this episode of Sidedoor, Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary shares it in a new way: leading us on a journey from darkness to light through dozens of luminous glass sculptures.  

To view selected works, see Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight in American Indian magazine or visit the exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., through January 29, 2023. 

Transcript

Guests:

• Miranda Belarde-Lewis, independent curator and assistant professor of Information Science at the University of Washington
  IG: miranda505
• Preston Singletary, internationally acclaimed Tlingit glass artist    
  IG: @prestonsingletaryglass
  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PrestonSingletaryGlass
• Emil Her Many Horses, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
  IG: @SmithsonianNMAI 
  Twitter: @SmithsonianNMAI

Museum of Glass: Instagram @museumofglass

Information School at the University of Washington: Twitter @UW_iSchool