Visit with IAIA Artist-in-Residence (A-i-R) artists during our Open Studio event. Margaret Jacobs (Akwesasne Mohawk) will be in the Allan Houser Haozous Sculpture and Foundry Building. Tanni’ (Tyra Shackleford, Chickasaw) will be in the Artist-in-Residence Studio, and Skye Tafoya (Eastern Band Cherokee and Santa Clara Pueblo) will be in the Printmaking Studio, both located in the Academic Building. Free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Daina Warren at daina.warren@iaia.edu or Erin Cooper at erin.cooper@iaia.edu.

Margaret Jacobs

Margaret Jacobs

September 2–30, 2022

Margaret Jacobs (Akwesasne Mohawk) is an award-winning sculptor and metalsmith based in Salem, NY. Working in various metal fabrication techniques, including powder coating to add color, her sculptural pieces often intermingle steel, recycled materials, and organic elements such as antler, horn, and shell. Through her artistic praxis, she explores the tensions and harmonies between the natural and manufactured, cycles of growth and decay, and narratives of personal, familial, and cultural significance. Her work has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the United States, including a recent solo exhibition, Steel Medicine, at the Boise Art Museum in Boise, ID. In 2021 she was featured among “10 Emerging New England Artists” in Art New England magazine. In 2015 she was named as one of “11 Native American Artists Whose Work Redefines What It Means to be American” in Mic and received a Native American Residency Fellowship from the Harpo Foundation.

Tanni’ (Tyra Shackleford)

Tanni’ (Tyra Shackleford)

September 2–18, 2022

Tyra Shackleford, also known as Tanni’ (Chickasaw), is a textile artist based in Ada, OK. Drawing inspiration from her Indigenous roots, Tanni’ employs various ancient handweaving techniques in creating wearable art made from natural and manufactured materials. Each piece tells a unique story derived from Chickasaw oral histories to contemporary social issues. She primarily works in finger weaving and sprang and incorporates sewing, quillwork, beadwork, and jewelry making into her praxis. Tanni’ hopes her work will inspire younger generations to keep traditional techniques alive.

Rhiannon Skye Tafoya

Rhiannon Skye Tafoya

September 2–30, 2022

Rhiannon Skye Tafoya (Eastern Band Cherokee and Santa Clara Pueblo) ’13 employs printmaking, digital design, and basketry techniques in creating her artist’s books, prints, and paper weavings. Her tribal heritage is manifested in her two- and three-dimensional artworks that range in size from a few inches to a few feet. She is inspired by her family history of basketry and observing her father and maternal grandmother weave baskets from red willow, honeysuckle vine, and white oak. While her inspiration comes, in part, from Cherokee traditions, her artworks are decidedly contemporary, featuring sharp lines and bold colors. Tafoya creates to preserve, archive, and share personal and familial stories, Indigenous cultural teachings, and the Cherokee language. Her work is housed in many special collections, including the US Library of Congress, the Met library, and Self-Help Graphics.

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