Anna Tsouhlarakis
This year's Social Engagement Art Residency from the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum of Contemporary Native Art will exist in the virtual world, just as much of our day-to-day has since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Winoka Yepa (Diné), senior manager of museum education at MoCNA, is firm that the residency's particulars will remain largely unaltered, even as the physical aspects change.
"The goals are to engage with the community on celebrating Indigenous narratives and amplifying Indigenous voices, trying to build that bridge between the museum and the community," Yepa tells SFR. "We really had to switch towards digital engagement to maintain relationships with the local and international community."
Already, Yepa has developed a phone app for the museum and digitized entire MoCNA exhibits through the ArtSteps app, which has allowed would-be visitors to tour the museum on their devices in an interactive 3D environment. The residency is another feather in her cap that benefits new residents Anna Tsouhlarakis (Diné/Greek/Creek) and Eric-Paul Riege (Diné).
Tsouhlarakis works in a multitude of mediums that range from sculpture to installation. She's has had works displayed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, the NEON Foundation in Athens, Greece, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Following in her artist father's footsteps, she also maintains traditional teachings in her craft.
Courtesy Anna Tsouhlarakis
"I aspire to challenge and stretch the boundaries of aesthetic and conceptual expectations to reclaim and rewrite Native definitions of making through video, performance, sculpture, photography and installation," Tsouhlarakis explains by email. "I use Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies as starting points to reframe the discourse around the construction of Native American identity. "
Riege, meanwhile, is a weaver, and works with wearable art. He's been featured at SITE Santa Fe and in a solo exhibition at Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, Florida, and he's currently part of the ongoing project STTLMNT: An Indigenous Digital World Wide Occupation, which promotes a digital occupation by Indigenous Peoples within the context of the 400 year commemorations of the Mayflower's arrival in North America.
Courtesy Eric Paul Riege
Back at the museum, MoCNA held a trial-and-error virtual residency last October. Artists Luzene Hill (East Band Cherokee) and Mercedes Dorame (Tongva) came onboard, feeling out what parts of the pre-pandemic program worked in the virtual realm, and what needed to change.
"We started off simple with a blog and online interactions, and virtual takeovers," Yepa explains. "We started bringing school groups and the IAIA community through Zoom—and being mindful of Zoom fatigue. Everyone has Zoom fatigue right now."
Using those lessons, the new residency's sessions, artist talks, Instagram takeovers and virtual workshops are still a go—all on the web. A workshop with students from the New Mexico School for the arts and Students at IAIA are in the works as well, and Tsouhlarakis and Riege plan to host a virtual studio—in this case, a website—in an evolving fashion, which could include anything from blogs and audio to video and beyond.
Such residencies at MoCNA began in 2014 with a mission to amplify and promote Indigenous artists and promote Indigenous narratives. Funded by the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian until 2017, the program is now supported by the Native Arts and Culture Foundation.
"I think the main thing I'm proud of is that it's gaining national and international attention. It's new within the museum field and the art field, especially when it comes to BIPOC artists," Yepa says. "The interest is great. We're decolonizing these digital spaces."
For her part, Tsouhlarakis is relieved to have the time to focus more on her art.
"Throughout the pandemic it has been hard to allow my practice to be at the forefront of my mind and days," she says. "I have three children, and most of my attention is on them. With the residency, I have a renewed focus on my work. I'm looking forward to exploring new projects and new materials. "
As museums shift from strictly brick and mortar offerings, Yepa hopes each future residency can build on the audience from the last. She's also looking into more effective ways to merge digital and physical offerings, so locals and the broader world can participate.
"Our future is very positive. We're open to the public and built a digital footprint. That opens up so many new possibilities, especially virtual and augmented reality. It's opening gates to new and positive things."
