“Evanescent Landscapes/Vanishing Women,” March 1 - April 25, Arthaus, Allentown, is an exhibition of works by artist and musician Phoebe Legere.

Legere will present “Harmonies of Hope,” a talk and performance, 6 p.m. March 16, Arthaus. The Lehigh Valley is one stop on the exhibit’s world tour.

“There is a strong connection between feminism and indigenous environmental movements,” says Legere about the title of her traveling exhibition.

Legere, who is proud of her Abenaki heritage, laments how she says that natural resources are exploited and discarded, including the extinction of entire species of flora and fauna. She sees this as similar to women who are dominated, exploited, and too often, kidnapped and murdered. Legere calls attention to what she says is a rise in unsolved cases of vanishing Native American females.

Legere, a multi-disciplinary artist who works in oils, acrylic, mixed media, resin and egg tempera, experiments with new and ancient mediums to express her passion for what she describes as the subtle engineering of human anatomy.

Legere incorporates ancient tribal and healing iconography in her works. “They are portals to higher dimensions,” she says. “By following along these shapes with your eye you can get onto a pathway on which you can communicate with nature.

“These shapes are derived from the characteristic movements of water,” says Legere, who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her poem “The Waterclown.”

Legere’s “Trust Me,” (2023; oil, 60 in. x 54 in.) seeks to correct what she says are the “100 mistakes” she observes in Benjamin West’s iconic oil, “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians.” Legere’s trapezoid-shaped canvas depicts a ruffle-wearing colonial figure negotiating a treaty with a skeptical Native American.

“It’s showing how the earth went out of balance as the Europeans encroached on Indian property and killed us and overturned the unified energy system in which human and the environment are one,” she says. “Trust Me” is also the title of a song Legere recorded.

With studios in Maine and Manhattan, Legere cherishes her strong ties to the Lehigh Valley. Dr. Barnaby Ruhe and Urszula Abolik, the latter owner of the Amber Connection store in Emmaus, are close friends and collaborators.

Legere created what she calls the Shamancycle (a giant eagle sculpture vehicle) for “my friends from Emmaus” for a Burning Man event. “I built it from junk cars,” says Legere. “I cut 1,000 feathers out of iced tea cans.”

As a multi-instrumentalist, composer, filmmaker, painter, poet and playwright, Legere counts among her collaborators: Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Johnny Depp, Hunter Thompson, Allen Ginsberg and Billy Joel.

Legere has written, produced and performed 17 albums of original songs. Her music blends genres, cultures and languages, with some including lyrics sung in Abenaki. Legere plans to perform her newest composition, “Two Pianos,” at the Arthaus event.

Legere, a daughter of professional artists, studied music at Juilliard and art at Vassar College. She received degrees in art, performance art, and a Master’s film scoring.

Legere calls her multi-disciplinary performance art, “Total Art Synthesis,” whereby she teaches music, performance art and visual art simultaneously. “Everything is rhythm,” she says.

Legere is founding director of the Foundation for New American Art, New York City, that brings free art and music lessons to children in low-income communities of color. Proceeds from her artwork and music sales help fund the nonprofit.

“The best way to teach them about the magic of music is to have them build their own instruments,” says Legere about the cigar-box guitar she built to inspire her students.

Legere’s works seek to inspire conversations about women, diversity, inclusiveness, cultural equity, Native-Americans, the environment and LGBTQ issues.

“Art is not just something that hangs on the wall,” says Legere. “Art is about relationships.”

The Arthaus exhibit is curated by Deborah Rabinsky.

“Evanescent Landscapes/Vanishing Women,” March 1 - April 25, Arthaus, a partnership between RE:find and the Allentown Arts Commission, 645 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday. 610-841-4866 https://www.building.allentownarts.com

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com