About the Artists & Artwork:
Adeline
pronouns N/A
based in Fallon, NV
IG @beads_by_adeline
"My name is Adeline and my Indigenous roots to the North Americas is Kumeyaay and Mescalero Apache. My blood is also made up of slavery and immigrants and at one point my grandmother (pat.) was a direct result of the two. I basically grew up in the foster system for reasons you can and can not imagine. The complexity of what makes me seen this COVID-19 is something different. Maybe Mother Earth brought this, cause she needs some time to heal. This is my rendition of that the earth is the tank spitting out life that does not discriminate but only exists to spread beautiful life. No matter what you think, WE BELONG TO THE EARTH, she’s just letting us be here."
Nature Strikes Back
This piece is inspired by the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19. The wild animals in the mall and the golf courses, the coral reefs clearing up and welcoming more fish. To me, these were clear signs that this is what Mother Earth needed. She needed a break. Mostly everyone is always taking, not enough giving. She is in control. We belong to the earth the earth does not belong to us.
Nica Aquino
she/her pronouns
Split between Tongva land (Los Angeles, CA) and La Union, Ilokandia
nicaaquino.com
IG @nica_aquino
donate at Venmo: @nicaaquino, PayPal.me/nicaaquino
Fuck Columbus
"In the summer of 2016, I got to spend a week in Spain doing independent research for my masters dissertation in Contemporary Visual Culture. During this trip, I visited archives, museums and galleries to learn more about the history of Spanish colonisation from the Spaniard's point of view. This research took me on a day trip to Sevilla, where the 'Archivo General de Indias' (General Archive of the Indies) lives. This archive houses many important documents illustrating the history of colonisation in the so-called Americas and Philippines.
Nearby was also the catherdral where Christopher Colombus' tomb lives and where a monument for him stands. Growing up in the US, we were taught so many lies about Columbus and how he 'discovered' this land. In honour of all Indigenous people around the world who were colonised by Spain and white Europeans, this giant 'fuck you' is from all of us. Fuck Christopher Columbus."
DeAnna Bear
she/her pronouns
based in Washington D.C.
IG @maxkwikee.co
donate at Venmo: DeAnna-Bear, PayPal.me/DeAnnaBearGen
"I am a mixed-Indigenous artist of Lenape and Shawnee descent. I am classically trained visual artist and have also obtained my Bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Native studies and a minor in History; providing freelance anthropology work when called upon. My artwork focuses on the Indigenous diaspora, and I use my familial experiences with marginalization to create what I want the world to understand about being Native American. Some of my work is exhibited at the Antique Automobile Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate), Five Oaks Museum, and Ravenous Zine magazine. I prefer oil painting but I found with digital illustration the message travels faster, and if it brings awareness to the plight of our community I will change my medium to fill that need."
Indigenous Diaspora
This piece is about, and rightfully titled, 'Indigenous Diaspora.' It represents the marginalization of Native communities from their homelands where they try to exist within their cultural setting, surrounded by a colonized, industrialized society. The goal of assimilation was to disenfranchise our voices as Indigenous people, but our resilience and strength has allowed us to persevere for generations. The most important element of this piece is that Native communities exist within our current setting. We are not a people of the past but modernity is detrimental to our ways of life.
Steph Littlebird Fogel
she/her pronouns
based in Las Vegas, Nevada
IG @artnerdforever
donate at Venmo @StephLittlebird
Mother Nature
This piece depicts the feeling of “landback,” the idea that land stewardship should be returned to Indigenous people. Our land as tribal people was stolen and ripped away through Colonial invasion, violence, and countless broken treaties. Through generations our values as Native people remain, we are still advocates and caretakers for the land, we are inseparable from it.
Jeanne Jalandoni
she/her pronouns
based in New York, NY, US
jeannefjalandoni.com
IG @jfjalandoni.art
donate at Venmo @jeanne-jalandoni, Paypal: jeannefjalandoni@gmail.com
Jeanne F. Jalandoni is a painter and textile artist based in Uptown Manhattan. Her mixed media pieces reflect on Filipino and Filipino American history, as well as her experiences growing up as a second generation American. Jeanne references national symbols and historic photographs in order to challenge preconceived notions of Filipino American identity. Jeanne holds a BFA in Studio Art from New York University and is a current artist in residence at the Textile Art Museum in Brooklyn, NY.
Fish Harvest
"Fish Harvest" is an installation, painting, textile piece that loosely references Fernando Amorsolo's paintings of Filipino women harvesting in ternos. They are wearing shirts that highlight Western intervention in Filipino history: reception of the Manila Galleon from the Boxer Codex, Uncle Sam with Igorots at Luna Park, and the artist's family photo in Fort Tryon Park in NYC. The fish harvesters are gathering milkfish (Filipinos were the first to domesticate milkfish), and are somewhat representative of figurative dieties who hold moments in time.
This piece is reflective of Western imperialism and the justification of being in the Philippines. The Philippine archipelago was culturally rich and stable, but the distruption of their cultural identity evolved Philippine identity into it being many different things for each person.
Emma Noelle
she/her pronouns
based in Canlubang, Calamba City
emmanoelle.bandcamp.com
IG @angelkaraoke
donate at Paypal: contact.emmanoelle@gmail.com
Emma Noelle is a singer/songwriter, analog photographer, and experimental filmmaker. She holds a BA in Art History/Visual Arts from Barnard College. Emma's artistic practice consists of music, visual, and performance art. Released in 2019, her 7-minute short film entitled "Wedding Dance" is a black-and-white ode to her otherworldly experience of growing up Catholic in the Philippines. She released her first two songs entitled "Blue Glass Eyes" and "3 of Swords" in summer 2020, and promises that more music is on the way, soon!
Amidst the strangeness and uncertainty of the present times we live in, she hopes to continue creating ethereal songs, music videos, and album artwork. She's ultimately unsure of where the world will be over the next few years, but nevertheless, she remains grounded in her distinct art practice each day.
Blue Glass Eyes
My song "Blue Glass Eyes" is a letter from Manila to the United States, in which the persona is a Filipinx woman singing to an American soldier about the trauma caused by Western colonialism and imperialism.
Lyrics:
Look at me with your blue glass eyes
And stare into my soul
What do you see when you look at me?
Do you even care to know?
I didn’t know it would be so hard
To find myself in your eyes
You’ve seen your face cast in marble and stone
And in the mirror, I am all alone
They’ll sing of your beauty
And I will fight to be seen
As a body and soul with a life of my own
But you could never colonize me
No, you could never colonize me
I am a place of my own, not your home
Not for you to rest on my tired bones
So take all the land that you stole from me
And bury your pride so it won’t reach me
youtu.be/-CvK99wce4Q
vimeo.com/412798959
emmanoelle.bandcamp.com/track/blue-glass-eyes
open.spotify.com/track/2T1AgNLmRcFA54PfFWmfJe?si=zKxjMfwjRPuyc0Exviw03Q
Trenal Original
he/him pronouns
based in Spokane, WA, USA
trenaloriginal.com
IG @trenaloriginal
Donate at Venmo @trenaloriginal
Coming from both Native American and African American ancestry, contemporary artist Kellen Trenal (pronounced like "Chanel") aims to increase visibility for underrepresented communities while expanding upon the conversation on identity. As an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, Kellen utilizes a wealth of his Indigenous crafting knowledge, passed down through generations, to explore the intersection of tradition and innovation. Kellen's works range from hand crafted accessories and jewelry design, to home decor, traditional indigenous regalia, modern apparel, and much more. Each piece is a custom creation: a Trenal Original.
Yoncé
"Beyoncé’s formation looks INDIGENIZED with the inclusion of custom Lemonade-inspired beadwork as her jewelry and hat embellishments. This artwork is comprised of acrylic paints, canvas, and size 13 charlotte cut glass beads embroidered on its front surface. 'Yoncé' marks the first time that I challenged myself to express my point of view in this new way, mixing pop culture so directly with my traditional Nez Perce beadwork. The original image taken from Beyoncé’s music video always reminded me so much of Native women adorning themselves in full matching sets of lavish hand-beaded accessories. I took that inspiration and played with it in my own way — combining commentary on the popular culture that energizes me, while also paying tribute to the traditional legacy that my artistry represents!"
Kayla Elaine Palisoc
she/her pronouns
based in Glendale, CA
kaylapalisoc.com
IG @pairofs0cks
Donate at Cash App: $pairofs0cks
Untitled (2018, Philippines)
"This untitled photograph was captured in 2018 at Auroa, Philippines. At the time I was on a fellowship in the Philippines with an organization called Kaya Co. My cohort and a few of our directors planned a weekend trip to travel toward the northern Philippines to visit the Indigenous tribe, Agta Dumagat, meaning from the sea.
All 11 Kaya Co. members and members of the all-girls student organization of the Dumagat tribe exchanged untold parallels of the challenges of navigating identity, where our roots are grounded in, and the influence of both living in a militarized state: the U.S., with it's police brutality, and the Dumagat people having the military occupy their land.
This photograph illustrates the Dumugat people having prepared a traditional Filipino meal, tinola, a chicken soup dish with papaya, siling labuyo leaves, ginger and rice... kamayan style, meaning by hand!"
Karlo Santa Ana
he/him pronouns
based in South Central, Los Angeles, CA
karlosantaana.tumblr.com
IG @karlo.santa.ana
Donate at Cash.App @$KarloSantaAna
Karlo Santa Ana was born and raised in a military family in Olongapo, Manila. Currently residing in South Central Los Angeles, California, Karlo works as a Senior Artist for mobile games at Scopely.
Karlo enjoys and practices multiple disciplines within art: illustration, concept art, animation, painting, drawing and more. He creates from his third and from chaos. He believes we should all create from something that doesn’t exist.
Before the Barong Tagalog
“Before the Barong Tagalog” is a reminder to all our kababayans of who we were pre-colonization.
Skye Tafoya
she/her pronouns
based in Lawrence, KS
IG @r.skye.t
Donate at Venmo @rskyetafoya, PayPal.me/rskyet
Skye Tafoya (b. 1989) is an Indigenous (Eastern Band Cherokee/Santa Clara Pueblo) artist who creates work using the processes of serigraph and letterpress printmaking, along with paper-cutting, paper-weaving and book-making. Her work is inspired by basketry and contains themes of cultural displacement, language preservation, and personal and family narratives. Skye likes to work in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms and is not afraid to work too large or too small. She once created a larger than life-size pop-up book! She creates each print, book, and weaving with the intention of sharing and preserving stories, language, culture, and experiences.
Skye published her first artist book, Ul’nigid’, in the spring of 2020 and has displayed work nationally in Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and internationally in Russia. She received her B.F.A. in 2013 from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM and her M.F.A. in 2018 from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.
Ul'nigid'
"Ul’nigid’ was uniquely made to honor my maternal Grandmother, Martha Reed-Bark. She was the first adult figure I looked up to and learned from. She took care of my entire family in numerous ways, and had a special connection with each of my family members. The book is titled Ul’nigid’ (Cherokee translation: strong) to represent her being and her spirit.
Ul’nigid’ is a poetic narrative of my personal memories of her. I made this book with the intention of sharing the spirit and story of a traditional Cherokee medicine-woman/basket-weaver whose first language was not English, it was Cherokee. She had a special role in my life, in my family and in my community, one that should not be forgotten. The book was always intended to be a family heirloom, something that each of my family members can look at to remind them of the strength that she carried and passed on to each of us. Surprisingly, when I started the production of this book, I found out I was pregnant, so this book also became a tangible way to connect my grandmother with my child. Knowing that I was carrying a child inside of my stomach also influenced the poetry of this book. I wrote each poem, like I was speaking to my unborn child, Kila.
Ul'nigid' is a moveable book structure that is able to take on multiple renderings with each opening. When closed, the cover shows imagery of my grandmother along with the title illustrated in English and the Cherokee Syllabary. On the back cover is an opening that gives the viewer a glimpse of the woven bottom of the basket that is on the inside. The entire outside casing of the book is hand-made paper created specifically for this book, at the Women’s Studio Workshop. The entire imagery on the front cover was letterpress printed using photopolymer matrices.
When opened fully, Ul’nigid’ mimics a basket. The book has walls that unfold to a standing position as four sides of a basket. The movable walls and base of the book were created using weaving processes similar to those of a traditional Cherokee river-cane basket, but were woven with paper instead of river-cane. The design of the paper-weaving is my own creation and was inspired by the podcast, Broken Boxes. As I listened to several episodes of the podcast, I started to dwell on myself and my art practice and the design came to fruition. It represents the energy of my indigenous lineage as well as the urge to break out of boxes that colonized society puts my identity, culture, and art into.
Inside of the basket lies an accordion fold pamphlet that includes 5 poems that have been letterpress printed using Bembo metal type along with accents of Cherokee syllabary metal type printed across the bottom of the pages. Each poem is a memory, but each poem is also a way to pass on the essence and stories of my grandmother to my son. The poems all share themes of home, language, healing, love and lineage.
Ul’nigid’ was such a blessing to make and is a demonstration of love and remembrance, wherein each technical process portrays both strength and delicacy; These characteristics echo the communication between my own contemporary Indigenous voice with the deep influential voice of my traditional Cherokee grandmother."
Kit Thomas
she/her and he/him pronouns
based in Los Angeles, CA
kitthomasart.com
IG @kitthomasart
Donate at Venmo @kitthomasart, PayPal:kitthomasart@yahoo.com
“Make things happen!” says L.A.-based artist Kit Thomas. This Mohawk Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer is Wolf Clan from the St. Regis Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. Kit (she/her/he/him) is an LGBTQ and Mental Health Advocate. This artist uses acrylic and has been honing her painting skills for the last decade and now has a recognizable splatter paint style infused with Native American symbolism.
Kit’s evolution into digital art allows her to introduce other elements of design with social issues into this union. It extends the range of her talent even further as well as encouraging and inspiring healing within LGBTQ and Indigenous communities.
Her
"I created this piece to bring awareness about the MMIW crisis happening in Canada and the USA. MMIW stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women — native women going missing or being killed. The audience can expect a powerful statement. At first, they see a beautiful Indigenous woman but then the red hand symbolizes the voices of these women being silenced.
I hope that his image opens doors to conversations in 'mainstream America' and other non Native communities."
Derrick Quevedo
he/him pronouns
based in Piscataway Land (Baltimore, MD)
derrickquevedo.weebly.com
IG @drrckqvdo
Diasporic Iluko and Tagá-Ilog FilipinX; currently residing on Piscataway land; born and raised on Menunkatuck/Quinnipiac land; paint, draw, & write the stories of fellow FilipinXs and BIPOC doing the work of decolonization, reclamation, and developing stronger bonds with their ancestors.
The Watsonville Riot Selfie
The Watsonville Riots began on January 18, 1930 after a mob of hundreds of angry white men confronted a bar patronized by young FilipinX men, demanding they come out and hand over the bar’s white female employees. Tensions rose during this period of The Great Depression, as not only were FilipinX men finding farm jobs white men refused (as recently colonized peoples of the US, FilipinXs were brought over to fill the low wage menial positions white men considered beneath them) but were also socializing and dating white women. Over several days, FilipinXs were hunted and beaten; 22 year old Fermin Tobera, trapped in a closet along with other men hiding in a barn house, was shot straight in the chest and died. The violence in Watsonville was neither the first nor last demonstration of anti-FilipinX violence, but remains an indicative story of our exploitation and violent rejection, by both government and citizens, from a white supremacist society.
Adeline
pronouns N/A
based in Fallon, NV
IG @beads_by_adeline
"My name is Adeline and my Indigenous roots to the North Americas is Kumeyaay and Mescalero Apache. My blood is also made up of slavery and immigrants and at one point my grandmother (pat.) was a direct result of the two. I basically grew up in the foster system for reasons you can and can not imagine. The complexity of what makes me seen this COVID-19 is something different. Maybe Mother Earth brought this, cause she needs some time to heal. This is my rendition of that the earth is the tank spitting out life that does not discriminate but only exists to spread beautiful life. No matter what you think, WE BELONG TO THE EARTH, she’s just letting us be here."
Nature Strikes Back
This piece is inspired by the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19. The wild animals in the mall and the golf courses, the coral reefs clearing up and welcoming more fish. To me, these were clear signs that this is what Mother Earth needed. She needed a break. Mostly everyone is always taking, not enough giving. She is in control. We belong to the earth the earth does not belong to us.
Nica Aquino
she/her pronouns
Split between Tongva land (Los Angeles, CA) and La Union, Ilokandia
nicaaquino.com
IG @nica_aquino
donate at Venmo: @nicaaquino, PayPal.me/nicaaquino
Fuck Columbus
"In the summer of 2016, I got to spend a week in Spain doing independent research for my masters dissertation in Contemporary Visual Culture. During this trip, I visited archives, museums and galleries to learn more about the history of Spanish colonisation from the Spaniard's point of view. This research took me on a day trip to Sevilla, where the 'Archivo General de Indias' (General Archive of the Indies) lives. This archive houses many important documents illustrating the history of colonisation in the so-called Americas and Philippines.
Nearby was also the catherdral where Christopher Colombus' tomb lives and where a monument for him stands. Growing up in the US, we were taught so many lies about Columbus and how he 'discovered' this land. In honour of all Indigenous people around the world who were colonised by Spain and white Europeans, this giant 'fuck you' is from all of us. Fuck Christopher Columbus."
DeAnna Bear
she/her pronouns
based in Washington D.C.
IG @maxkwikee.co
donate at Venmo: DeAnna-Bear, PayPal.me/DeAnnaBearGen
"I am a mixed-Indigenous artist of Lenape and Shawnee descent. I am classically trained visual artist and have also obtained my Bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Native studies and a minor in History; providing freelance anthropology work when called upon. My artwork focuses on the Indigenous diaspora, and I use my familial experiences with marginalization to create what I want the world to understand about being Native American. Some of my work is exhibited at the Antique Automobile Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate), Five Oaks Museum, and Ravenous Zine magazine. I prefer oil painting but I found with digital illustration the message travels faster, and if it brings awareness to the plight of our community I will change my medium to fill that need."
Indigenous Diaspora
This piece is about, and rightfully titled, 'Indigenous Diaspora.' It represents the marginalization of Native communities from their homelands where they try to exist within their cultural setting, surrounded by a colonized, industrialized society. The goal of assimilation was to disenfranchise our voices as Indigenous people, but our resilience and strength has allowed us to persevere for generations. The most important element of this piece is that Native communities exist within our current setting. We are not a people of the past but modernity is detrimental to our ways of life.
Steph Littlebird Fogel
she/her pronouns
based in Las Vegas, Nevada
IG @artnerdforever
donate at Venmo @StephLittlebird
Mother Nature
This piece depicts the feeling of “landback,” the idea that land stewardship should be returned to Indigenous people. Our land as tribal people was stolen and ripped away through Colonial invasion, violence, and countless broken treaties. Through generations our values as Native people remain, we are still advocates and caretakers for the land, we are inseparable from it.
Jeanne Jalandoni
she/her pronouns
based in New York, NY, US
jeannefjalandoni.com
IG @jfjalandoni.art
donate at Venmo @jeanne-jalandoni, Paypal: jeannefjalandoni@gmail.com
Jeanne F. Jalandoni is a painter and textile artist based in Uptown Manhattan. Her mixed media pieces reflect on Filipino and Filipino American history, as well as her experiences growing up as a second generation American. Jeanne references national symbols and historic photographs in order to challenge preconceived notions of Filipino American identity. Jeanne holds a BFA in Studio Art from New York University and is a current artist in residence at the Textile Art Museum in Brooklyn, NY.
Fish Harvest
"Fish Harvest" is an installation, painting, textile piece that loosely references Fernando Amorsolo's paintings of Filipino women harvesting in ternos. They are wearing shirts that highlight Western intervention in Filipino history: reception of the Manila Galleon from the Boxer Codex, Uncle Sam with Igorots at Luna Park, and the artist's family photo in Fort Tryon Park in NYC. The fish harvesters are gathering milkfish (Filipinos were the first to domesticate milkfish), and are somewhat representative of figurative dieties who hold moments in time.
This piece is reflective of Western imperialism and the justification of being in the Philippines. The Philippine archipelago was culturally rich and stable, but the distruption of their cultural identity evolved Philippine identity into it being many different things for each person.
Emma Noelle
she/her pronouns
based in Canlubang, Calamba City
emmanoelle.bandcamp.com
IG @angelkaraoke
donate at Paypal: contact.emmanoelle@gmail.com
Emma Noelle is a singer/songwriter, analog photographer, and experimental filmmaker. She holds a BA in Art History/Visual Arts from Barnard College. Emma's artistic practice consists of music, visual, and performance art. Released in 2019, her 7-minute short film entitled "Wedding Dance" is a black-and-white ode to her otherworldly experience of growing up Catholic in the Philippines. She released her first two songs entitled "Blue Glass Eyes" and "3 of Swords" in summer 2020, and promises that more music is on the way, soon!
Amidst the strangeness and uncertainty of the present times we live in, she hopes to continue creating ethereal songs, music videos, and album artwork. She's ultimately unsure of where the world will be over the next few years, but nevertheless, she remains grounded in her distinct art practice each day.
Blue Glass Eyes
My song "Blue Glass Eyes" is a letter from Manila to the United States, in which the persona is a Filipinx woman singing to an American soldier about the trauma caused by Western colonialism and imperialism.
Lyrics:
Look at me with your blue glass eyes
And stare into my soul
What do you see when you look at me?
Do you even care to know?
I didn’t know it would be so hard
To find myself in your eyes
You’ve seen your face cast in marble and stone
And in the mirror, I am all alone
They’ll sing of your beauty
And I will fight to be seen
As a body and soul with a life of my own
But you could never colonize me
No, you could never colonize me
I am a place of my own, not your home
Not for you to rest on my tired bones
So take all the land that you stole from me
And bury your pride so it won’t reach me
youtu.be/-CvK99wce4Q
vimeo.com/412798959
emmanoelle.bandcamp.com/track/blue-glass-eyes
open.spotify.com/track/2T1AgNLmRcFA54PfFWmfJe?si=zKxjMfwjRPuyc0Exviw03Q
Trenal Original
he/him pronouns
based in Spokane, WA, USA
trenaloriginal.com
IG @trenaloriginal
Donate at Venmo @trenaloriginal
Coming from both Native American and African American ancestry, contemporary artist Kellen Trenal (pronounced like "Chanel") aims to increase visibility for underrepresented communities while expanding upon the conversation on identity. As an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, Kellen utilizes a wealth of his Indigenous crafting knowledge, passed down through generations, to explore the intersection of tradition and innovation. Kellen's works range from hand crafted accessories and jewelry design, to home decor, traditional indigenous regalia, modern apparel, and much more. Each piece is a custom creation: a Trenal Original.
Yoncé
"Beyoncé’s formation looks INDIGENIZED with the inclusion of custom Lemonade-inspired beadwork as her jewelry and hat embellishments. This artwork is comprised of acrylic paints, canvas, and size 13 charlotte cut glass beads embroidered on its front surface. 'Yoncé' marks the first time that I challenged myself to express my point of view in this new way, mixing pop culture so directly with my traditional Nez Perce beadwork. The original image taken from Beyoncé’s music video always reminded me so much of Native women adorning themselves in full matching sets of lavish hand-beaded accessories. I took that inspiration and played with it in my own way — combining commentary on the popular culture that energizes me, while also paying tribute to the traditional legacy that my artistry represents!"
Kayla Elaine Palisoc
she/her pronouns
based in Glendale, CA
kaylapalisoc.com
IG @pairofs0cks
Donate at Cash App: $pairofs0cks
Untitled (2018, Philippines)
"This untitled photograph was captured in 2018 at Auroa, Philippines. At the time I was on a fellowship in the Philippines with an organization called Kaya Co. My cohort and a few of our directors planned a weekend trip to travel toward the northern Philippines to visit the Indigenous tribe, Agta Dumagat, meaning from the sea.
All 11 Kaya Co. members and members of the all-girls student organization of the Dumagat tribe exchanged untold parallels of the challenges of navigating identity, where our roots are grounded in, and the influence of both living in a militarized state: the U.S., with it's police brutality, and the Dumagat people having the military occupy their land.
This photograph illustrates the Dumugat people having prepared a traditional Filipino meal, tinola, a chicken soup dish with papaya, siling labuyo leaves, ginger and rice... kamayan style, meaning by hand!"
Karlo Santa Ana
he/him pronouns
based in South Central, Los Angeles, CA
karlosantaana.tumblr.com
IG @karlo.santa.ana
Donate at Cash.App @$KarloSantaAna
Karlo Santa Ana was born and raised in a military family in Olongapo, Manila. Currently residing in South Central Los Angeles, California, Karlo works as a Senior Artist for mobile games at Scopely.
Karlo enjoys and practices multiple disciplines within art: illustration, concept art, animation, painting, drawing and more. He creates from his third and from chaos. He believes we should all create from something that doesn’t exist.
Before the Barong Tagalog
“Before the Barong Tagalog” is a reminder to all our kababayans of who we were pre-colonization.
Skye Tafoya
she/her pronouns
based in Lawrence, KS
IG @r.skye.t
Donate at Venmo @rskyetafoya, PayPal.me/rskyet
Skye Tafoya (b. 1989) is an Indigenous (Eastern Band Cherokee/Santa Clara Pueblo) artist who creates work using the processes of serigraph and letterpress printmaking, along with paper-cutting, paper-weaving and book-making. Her work is inspired by basketry and contains themes of cultural displacement, language preservation, and personal and family narratives. Skye likes to work in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms and is not afraid to work too large or too small. She once created a larger than life-size pop-up book! She creates each print, book, and weaving with the intention of sharing and preserving stories, language, culture, and experiences.
Skye published her first artist book, Ul’nigid’, in the spring of 2020 and has displayed work nationally in Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and internationally in Russia. She received her B.F.A. in 2013 from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM and her M.F.A. in 2018 from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.
Ul'nigid'
"Ul’nigid’ was uniquely made to honor my maternal Grandmother, Martha Reed-Bark. She was the first adult figure I looked up to and learned from. She took care of my entire family in numerous ways, and had a special connection with each of my family members. The book is titled Ul’nigid’ (Cherokee translation: strong) to represent her being and her spirit.
Ul’nigid’ is a poetic narrative of my personal memories of her. I made this book with the intention of sharing the spirit and story of a traditional Cherokee medicine-woman/basket-weaver whose first language was not English, it was Cherokee. She had a special role in my life, in my family and in my community, one that should not be forgotten. The book was always intended to be a family heirloom, something that each of my family members can look at to remind them of the strength that she carried and passed on to each of us. Surprisingly, when I started the production of this book, I found out I was pregnant, so this book also became a tangible way to connect my grandmother with my child. Knowing that I was carrying a child inside of my stomach also influenced the poetry of this book. I wrote each poem, like I was speaking to my unborn child, Kila.
Ul'nigid' is a moveable book structure that is able to take on multiple renderings with each opening. When closed, the cover shows imagery of my grandmother along with the title illustrated in English and the Cherokee Syllabary. On the back cover is an opening that gives the viewer a glimpse of the woven bottom of the basket that is on the inside. The entire outside casing of the book is hand-made paper created specifically for this book, at the Women’s Studio Workshop. The entire imagery on the front cover was letterpress printed using photopolymer matrices.
When opened fully, Ul’nigid’ mimics a basket. The book has walls that unfold to a standing position as four sides of a basket. The movable walls and base of the book were created using weaving processes similar to those of a traditional Cherokee river-cane basket, but were woven with paper instead of river-cane. The design of the paper-weaving is my own creation and was inspired by the podcast, Broken Boxes. As I listened to several episodes of the podcast, I started to dwell on myself and my art practice and the design came to fruition. It represents the energy of my indigenous lineage as well as the urge to break out of boxes that colonized society puts my identity, culture, and art into.
Inside of the basket lies an accordion fold pamphlet that includes 5 poems that have been letterpress printed using Bembo metal type along with accents of Cherokee syllabary metal type printed across the bottom of the pages. Each poem is a memory, but each poem is also a way to pass on the essence and stories of my grandmother to my son. The poems all share themes of home, language, healing, love and lineage.
Ul’nigid’ was such a blessing to make and is a demonstration of love and remembrance, wherein each technical process portrays both strength and delicacy; These characteristics echo the communication between my own contemporary Indigenous voice with the deep influential voice of my traditional Cherokee grandmother."
Kit Thomas
she/her and he/him pronouns
based in Los Angeles, CA
kitthomasart.com
IG @kitthomasart
Donate at Venmo @kitthomasart, PayPal:kitthomasart@yahoo.com
“Make things happen!” says L.A.-based artist Kit Thomas. This Mohawk Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer is Wolf Clan from the St. Regis Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. Kit (she/her/he/him) is an LGBTQ and Mental Health Advocate. This artist uses acrylic and has been honing her painting skills for the last decade and now has a recognizable splatter paint style infused with Native American symbolism.
Kit’s evolution into digital art allows her to introduce other elements of design with social issues into this union. It extends the range of her talent even further as well as encouraging and inspiring healing within LGBTQ and Indigenous communities.
Her
"I created this piece to bring awareness about the MMIW crisis happening in Canada and the USA. MMIW stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women — native women going missing or being killed. The audience can expect a powerful statement. At first, they see a beautiful Indigenous woman but then the red hand symbolizes the voices of these women being silenced.
I hope that his image opens doors to conversations in 'mainstream America' and other non Native communities."
Derrick Quevedo
he/him pronouns
based in Piscataway Land (Baltimore, MD)
derrickquevedo.weebly.com
IG @drrckqvdo
Diasporic Iluko and Tagá-Ilog FilipinX; currently residing on Piscataway land; born and raised on Menunkatuck/Quinnipiac land; paint, draw, & write the stories of fellow FilipinXs and BIPOC doing the work of decolonization, reclamation, and developing stronger bonds with their ancestors.
The Watsonville Riot Selfie
The Watsonville Riots began on January 18, 1930 after a mob of hundreds of angry white men confronted a bar patronized by young FilipinX men, demanding they come out and hand over the bar’s white female employees. Tensions rose during this period of The Great Depression, as not only were FilipinX men finding farm jobs white men refused (as recently colonized peoples of the US, FilipinXs were brought over to fill the low wage menial positions white men considered beneath them) but were also socializing and dating white women. Over several days, FilipinXs were hunted and beaten; 22 year old Fermin Tobera, trapped in a closet along with other men hiding in a barn house, was shot straight in the chest and died. The violence in Watsonville was neither the first nor last demonstration of anti-FilipinX violence, but remains an indicative story of our exploitation and violent rejection, by both government and citizens, from a white supremacist society.
ABOUT THE CURATORS:
|
Steph Littlebird Fogel is an artist, writer, curator and registered member of Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes. Fogel earned her B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College in Portland, Oregon and currently resides in Las Vegas.
She is known for vibrant imagery that combines traditional totem styles of her Indigenous ancestors with contemporary illustration aesthetics. Topics of Fogel’s work often touch upon issues of contemporary tribal identity, cultural survivance, and responsible ecology. Fogel has received three separate grants from the Art + Sci Initiative, and is a recent recipient of an Oregon Cultural Trust Writing Grant. Her work has been featured by the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (N.O.A.A.), the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) and the United States Postal Service. |
|
|
Kayla Palisoc is a cultural producer, community manager and curator based in Los Angeles who explores how art lives in spaces and relationships, especially among non-traditional creatives.
Kayla is best known for her community organizing and programming development among arts nonprofits and philanthropic foundations in Los Angeles, including Nous Tous by Citizens of Culture, Snap Foundation, Avenue 50 Studio, Las Fotos Project & the Getty Museum. A rookie to arts curation, she first co-curated an art exhibition titled No Longer Negotiable in 2017 that explored the constant emotional weight people of color endure as they navigate the systems of oppression inherently linked with their existence. Kayla is highly interested in deepening her knowledge of the Filipinx diaspora and how the shortcomings of arts institutions can help structure her own nonprofit in the future. |
|
Thank you for another year of Mata Art Gallery! Please consider donating to help us keep this project going. We're a completely not-for-profit creative space funded by the community. We never ask for submission fees or commissions, & artists receive 100% of their artwork sales. Your donations help pay the artists directly & help us continue to sustain this space.
Please send donations to:
🌸 Venmo: @nicaaquino
🌸 PayPal: @nicaaquino (send as friends & family)
🌸 Cash.app: $nicaaquino666
🌸 Zelle: info@mataartgallery.org
Please send donations to:
🌸 Venmo: @nicaaquino
🌸 PayPal: @nicaaquino (send as friends & family)
🌸 Cash.app: $nicaaquino666
🌸 Zelle: info@mataartgallery.org
