Saturday, July 5, 2025

Art Daily: Monroe Gallery hosts Eugene Tapahe's healing "Jingle Dress Project" exhibit

 

ardaily.com com graphic red text on yellow backgrond
Via ArtDaily.com

July 5, 2025

Monroe Gallery hosts Eugene Tapahe's healing "Jingle Dress Project" exhibit

black and white photograph 4 Native American women in traditional Jungle Dresses with red face masks and red scarves signifying MMIW standing in tall grass in front of snow-capped Teton mountains

Eugene Tapahe

Strength In Unity, Tetons National Park, the native land of the Shoshone, Bannock, Gros Ventre, and Nez Perce People, 2021


SANTA FE, NM.- Monroe Gallery of Photography opens a very special exhibit of large format photographs by Diné (Navajo) photographer Eugene Tapahe: Art Heals, The Jingle Dress Project.

The exhibit opens July 5, 2025, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. It will continue during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest Native American art market, August 16 and 17, and conclude on September 14, 2025.

Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project originated from a dream Tapahe had during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring him to unite the land and people through the healing power of the Ojibwe jingle dress dance during uncertain times of illness and social differences. Since then, Tapahe has traveled thousands of miles documenting family members and friends dancing the healing honor dance in National Parks and Monuments, honoring the places where their ancestors once lived. Tapahe describes the images as “incredibly powerful and spiritual. Looking at them, I still can't believe I took these photographs. I believe this project is larger than myself, and I hope that when people view them, they feel the same way – that we are all blessed to be in the presence of such beauty.”

The Jingle Dress Project has brought healing to Tapahe’s family, friends, and ancestors and garnered national and international recognition for its unifying effect on communities. The images have raised awareness of many Native American issues, such as land acknowledgment, women’s rights, and, most importantly, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).

During the project, Tapahe discovered one overarching metaphor. “I put my hand on one of the jingles and I shook it. That one jingle didn’t make any sound,” he said. “But together, they have the power to heal. As human beings, if we are able to unite ourselves and our prayers and make a beautiful sound as the jingle dress does, we could be powerful.”

Eugene Tapahe is a contemporary artist inspired by his Diné (Navajo) traditions and modern experiences. He is originally from Window Rock, Arizona. Tapahe has loved photography since the first time he picked up a camera, and realized the special gift for telling stories through his art. He has a deep desire to continue photographing the lands his ancestors once walked.

Tapahe has received numerous awards, including the Best of Show award for his photography at the Cherokee Indian Market (2018) and the Museum of Northern Arizona (2019), making him the first photographer to achieve this honor.

Tapahe has also been honored with two International Awards of Excellence from Communication Arts magazine. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC), the Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama), The Toledo Museum (Ohio), Speed Art Museum (Kentucky), the Arizona State Museum, the Minnesota History Center Museum, and the College of Wooster Art Museum (Ohio).


Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Santa Fe July 4: Pancakes On The Plaza

 

Rotary Club logo with text reading Rotary Club of Santa Fe

Via Santa Fe Rotary Club

Pancakes on the Plaza is flipping back into action. Every Fourth of July, the heart of downtown fills with the smell of sizzling pancakes, the sparkle of classic cars, rows of amazing local art, and thousands of smiling faces. It is not just a breakfast — it is the way Northern New Mexico celebrates Independence Day. We are proud to announce that Pancakes on the Plaza will help deliver $200,000 in grants over the next two years to support Santa Fe nonprofits making a real difference.

When you buy a ticket, you are not just enjoying a plate of fluffy goodness — you are helping local families thrive, students succeed, and our whole community shine a little brighter. Pancakes on the Plaza is brought to you by the Rotary Club of Santa Fe — 80 Rotarians, over 300 volunteers, and a whole lot of heart. Thanks to your support and your big appetite, we are making a real impact. Eat pancakes. Have fun. Make a difference.


Take a short walk to Monroe Gallery to see a preview of an important new exhibition featuring a photography series by artist Eugene Tapahe titled Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project. The exhibit opens July 5, 2025, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m, and the Gallery will be open July 4 from 10 - 2.



Friday, June 27, 2025

Hot Mirror Article: Eugene Tapahe: Healing and the Jingle Dress

 Via Hot Mirror

June 26, 2025


color photograph of 4 Native American woman in ceremonial Jingle Dresses on white salt flats with blue sky and white clouds overhead

Togetherness, Sisters, Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, Goshute and Timpanogos, 2023
©Eugene Tapahe, Courtesy of Monroe Gallery



Eugene Tapahe: Healing and the Jingle Dress by Brian Byrd

Brian Byrd is a freelance photographer with more than two decades of experience advancing communication as a catalyst for social change. He serves on the board of directors for the Overseas Press Club of America and the advisory board for WITNESS, a global NGO founded by musician Peter Gabriel that uses video and digital technology to document human rights violations.


Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project - New Exhibit

While wandering through this year's Association of International Photography Dealers (AIPAD) show in New York City, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the vast number of photographs on display. Yet among the visual cacophony, the Monroe Gallery booth stood out as one of the few to highlight the work of Native American artists. Eugene Tapahe's photographs from his Art Heals project commanded attention—not merely for their striking colors juxtaposed against nature's beauty, but for the profound story they tell. These images, featuring jingle dress dancers in magnificent landscapes, invite viewers into a space where cultural heritage, environmental connection, and healing converge in visual harmony.

Walking in Beauty

"I draw inspiration from my Diné (Navajo) traditions and modern experiences," said Tapahe. "My work reflects the beauty and resilience of Native American culture. I strive to unite these two worlds in my concepts while transcending worldly uncertainties."

At the core of Tapahe's artistic vision is the traditional Navajo philosophy "to always walk in beauty," a principle that guides both his creative practice and personal journey. Through various visual mediums—photography, video, printmaking, installation, and mixed-media sculpture—Tapahe creates a delicate balance between past and present, using subtle contrasts, natural colors, and contours to offer unity, hope, and healing in a world often marked by disconnection.

In the early months of 2020, as the world retreated into isolation, the Diné (Navajo) artist found himself at a painful crossroads. His art shows were canceling one by one, and personal tragedy struck when he lost his aunt to COVID-19. "I felt like I was broken," he recalls. "I felt like there was nothing good going to happen."

Then came the dream that would change everything.

Tapahe describes a peaceful vision where he sat in a Yellowstone meadow watching grazing bison. The tranquility was interrupted by the distinct sound of jingles—and suddenly, beautiful jingle dress dancers appeared, performing alongside the bison. He awoke with a profound sense of healing and hope, immediately sharing his vision with his family.

"This dream is telling me that we need to take the jingle dress to the land, to heal the land," Tapahe told his wife and daughters. "And if we heal the land, we're going to heal the people." --click for full article


The exhibit opens July 5, 2025, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. It will continue during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest Native American art market, August 16 and 17, and conclude on September 14, 2025. 

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Save The Date: July 5 Artist Talk With Eugene Tapahe

 


Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to announce an important exhibition featuring a photography series by artist Eugene Tapahe titled Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project. The exhibit opens July 5, 2025, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. Space is limited please arrive early.




The exhibit will continue during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest Native American art market, August 16 and 17, and conclude on September 14, 2025. 

Eugene Tapahe is a contemporary artist inspired by his Diné (Navajo) traditions and modern experiences. He is originally from Window Rock, Arizona. Tapahe has loved photography since the first time he picked up a camera, and realized the special gift for telling stories through his art. He has a deep desire to continue photographing the lands his ancestors once walked. 

Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project originated from a dream Tapahe had during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring him to unite the land and people through the healing power of the Ojibwe jingle dress dance during uncertain times of illness and social differences. Since then, Tapahe has traveled thousands of miles documenting family members and friends dancing the healing honor dance in National Parks and Monuments, honoring the places where their ancestors once lived. Tapahe describes the images as “incredibly powerful and spiritual. Looking at them, I still can't believe I took these photographs. I believe this project is larger than myself, and I hope that when people view them, they feel the same way – that we are all blessed to be in the presence of such beauty.” 

The Jingle Dress Project has brought healing to Tapahe’s family, friends, and ancestors and garnered national and international recognition for its unifying effect on communities. The images have raised awareness of many Native American issues, such as land acknowledgment, women’s rights, and, most importantly, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).  



Gallery hours are 10 to 5 daily, and admission is free. For further information, please call or e-mail the Gallery.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Flag Day, 2025

 


Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

Throughout history, flags have elevated the emotional impact of images. 


famous photograph of six U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in February, 1945
Joe Rosenthal/©AP

Perhaps the most iconic of all flag photos is Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of six U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. It was taken on Friday, February 23, 1945, five days after the Marines landed on the island. Almost instantly, the image came to symbolize American courage, resilience, and unity in the face of adversity, becoming a powerful emblem of the nation's resolve during World War II.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Thomas E. Franklin documented three New York firefighters raising the American flag amid the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center towers. Like Rosenthal’s photo, it was universally embraced, an uplifting photo that defined resilience and unity.

color photograph of 3 NY firemen raising an American Flag among the wreckafe of the World Trade Center on 9/11
Thomas Franklin/©Bergen Record


The weaponization of the flag has similarly produced iconic photographs. In 1976, Stanley Forman photographed a white protester outside City Hall assaulting an African American attorney with the American flag. “The photo shocked Boston” made front pages across the U.S. and also won a Pulitzer Prize. Captioned “The Soiling of Old Glory”, to this day it offers a dramatic window onto the turbulence of the 1970s and race relations in America.

black abd white a white protester outside Boston City Hall assaulting an African American attorney with the American flag in 1976
©Stanley Forman

Nearly fifty years later, on January 6, 2021, a weaponized American flag was documented once again. David Butow’s unsettling photo of Trump supporters attacking police from the steps of the Capitol is a modern echo of Forman’s Soiling of Old Glory.


Trump supporters attacking police from the steps of the Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021
©David Butow

And most recently, on February 22, 2025 – almost exactly 80 years to the day after Joe Rosenthal’s Iwo Jima Photograph - Tracy Barbutes photographed an inverted American flag — historically used as a sign of distress — off the side of El Capitan, a towering rock formation in Yosemite National Park, hung to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service. Hundreds of visitors had gathered to photograph an annual phenomenon in the park known as firefall, when the setting sun causes a seasonal waterfall on El Capitan to glow orange. One spectator commented: “I feel like our national parks are national treasures, and they need to be protected, as does our democracy. It was a call to action and a call for hope.”


color photograph of an inverted American flag — historically used as a sign of distress — off the side of El Capitan, a towering rock formation in Yosemite National Park, hung to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service in 2025
©Tracy Barbutes



color photograph of African-American woman with her head in her hands surrounded by American flags as supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris react to results on election night. Washington D.C
©Ron Haviv


color photograph of an American Flag covered table with a bible, sword, and KKK material during a Klan New Member Meeting, Kentucky, May, 2025
©Mark Peterson



Thursday, June 5, 2025

Utah Artist Fellowship Program Announces Award to Photographer Eugene Tapahe

 Via The Salt Lake Tribune



color photograph of 4 women in bright "Jingle Dresses" holding hands on the white salt flats with backs to camera and blue sky with white clouds

(Eugene Tapahe) | The Jingle Dress Project: Eternal Legacy, 2023 (photograph)



The Utah Division of Arts & Museums has been supporting Utah artists since the agency’s founding in 1899. A large part of that support is the Utah Artist Fellowship, one of the highest state-sponsored awards a Utah artist can receive. The Utah Artist Fellowships are cash awards that recognize the careers of Utah artists demonstrating exceptional creativity in their fields. Fellows are chosen by out-of-state, nationally renowned arts professionals. Selections are based on evaluation of application narratives, as well as work samples from the past five years.

Through these fellowships, the agency seeks to support professional and committed artists reaching pivotal moments in their artistic practices, encouraging their career advancement and growth. Candidates are selected through an open application process. All eligible applications receive equal consideration through a two-round review process: a prescreen staff review, and a juror review. This year, five fellowships were awarded in the categories of Design Arts, Literary Arts, Performing Arts (Theatre), and Visual Arts. This year marked the inaugural year for a Literary Arts category.

2025’s Visual Arts Fellows are Eugene Tapahe, Christopher Lynn, Nancy Rivera, Ariel C. Wilson, and Xi Zhang. Visual Arts juror Lana Meador said: “The submissions reflected an incredibly rich artistic community, making the selection process no easy feat. The chosen artists displayed a clear vision and commitment to their practice in works that push the boundaries of their chosen media in new and exciting ways.”  Full article


Monroe Gallery is honored to present a very special exhibit by Eugune Tapahe - Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project. The exhibit opens on July 5, 2025, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. It will continue during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest Native American art market, August 16 and 17, and conclude on September 14, 2025. Please contact the Gallery for more information
 

Monday, June 2, 2025

Widening the Aperture: A War Photographer’s World With Ashley Gilbertson

 

Tuesday, June 3 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) welcomes Ashley Gilbertson, an Australian photographer based in New York City recognized as one of the best documentary photographers working in the U.S. today, to talk about his life as a war photographer. Sometimes war photographers must tell the whole story in a single image, never knowing whether that’s all the viewer will see. That doesn’t make every picture perfect, but it does make every picture essential, worth taking whatever risks are necessary to get it. And it gives the good photographers a special way to look at the world around them. Ashley Gilbertson has covered the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine, as well as the January 6 riot and countless other domestic and foreign stories. The conversation will be moderated by Susan Weiss, a Vermont-based photographer, filmmaker, and art educator. Registration for this program is $20 per person.

 For more information or to register, please visit greenmtnacademy.org or call our office at 802-867-0111.



Venue
860 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive
Manchester, VT, 05254 


Organizer  Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning
Phone 802-867-0111
Email  greenmountainacademy@gmail.com