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Colombian artist makes pit stop in Austin, extends Indigenous culture to students
A kaleidoscope of beads lights Juan Riaño’s stand as he lays out his handcrafts. One by one, the tricolor macaw birds, the threaded bracelets and the traditional wooden masks leave a piece of Putumayo, Colombia, on a busy West Campus intersection.
Between both ACL weekends, Juan Guillermo Riaño Florez’s Indigenous jewelry and photograph prints appeared along South Congress Avenue and in the shade of San Antonio Street outside the University. Riaño, the lead singer of Condormulticolor, said he travels between states selling handcrafts from different regions of Colombia, making a stop in Austin on his way to New York City.
“I took photographs of our heritage in the coffee area related to the nature, to the architecture and to the traditional parades,” Riaño said. “(Colombia) is full of culture. It is full of happiness, color, youth and people.”
Colombia’s culture spreads across 32 states, referred to as “departamentos” in Spanish. Riaño said he makes his handcrafts in Putumayo where tribes use ritual practices to connect with spirits and nature, like drinking the Ayahuasca plant brew. Riaño himself hails from the Quindío department, “the land of the Gods” in native Quechua language, known for its coffee, he said, and nested in the Andes mountains.
“I come from a place that is remote in Colombia, full of farmers,” Riaño said. “There are cultures everywhere that you can meet, find and preserve.”
Last month, Condormulticolor released a music video for their latest single, “Primera Fila,” in which Riaño roller skates in a Guacamaya bird costume with golden wings through the city. Growing up in the ‘90s, he said the rock scene originally influenced him, but that changed as he grew older.
“When you are young, you want to be alternative, disruptive, punk, electronic,” Riaño said. “But when you grow up, you start to recognize your own territory to preserve symbols. If I don’t work to preserve my heritage … I don’t have roots.”
Santiago Melo, a biology freshman and international student from Colombia, said Bogota serves as a hub for native artists because of their migration during the war, and each style differs depending on the region.
“One uses different colors, the other tries to embody different animals or textiles,” Melo said. “A famous one is from the Wayuu tribe in Guajira, and they make very beautiful bags that are called Mochila Wayuu.”
Melo said one of Colombia’s largest art festivals is in his hometown, Bogota, called the Expoartesanias. The festival helps people reach artists in more inaccessible areas, he said.
“It’s the roots of Colombia,” Melo said. “Showing that to other countries is very important. It’s also very beautiful.”
Computer science freshman David Mendieta lived in Bogota for 19 years before coming to UT. The galleries of arts in Bogota, he said, depict both violent and life-affirming art.
“A lot of Colombian art you will find (revolves) around violence because it’s our past,” Mendieta said. “However, Colombian art is not all about that. It’s also about life, about happiness, about colors.”
Artists withdraw work from US National Gallery in protest of ‘government funding of Israel’s military assault’ in Gaza
The artists Nicholas Galanin (Lingít/Unangax) and Merritt Johnson have withdrawn a work from an exhibition of contemporary Native American art at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, in protest of the US government’s military aid to Israel. The museum is now in the process of deinstalling the work, a spokesperson for the NGA told The Art Newspaper.
The artists’ announcement was published on 3 November, a day after the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $14.3bn in military aid to Israel (the bill is not expected to pass the US Senate). The US aid package comes after Israel launched a bombing campaign and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip—in which more than 9,700 people have reportedly been killed, according to Gaza Ministry of Health figures cited by BBC News—in retaliation for Hamas’s terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October, in which around 1,400 people were killed and around 220 were taken hostage.
“It is with deep regret that we must ask for our work be removed from the [NGA] due to US government funding of Israel’s military assault and genocide against the Palestinian people,” Galanin and Johnson write in their statement, published on social media. “We’re calling on the federal government to demand an immediate ceasefire, cut military aid to Israel, and lift the siege on Gaza.”
The sculpture, Creation with her Children (2017), shows a figure wearing a 17th century-style dress stitched from an amalgamation of mass produced textiles, symbolising “colonisation, corporisation, commodification, and subjugation”, according to Johnson’s artist statement. It was included in The Land Carries Our Ancestors (until 15 January 2024), an exhibition curated by the artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (a member of the Confederated Salish/Kootenai Nation) that brought together nearly 50 intergenerational Native American artists. (Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax; Johnson does not have a tribal affiliation.)
The artists also wrote: “We’re grateful to Smith […] and to the NGA for supporting the [exhibition] and publication. The work we contributed […] is a reflection on survival, resistance against colonisation, [and] the importance of continuum and connection to land. The work we do as artists does not end in the studio or with our artist statements, it extends into the world.”
In 2019, Galanin was one of eight artists who requested the removal of their work from that year’s Whitney Biennial amid calls to remove the Whitney Museum’s former vice chairman, Warren Kanders, from the board of trustees, amid protests against his involvement in the sale of weapons. After Kanders’s resignation the following week, the artists rescinded their requests.
Galanin often explores themes related to social issues in his practice. His work Never Forget for the 2021 edition of the Desert X biennial reinterpreted the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles to spell the words “Indian Land”. His work is held in several major collections, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.
Johnson’s past works have also centred on themes related to Native communities. She previously withdrew work from an exhibition at the Fruitlands Museum in Massachusetts, where she was listed as an artist of Mohawk and Blackfoot descent, after questions around her affiliation with the tribes surfaced. Her works are held in the collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama and the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Where To See Indian Art In New York
This Diwali, celebrate by appreciating the incredible trove of Indian treasures in your own backyard. While Indian art can be found in the region and in diaspora the world over, New York City has some of the top places to appreciate it of anywhere.
The Rubin Museum
The Rubin was founded by Don and Shelley Rubin, collectors of Himalayan and South Asian Art. Don’t miss the incredible deities that encompass the broader expanse of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet at their Chelsea location. Uptown, another good option is the Asia Society Museum.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met’s exhibition on Ganesha opens on the 19th in tandem to ancient Buddhist sculpture, which reveres an India before today’s iterations of Hinduism. They also have an incredible collection of Indian miniature paintings displayed in previous exhibitions, and a continuously impressive Asian art wing with religious iconography from South India.
DAG Modern
This Indian transplant is a contemporary gallery with museum-quality works from the postwar period. Their exhibition catalogues could rival textbooks! Contact the gallery to see what’s on. For Indian and Pakistani art in dialogue, try Aicon Gallery downtown as well.
Navin Kumar Gallery
This Madison Avenue gem is an insider’s best kept secret. From Indian contemporary to miniature painting, the Kumar family in unfailingly ethical and scrupulous, with a rich roster of collectors dating back to Independent India. By appointment only.
Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Sundaram hails from the famous Tagore family. He is a relative of Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet who wrote both the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems. Although Sundaram presents an East-Meets-West roster rather than a conventional Indian presentation, his curations speak to the fabric of an evolving Indian identity. The current showcase in New York is by artist Olivia Fraser, whose family was instrumental in the creation of what is known as the Fraser Album, a collection of images of colonial India. Fraser is married to author William Dalrymple, celebrated for his extensive writings on the history of the East India Company.
Peabody Essex Museum
A quick trip from New York, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts quietly has one of the best collections of Indian contemporary art in the world, thanks to Chester and Davida Herwitz. Who needs witchcraft when you can have Indian art?
Museum of Art and Photography (MAP)
The newly opened MAP museum in Bengaluru has an excellent online viewing platform, and recently launched an art course run by Rubin curator Dr. Beth Citron. If you can’t leave for India, let India come to you.
UWO students make clay turtles to launch Native American Heritage and Honoring Month
Reeve Union 221 was packed with University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students getting creative Friday afternoon as they made clay turtles as part of Native American Heritage and Honoring Month (NHHM) events sponsored by Inter-Tribal Student Council and the Indigenous Studies Program.
Cynthia Thomas, a ceramics artist and teacher at the Oneida Nation School, led the activity, sharing her lessons, wisdom and gifts with the campus community.
Up next for NHHM is an evening of music and good messages with Wade Fernandez, a Menominee international touring music artist and educator, Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in Reeve Union 306.
Indigenous Youth Leadership Coalition Launches with Arrival of Inaugural Cohort – United States Department of State
The U.S. Department of State created the Indigenous Youth Leadership Coalition (IYLC) as a new network to elevate the voices of Indigenous youth into global civic and political participation conversations.
Six Indigenous young leaders from the Western Hemisphere launched the network as the inaugural cohort. The participants are visiting Washington, D.C. from November 6-9 to participate in the White House Tribal Youth Forum alongside Native American youth leaders.
The Tribal Youth Forum shares effective practices with Native youth leaders, enabling them to share their perspectives with U.S. policy makers on critical issues such as preserving Indigenous knowledge and languages, climate resilience, and health.
In addition to participating in the White House Tribal Youth Forum, the IYLC cohort will participate in meetings with State Department officials, civil society, and U.S. Tribal leaders during their visit. These engagements will lay the groundwork for entrepreneurial follow-on IYLC virtual activities through September 2024.
The six IYLC participants include:
Maricelma Francelino Fialho Cândido – Brazil
Maricelma is an Indigenous Terena woman from the Pantanal region, the world’s largest wetlands. She’s a biomedical professional specializing in infectious diseases with a focus on neglected rural Indigenous communities and a master’s student at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. She’s also a treasurer at the Intercultural Terena Education Institute and part of Mission Brazil’s Access E2C program.
Daisy Lahache – Canada
Born and raised on Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve in Quebec, Daisy is an artist, model, and the founder of the Healing Arts Project. Her art, including beadwork, mixed media, and sculpture, champions Mohawk arts and culture. She actively participates in Kahnawake’s youth governance and was invited to the Iroquois Confederacy Caucus. She is a passionate advocate for Indigenous representation and inclusion, proudly embracing her Mohawk heritage as a voice for youth and artists.
Noamby Lucas-Castillo – Colombia
Noamby is an Indigenous Zenú person from the Cabildo Menor of Tuchín-Urbano in Córdoba, Colombia. She is the first Zenú Indigenous person to attend and graduate from the University of Los Andes with a degree in law. She currently serves as a Judicial Assistant at the Tribunal for Peace in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a legal advisor for the rights of Indigenous women facing gender-based violence, and a volunteer with the Court of Justice of the Zenú People.
Edna Marly Figueroa Cuc – Guatemala
Edna is a Q’eqchi’ Indigenous sociolinguist and translator from the Guatemalan department of Cobán and the current Indigenous Queen of Abya Yala (America). She is the founder of the digital project on Facebook “Let’s Learn Q’eqchi’ with Edna.” Edna teaches the Q’eqchi’ language at JovenGo, a Central American youth organization working with isolated youth. She currently creates digital literacy materials in Mayan languages at the New Sun Road Guatemala School and empowers Indigenous women through technology.
Silvia Alejandra Miranda Loredo – Honduras
Silvia is a law school student at the National Autonomous University of Honduras and a paralegal. She is a Study of U.S. Institutes Alumni, Generation Change Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and a trainer at the Generation Change Fellows Program in Guatemala. As a founder of the Women with Power Foundation, Silvia has made significant contributions to women empowerment, education, and peacebuilding in Honduras. Her dedication to law, love for languages, leadership, and mission to serve others has made her an asset to empower others in her Garifuna ethnic community.
Josefina Bautista Peña – Mexico
Josefina is an Indigenous woman from Zacapoaxtla. She is both a native Náhuatl speaker and speaks and writes in Totonac. She was a reporter for the communal radio program “Tsinaka” and returned to her former high school to teach Indigenous and Náhuatl philosophy and became a part of the Academic Directive Council. Through her service, she strengthens educational programs from a Náhuatl community perspective and empowers girls and women
Cannon Beach gathering shares Native art, cuisine, stories
Seeking to broaden interaction with local Indigenous history and culture, four Cannon Beach nonprofits have joined together to organize the Gathering, a weekend of art, music, storytelling and food in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
According to Watt Childress, a Tolovana Arts Colony board member, the idea came from an informal gathering among friends, talking about corn.
“I guess I’m the one who brought corn into the conversation,” said Zoe Swain, a chef with Mesoamerican heritage. “Corn is such an essential part of so many different cultures. From there, we started discussing how art and music, like food, connects people across diverse backgrounds and nationalities.”
That conversation expanded into a vision of an event to celebrate various aspects of Native American life and culture.
The event kicks off on Friday evening with The Blackbird Band — who incorporate flute music into a rock fusion set — and musician and storyteller Quiltman at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse.
The celebration continues on Saturday, with presentations at the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum by Indigenous artists Ceara Lewis, Ravenwolf and Brad Mix.
“I’m intimidated, but excited to be involved,” said Ravenwolf, who has recently revived his artistic career after a hiatus and will be presenting his paintings that he refers to as prayers. “I am grateful for this opportunity. A fire has been lit.”
The weekend concludes at noon Sunday with a luncheon at Tolovana Hall, where Swain will introduce her “decolonized fry bread,” followed by a poetry reading from Astoria author Cliff Taylor and storytelling led by Marisol Quintana.
“Watt gave my healthier version of fry bread that decolonized name,” Swain said, laughing. “I’ve experimented with making a healthier fry bread by baking, not frying, and using masa (ground corn) instead of wheat flour. I’m glad the whole corn thing that began as an observation has grown into a celebration including so many different people and ideas.”
The event is a partnership between the Tolovana Arts Colony, Coaster Theatre Playhouse, Cannon Beach History Center and Museum and the Cannon Beach Arts Association.
“Our community has long been a gathering place,” said Andrea Suarez-Kemp, development manager of the museum, who uses her Taino roots as she works to expand exhibits and programming for Indigenous people. “Here’s a chance for us to use the power of hospitality and friendship to connect people more deeply between cultures.”
Art begins where architecture ends | Chennai News
Arterior is more than just a portmanteau word. It is what Native Krea, a social impact startup, has ventured to deliver – blending art with architecture. The startup intends to bring various artists under one platform and provide a global reach.
“We compose and manufacture art and art-related products by bringing together native artists,” says S Shanmuga Raja@ Shaan Raj, founder, Native Krea.He says the art that decorates the interiors of most buildings is too generic – scenery, portraits. “But the field is vast. Visuals can be from concepts and stories from our rich heritage, culture, literature and history,” he adds. A visual artist, heritage researcher and storyteller, Shanmuga Raja founded Native Krea in 2019.
Backed by a round of angel investment and a grant from TANSEED, he and co-founder Srivaishnavi Saravanan have been trying to fill the gaps left by engineers and architects. “We are integrating art with a multitude of things to usher life into buildings through stories, paintings and art works,” says Srivaishnavi. Office space in general is templated, cubicles that are lined up uniformly and to suit the available space.
To add value, promoters may end up hanging a painting or installing a sculpture. Not much else. “We break the barrier and create a difference, both in already built or yet to be built space. Unlike engineers and architects, artists have no boundaries and they fill the gaps,” she says. “We strive to tell stories through our art. Our core principles are authenticity, unique story-telling, and skilled artistry with Indian artists at the forefront.
We believe that true art speaks volumes without saying single word. Our art has a purpose. Our artists have vision and our team has the drive to take our tales of tradition, culture and ethnic artistry to the global stage,” says Srivaishnavi. She says the novel ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ reached a wider audience in the present generation thanks to the two-part film series. But the novel ‘Velpari’ has a stronger storyline than ‘Ponniyin Selvan’.
“Someone down the line had given us the image for Thiruvalluvar. Likewise, based on the characterization, we are working on giving images to various characters in ‘Velpari’. Srivashnavi says Indians may live wherever work takes them but when it comes to festivals, they connect to their roots. “We need to take this culture to the next generation through iconic visual form as miniatures, 2D murals and art among others.”
Native Krea undertakes work for private companies, buildings and even individuals. Startup TN has asked Native Krea to redo the space in the hubs at Chennai, Madurai, Erode and Tirunelveli within the protocol established for government offices. Fame TN’s office in Chennai’s Guindy too has received the touch from Native Krea artists. “We want to be a one-stop point for art and the A to Z knowledge base for art and create a global base for artists,” says Shanmuga Raja. About 170 artists from across India, including around 40 from Tamil Nadu, have joined hands with Native Krea so far.
First Nations Film and Video Festival showcases short films directed by Indigenous artists
First Nations Film and Video Festival showcases short films directed by Indigenous artists First Nations Film and Video Festival showcases Indigenous films
Indigenous USask graduate processes personal hardships, emotions through artwork
After facing a series of personal challenges, Master of Fine Arts (MFA) candidate Brody Burns (BA’21) never thought he would see his thesis project on display at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Snelgrove Art Gallery this summer.
“I honestly never thought I’d make it to my MFA,” Burns said. “But at the same time, it feels so good having that accomplishment and being able to rest and … really reflect and heal right now.”
These paintings were part of an exhibition, No Words Necessary, from the College of Arts and Science graduate student in the Department of Art and Art History. Since successfully presenting his thesis project, Burns will be graduating at the USask Fall Convocation on Nov. 8.
A Treaty Six Plains Cree artist from James Smith Cree Nation, Burns’ paintings explored emotions and concepts that go beyond the use of words while using acrylic, oil paint and digital media.
In his own words, the figures in his paintings “represent the energy and emotion that connects everyone and everything. Like synapses firing in the brain, information is communicated between all beings physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.”
The concept of the paintings was a way for Burns to begin processing the experiences of helping immediate and extended family members facing serious health issues.
“That was always a challenge,” he said. “It was something that was holding me back emotionally and mentally. It was hard for me to stay focused.
