Select Page

Happenings

Happenings

Home Spring 2025 IAIA Artist-in-Residence Program

Spring 2025 IAIA Artist-in-Residence Program

Jan 15, 2025

For Spring 2025, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) will host an exciting lineup of six established and rising Native artists in our Artist-in-Residence (A-i-R) Program. Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham) will join us from January 20–February 21, Melanie Yazzie (Navajo) will join us from February 10–April 4, Neeko Garcia (Navajo) will join us from March 10–April 4, Robyn Tsinnajinne (Diné) will join us from April 7–May 2, Russell Frye (Tesuque Pueblo) ’15 will join us from April 7–May 2, and Laine Rinehart (Taos Pueblo and Alaska Native) will join us from May 5–16.

Meet these impressive artists at A-i-R welcome dinners and open studios throughout the semester, which are free and open to the public!

Artist-in-Residence Events

For more information about the IAIA A-i-R program, contact the IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts (RCCNA) Director Mary Deleary, PhD (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation) at mdeleary@iaia.edu or (505) 424-2389 or Administrative Assistant Erin Cooper at erin.cooper@iaia.edu or (505) 424-5713.  

If you are an individual with a disability in need of any type of auxiliary aid or service to attend events, please contact IAIA’s ADA Office at least seven calendar days before the event or as soon as possible at adaoffice@iaia.edu or (505) 424-5707.

Bios

Douglas Miles

Douglas Miles

January 20–February 21, 2025

Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham) is an artist of San Carlos Apache-Akimel O’odham descent whose work is rooted in Apache history and deeply engaged with contemporary pop culture. Born in 1963, he is a multi-faceted artist working as a designer, filmmaker, muralist, and photographer. His art blends Native history with political resistance and encourages reflection on how art can foster community-building, promote pride, and enhance well-being, particularly among young Native people.

In 2002, Miles developed and founded Apache Skateboards, a brand that combines art and skateboarding to support the athleticism and creativity of skateboarding for youth. Since its inception, Apache Skateboards has expanded to include the arts, education, political awareness, and empowerment, bridging mainstream skateboard culture with contemporary Native life. Miles is passionate about collaboration and has worked with actor and author Ethan Hawke on the New York Times bestseller graphic novel Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars. He has also collaborated with major brands and organizations, including Etnies, Volcom, Verizon, The Phoenix Suns, The Arizona Coyotes, Red Bull, Smartwater, KIA USA, NBC/The Today Show, and his skateboards and clothing are featured in Zumiez stores across the country.

His work has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as Princeton, Columbia University, the Eiteljorg Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Salem Museum, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe (2004). In 2017, Miles was a resident artist at the San Francisco De Young Museum. His skateboard installation You’re Skating On Native Land has been shown at the Phoenix Art Museum and the Denver Art Museum. Miles’ fine art is represented by Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe, and his photography is represented by Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe.

Melanie Yazzie

Melanie Yazzie

February 10–April 4, 2025

Melanie Yazzie (Navajo) is an artist who works in a wide range of media, including printmaking, painting, sculpture, ceramics, and installation art. Her art is accessible to the public on many levels, with a primary focus on connecting with and educating people about the contemporary experience of one Indigenous woman, hoping that others can learn from her story. Yazzie’s subject matter is significant, as the serious undertones of her work reference Native post-colonial dilemmas. She often brings images of women from many Indigenous cultures to the forefront, referencing matrilineal systems and pointing to the possibility of female leadership.

“There are many layers to the works and within the story. Many discover that our history is varied and deep. It is made clear that there are many Indigenous peoples in the world, and we all have different stories, often with a sad connection to mainstream society. Often misunderstood and overlooked are the ways in which we can all learn from each other and make a better world.” Yazzie has been represented by Glenn Green Galleries since 1993.

Neeko Garcia

Neeko Garcia

March 10–April 4, 2025

Neeko Garcia (Navajo) is a contemporary silversmith who creates intricate, hand-fabricated floral designs that reflect her identity and heritage. She transforms silver and gemstones into delicate representations of hummingbirds, butterflies, flowers, moons, stars, and more. Neeko has exhibited her work at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market, Santa Fe Indian Market, The Autry Museum American Indian Arts Festival, Native Treasures Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Art Market, and the Native Art Market at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. In recent years, Neeko has received various first- and second-place awards for her earring designs at Santa Fe Indian Market. Her work is inspired by the world around her, and she uses her designs to express herself in ways that words cannot.

Robyn Tsinnajinne

Robyn Tsinnajinne

April 7–May 2, 2025

Robyn Tsinnajinnie (Diné) is from a small reservation surrounded by the endless colors of the New Mexican desert. Her experiences with school, people, and living situations forced her to become independent at a young age. This motivated her to pursue education and build self-confidence in her art. Soon, Robyn realized that being Native and a woman was often seen as a disadvantage, but she learned that it was the best advantage she could have. Her passion for painting grew from the ability to create an endless array of colors that captivated her.

She enjoys using various colors that evoke emotions as she addresses the stereotypes placed on women. She then paints women dominating space and their surroundings, which helps Robyn heal and continue to face stereotypical challenges. She graduated from IAIA in 2020 with a BFA in Studio Arts, focusing on painting. Currently, she is represented by K Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY, and is more interested in how she works as an artist and her capabilities as a painter.

Russell Frye

Russell Frye

April 7–May 2, 2025

Russell Frye (Tesuque Pueblo) is an artist who graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in 2015. He is currently working at Prairie Dog Glass Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Frye grew up south of Gallup, NM, on the Ramah-Navajo Reservation. His mother is a traditional potter from Tesuque Pueblo, and his father is an artist from Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Frye studied at the University of New Mexico branch in Taos and Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He joined IAIA in the fall of 2011, where he began an internship with the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for working with glass as a medium. He believes that glass is an amazing material that captivates and can be used in many ways. Frye’s own work incorporates glassblowing, glass fusing, embossing, and other techniques. He is also known for his metalwork, particularly his bronze pieces, which explore the shapes and designs from Southwest pottery using new materials.

Laine Rinehart

Laine Rinehart

May 5–16, 2025

Laine Rinehart (Taos Pueblo and Tlingit [Alaska Native]) is an artist whose Tlingit name is Neech Yannagut Yéil. He is from the Teeyhítan clan of Wrangell, Alaska, and is also a child of the Kagwaantan through his father’s side. On his mother’s side, he maternally descends from Taos Pueblo.

In the summer of 2010, Rinehart began weaving in Kay Parker’s Ravens Tail class and has since worked with Lily Hope and her mother, Clarissa Rizal. He is deeply grateful for the opportunity to participate in a tradition that is generally unavailable to men. Rinehart strives to honor the practices and traditions of Chilkat weaving, utilizing materials such as mountain goat hair (jaanwu) and yellow cedar bark to craft his unique weaving style.