Artists traveled mostly from the Western U.S. to display their work at last weekend’s Santa Fe Indian Market, but one museum reached out even further for their contribution to the event.
The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (or MoCNA) opened two exhibits on August 16 featuring the work of Indigenous artists from some of the Northernmost locations on the globe.
The Common Thread exhibit features the work artists reflecting on their connections to the natural world and their communities.
Melissa Shaginoff, who is Ahtna and Paiute, from Alaska, curated the Common Thread exhibit.
“ It includes 12 Indigenous women from the North–from the Arctic, all kind of addressing issues of climate crisis, land loss and the effects the colonization has on Indigenous life, Indigenous making. And, what our common thread is across the North,” "Shaginoff said.
Eight tribes were represented by the 12 artists of Common Thread. They live in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
The other exhibit, Arctic Highways, sheds light on the ways that indigenous people in the North who live on different continents nonetheless see themselves as closely tied.
MoCNA director, Patsy Phillips, who hails from Cherokee Nation, spoke about the rarity of the Arctic Highways exhibit.
“We have about 13 artists, curators, a funder, the publisher, all for that exhibition, in town," said Phillips.
"And they're from Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Alaska. This is maybe one of the only exhibits of this kind that's happening in the United States. So it's traveling. When it leaves here, it'll go back to Norway.”
One of the artists in and curators of Arctic Highways, Tomas Colbengston, lives in Sweden and is from the Sami tribe. He explains the mission of the team of curators and artists.
“ We started this exhibition to give the people without a voice (a way) to explain to majority. Primarily it's an exhibition made and created by the Indigenous, and it's for the Indigenous. But of course, other public is welcome. And it's both to create a network, and also learn from each other. Art is also magic, of course. I must say that the core of the exhibition is spiritual.”
Arctic Highways pieces include a mural, large-scale animal portraits, pottery, landscape paintings, clothing design and other pieces.
To hear full interviews with artists, curators, and others, visit the news and Indigenous Foundation program pages at KSFR.org.
