At Native Arts & Cultures Foundation (NACF), we look at the new year as time to reflect on all that we have accomplished the past year on behalf of Native artists and communities, and focus on giving thanks to all of those who have made our work possible. With advocates and supporters like you, we have been able to support over 340 Native artists and organizations in 33 states over the past ten years, bringing together Native and non-Native communities to promote positive and meaningful transformation and change. We believe in the power, beauty, and resilience of Native arts and cultures. We invite you to read some of our favorite stories that highlight how NACF works to uplift the creativity of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Stay tuned for our annual report for more detailed information about last year’s programming.
NACF FELLOWS SHINE AT HONOLULU BIENNIAL 2019
The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) was thrilled to present several events featuring National and Regional Artist Fellows during opening weekend of the Honolulu Biennial 2019, March 8-10. NACF’s support for these artists on international platforms seeks to create narrative change around critical issues that affect Indigenous people throughout the US. In partnership with Second Sister Foundation, the participation of this creative cohort in the Honolulu Biennial 2019, serves as a catalyst for these imperative conversations, demonstrating the empowered voices and resiliency of Native artists and Native communitie …
NOT FRAGILE: GLASS FORGED BY TRADITION
2018 NACF National Artist Fellow RYAN! Feddersen [Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Okanogan / Arrow Lakes)] is a mixed-media installation artist specializing in interactive and immersive artworks that invite audience engagement. Feddersen creates large-scale interactive installations, and also supports the Indigenous arts movement through her curation work. She recently curated an exhibition at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) in the Center for Contemporary Native Arts (CCNA) featuring artists from across the Pacific Northwest…
JOURNEY TO BEARS EARS
Envision an expanse of land in southeast Utah that five tribes call their ancestral homes where they have preserved their cultures and ceremonial practices for centuries. Imagine these lands being proclaimed as a national monument to protect the precious natural resources and water. One elder many years ago said it clearly, “We call this our ancestral land and our forefathers have walked and placed their footprints on these plateaus, canyons, washes, mountains, and they are still imprinted into our mind.”…
NACF BOARD MEMBER ADRIAN WALL SHARES ABOUT IAIA RESIDENCY
On a cold October day in 2016, I made a trip to Chaco Canyon. I hadn’t been to Chaco in more than ten years and I was surprised by how much the landscape surrounding Chaco had changed. The trip marked the culmination of a weeklong artist residency. The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico had acquired a grant to bring together ten Pueblo and Navajo Artists to participate in the residency. We had spent the previous week deep in the collections of the Maxwell Museum and the National Parks Service Chaco Cultural Museum Collections, looking at some of the most incredible material from Chaco…
NATIVE STORYTELLING EXPLORES IDENTITY IN “LOOKING FOR TIGER LILY”
As part of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s (PICA’s) Time Based Art Festival in September, Anthony Hudson/Carla Rossi (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) performed the solo show Looking for Tiger Lily. The performance incorporates, song, dance, monologue, and movie/television shorts to describe Hudson’s early influences and exploration of identity. Beginning with an obsession with the 1960’s Peter Pan movie, Hudson addresses how contemporary mainstream interpretations of Native American people led to the manifestation of internationally renowned drag clown Carla Rossi and Hudson’s current body of work…
OJIBWE ARTIST JIM DENOMIE BRINGS NATIVE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE TO INTERNATIONAL EVENT
In June of 2018, NACF was approached by the Brazilian organization Associação Cultural Videobrasil, which every two years since 1983 has organized a contemporary art festival in the city of São Paulo featuring artists from the global South. Videobrasil was broadening their geographic scope for their 21st iteration and wanted to include indigenous artists from the U.S and other countries. We helped spread the word about their open call and earlier this year when they announced the selected artists we were delighted to see the name of our 2018 National Artist Fellow Jim Denomie…