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IAIA students were selected to participate in the Soul of Nations Foundation’s Digital Natives Project in Belgium and the Congressional Exhibition Project’s second Native American Art Reception, a celebration in honor of Native American Heritage Month in Washington, D.C. 

Native American and Afro-European artists partake in the Soul of Nations Foundation’s Congressional Exhibition Project’s second Native American Art Reception, a celebration in honor of Native American Heritage Month. 

“This piece is not for you. This is an unapologetic grasp for identity.” So begins a new multimedia artistic work born out of an international exchange program called Digital Natives, which brought together a group of young Indigenous artists from the Americas and Africa (by way of  Belgium).

2018-2019 Cohort: selected works

While the cohort was in the United States (Turtle Island), they explored the Navajo Nation Reservation and participated in a workshop with a jewelry designer at the Zuni Reservation. They also visited Window Rock, the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation in Arizona. They discussed their shared experiences of loss and enrichment. Young Belgians with an African background and young Americans with a Native American background: how do their experiences differ and where do they overlap?

Next, our Digital Natives traveled to Washington, where they got the opportunity to showcase their work in Congress, on Capitol Hill, and at Howard University. While in Washington, they also visited the National Museum of the American Indian and the Embassy of Tribal Nations, which represents the 573 Native American tribal nations.

Inspired by their interactions with the visual artists Jaque Fragua and Monty Little, both alumni of the IAIA, the young participants created a video work around these themes called Feeling Everything All At Once. While in Brussels, select members from the cohort made an untitled collaborative installation at BOZAR. 

Student Artists: Michael Begay, Madeline Lamb, Melverna Aguilar, Oriana Mangala Ikomo Wanga, Laouratou Barry, Ufitinema Arlette Birekeraho, Gregory Ballenger, and Delaney Keshena.

Artist Mentors: Jaque Fragua, Monty Little, and Sophie Saporosi.

Feeling Everything All At Once, 2018-2019.

FEELING EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE is a creative output from a multi-layered artistic exchange project called DIGITAL NATIVES. The art project was created in collaboration between students who attend the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Belgian participants who partnered with the Institute of Sainte-Marie in Brussels, Belgium.

This creative collaboration was administered by BOZAR — Center for Fine Arts Brussels and Soul of Nations. Designed and built in the 1920’s by the famous art nouveau architect Victor Horta, BOZAR – Center for  Fine Arts features almost 4000 m² of exhibition space, Belgium’s most prestigious concert hall as well as various smaller theatre and multimedia spaces. The CFA welcomes more than a million visitors a year and is the arts center par excellence in the cultural landscape of Belgium, host country to the European institutions. As such it is uniquely positioned to act as an agent of cultural diplomacy and exchange in the context of today’s most pressing issues.

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is the only four-year degree fine arts institution in the nation devoted to contemporary Native American arts. Since it was founded in 1962, IAIA has graduated over 3,000 students. The Institute welcomes students from the 573 federally-recognized tribes, as well as non-Native students, looking to obtain a world-class arts education. The school serves Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe. Through the concept of art as a traditional path of creativity, IAIA excels at building skills, provoking thought, and providing exceptional educational opportunities. IAIA is a place to embrace the past, enrich the present, and create the future.