Town Hall exhibit highlights artists with indigenous roots

From left, ‘The Healing’ by Henry Frank, ‘Potato Famine Si! Tortillas No’ by Marty Meade and ‘Walk’n My Talk’ by Alicia Retes are part of the ‘We Know Who We Are’ exhibit at Tiburon Town Hall featuring artists with indigenous roots.

Indigenous artists from around the Bay Area have their works on display in “We Know Who We Are,” showing at Tiburon Town Hall through June 24.

The show, which will have an artists’ reception 6-8 p.m. May 13, is part of an ongoing effort by the Tiburon Heritage and Arts Commission to highlight artists from underrepresented backgrounds, including artists of color, women and LGBTQ+ artists and artists from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

One of the artists in the show is Novato resident Henry Frank, a 51-year-old who spent 20 years in federal prisons from age 19 to 39.

Frank’s father was of Yurok and Pomo heritage, while his mother was Yurok, Karuk, Tolowa, Dutch and Spanish. His parents split up when he was 5, and he and his younger brother lived with their mother, who battled substance-abuse issues.

“I had to learn to cook and take care of my brother because my mother was always high on heroin,” he says.

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