Art is never an asset of a single individual to be kept locked in a vault. It needs to be appreciated and admired by the community to which it belongs.

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma has announced that it will open a new collection of Native American art, received recently from a private collector, to the public in the last week of September.

The multimillion dollar collection was a gift from James T. Bialac of Arizona and the new collection has been named after him - "The James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection: Selected Works and Indigenous Aesthetics."

The collection comprises more than 4,000 works representing indigenous cultures across North America, especially the Pueblos of the Southwest, the Navajo, the Hopi, many of the tribes of the Northern and Southern Plains, and the Southeastern tribes.

According to the university, there are approximately 2,600 paintings and works on paper, 1,000 kachinas and 100 pieces of jewelry representing major Native artists such as Fred Kabotie, Awa Tsireh and Fritz Scholder, among others.

The collection, "Selected Works and Indigenous Aesthetics", is set to examine the collecting passion of James T. Bialac. Works from the collection have been featured in a wide range of media, including National Geographic magazine and Smithsonian publications.

A lawyer by profession, James T.Bialac has close ties with many prominent artists through his legal practice. He purchased his first work in 1964, a painting by Robert Chee (Hashke-Yil-Cale), the first of what would become a nearly 50-year journey into collecting art.

The Bialac Collection will complement other outstanding Native and Southwest collections held by the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, including the Eugene B. Adkins Collection.

The exhibition opens with free admission Saturday, Sept. 22. A community celebration is scheduled at the FJJMA Sunday, Sept. 23, 1-6 p.m., featuring artist demonstrations by Tony Abeyta, Anita Fields, Ben Harjo, Linda Lomahaftewa and America Meredith.

In addition, a special performance by the OU School of Dance, created by professors Derrick Minter and Austin Hartel, will feature choreography inspired by works from the James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection.

The opening celebration is complimentary and open to the public.