Nicholas Galanin: Unshadowed Land
December 2, 2022, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
In this Artist Talk, Nicholas Galanin demonstrates how his artistic methods approach culture as rooted in connection to land, and how like land, culture cannot be contained. Inspired by generations of Lingít & Unangax̂ creative production and knowledge connected to the land he belongs to, Nicholas Galanin's artistic practice engages across cultures with contemporary conditions. His process of creation is a constant pursuit of freedom and vision for the present and future. Using Indigenous and non-Indigenous technologies and materials, he works to resist romanticization, categorization, and limitation. His work explores adaptation, resilience, survival, active cultural amnesia, dream, memory, cultural resurgence, connection to, and disconnection from the land.
Co-sponsored by Rethinking Place: Bard-on-Mahicantuck, a Mellon Foundation Humanities for All Times project
About the Speaker
Nicholas Galanin’s work engages contemporary culture from his perspective rooted in connection to the land. He embeds incisive observation into his work, investigating intersections of culture and concept in form, image, and sound. Galanin's works embody critical thought as vessels of knowledge, culture, and technology - inherently political, generous, unflinching, and poetic.
Galanin engages the past, present, and future to expose intentionally obscured collective memory and barriers to the acquisition of knowledge. His works critique the commodification of culture while contributing to the continuum of Tlingit art. Galanin employs materials and processes that expand dialogue on Indigenous artistic production and how culture can be carried. His work is in numerous public and private collections and exhibited worldwide. Galanin apprenticed with master carvers, earned his BFA at London Guildhall University, and his MFA at Massey University. He lives and works with his family in Sitka, Alaska.
Co-sponsored by Rethinking Place: Bard-on-Mahicantuck, a Mellon Foundation Humanities for All Times project
Nicholas Galanin’s work engages contemporary culture from his perspective rooted in connection to the land. He embeds incisive observation into his work, investigating intersections of culture and concept in form, image, and sound. Galanin's works embody critical thought as vessels of knowledge, culture, and technology - inherently political, generous, unflinching, and poetic.
Galanin engages the past, present, and future to expose intentionally obscured collective memory and barriers to the acquisition of knowledge. His works critique the commodification of culture while contributing to the continuum of Tlingit art. Galanin employs materials and processes that expand dialogue on Indigenous artistic production and how culture can be carried. His work is in numerous public and private collections and exhibited worldwide. Galanin apprenticed with master carvers, earned his BFA at London Guildhall University, and his MFA at Massey University. He lives and works with his family in Sitka, Alaska.
