Booth D-17 was the place to be during the 68th annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix on March 7 and 8.

This is where the dynamic duo of Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community artist and painter Dwayne Manuel and artist and comedian Bobby “Dues” Wilson set up shop for the weekend.

Dues (Wilson goes by the name “Bobby Dues”) already had a booth and invited Manuel to share the stage with him.

In their booth, a bicycle wrapped with deerskin and antlers that Dues designed and built as a functional piece of art hung over a dresser filled with his beaded jewelry and medallions.

Manuel’s acrylic paintings on display combined surrealism and traditional impasto, a painting technique using thick, textured paint.

“It’s an old way of working,” Manuel said, describing his artistic process.

“My work talks a lot about the modern O’odham culture. A little bit of politics as well. I also use humor in my work, too, so it’s a mixture of all those elements to create these compositions.”

3 Takeaways:

• SRPMIC artist Dwayne Manuel and artist and comedian Bobby “Dues” Wilson partnered up to sell their art at the 68th annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in March.
• Dues displayed a bicycle made of deerskin and traditional beadwork, while Manuel’s vibrant acrylic paintings attracted visitors.
• Both artists lamented a lack of O’odham representation at local Native art markets.

Dues had several people inquire about his bicycle.

“I kind of don’t want to sell it,” said Dues, half-joking after a potential buyer walked away empty-handed.

His gregarious and witty humor paired perfectly with Manuel’s quiet and subtly funny demeanor. Anyone passing through or stopping by would have heard a constant string of jokes between the two artists.

“Sape! All you O’odhams with your aunts running around with your popovers. I’m here with Dwayne Manuel, ‘Dwayno Insano,’ and we’re here selling, presenting, authentic ‘award-losing’ Native American art,” joked the self-deprecating Dues as he introduced the pair to O’odham Action News.

In addition to the bicycle and jewelry, Dues also sold prints of the map of Indian Country that he created for the television show “Reservation Dogs.”

Manuel was thankful to Dues for allowing him to share the space at the market, which is held every year. The Heard Museum sits on traditional O’odham land in central Phoenix.

“The reason for me to join [Dues] was because I feel like O’odham representation is lacking here at the Heard Market. The museum is on O’odham territory,” said Manuel.

“I felt it was my duty to represent the O’odham, as we need more numbers here at the Heard Market and in the overall Phoenix area in general.”

Dues agreed that there needs to be more O’odham representation on their traditional lands.

“There needs to be more of y’all out here. Keep these doors open, man. You guys got giants like Dwayne Manuel here,” said Dues.

“He don’t kick open doors. He lifts up the building while all y’all come on in.”

Dues thinks there should be some O’odham preference in selling Native artwork, especially at institutions that are here in their traditional homelands.

“That doesn’t just go for the Heard Museum, that goes for the Phoenix Art Museum, S’edav Va’aki Museum, any one of those museums,” said Dues.

“I do absolutely notice a lack of inclusion for O’odham at a lot of these markets. And so that’s just my two cents on it. That’s what I wish I had said while I was on O’odham Action News.”

Manuel is proud to be an O’odham representative at the art markets and wants people to know that there is a large movement of contemporary and traditional O’odham artists who are continuing to create all the time. “Keep a lookout, because O’odham artists are growing,” said Manuel.