Showing posts with label Native photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Native photography. Show all posts

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Art Heals

 Via The Santa Fe New Mexican

August 17, 2025

"...that’s exactly why I documented the project: the educational purpose behind it is important. It needs to be shared; it’s healing for everyone."  Eugene Tapahe


screenshot of cover of Pasatiempo magazine with photograph showing 3 Native American women in bright Jingle Dresses and red face masks standing in the Salt Flats with blue sky behind them

"Art heals.

There it is. You can quit reading.

Instead, find Carolyn’s column on Page 7 of our hefty, glossy-covered 92-page Pasa magazine that came out Friday — the one with Native photographer Eugene Tapahe’s (Diné) stunning visual on the cover, courtesy of the Monroe Gallery of Photography." 

--Bill Church is executive editor at The Santa Fe New Mexican.


Read the Pasatiempo Magazine article here.

Friday, August 15, 2025

Eugene Tapahe: Standing On Ceremony

Via Pasatiempo

By Brian Sanford

August 15, 2025


cover of Pasatiempo magazine with Eugene Tapahe photography of 3 Native American women in bright Jingle Dresses standing in Utah salt flats

 


When Eugene Tapahe (Diné) photographed his daughters and two of their friends posing while wearing Ojibwe jingle dresses at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, the purpose was to provide healing during a tumultuous time, not to create art.

It was June 2020, and the world was reeling from the new realities of the pandemic’s social distancing, widespread masking, and living with the pre-vaccine terror that a friendly interpersonal encounter could be deadly. An aunt of Tapahe’s died from COVID-19; amid that emotional trauma, he dreamed he was sitting in a grass field at Yellowstone National Park, gazing at a herd of bison on the horizon. He detected a distinctive sound, then realized it was coming from jingle dress dancers who’d begun dancing with the bison. A sensation rose within Tapahe that most people don’t associate with 2020: hope.

The healing Ojibwe jingle dress dance is thought to have originated during the 1918 influenza pandemic, so its powers resonated especially strong during a remarkably similar calamity about a century later. What began with a 150-mile drive from the Tapahe family’s Provo, Utah, home to the salt flats grew into a nationwide healing journey to national parks and even New York City. Some of the results of that ongoing voyage are featured in Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, an exhibition at Monroe Gallery of Photography coinciding with Santa Fe Indian Market, where Tapahe is also bringing his work.

Tapahe traveled with his wife, Sharon; twentysomething daughters Erin and Dion; and the daughters’ friends Sunni and JoAnni Begay. The latter four posed in the vibrantly colored dresses while wearing matching red face masks, their arms raised in unity, at Monument Valley for Solidarity, Sisterhood; on a rock with their backs to the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast in Warrior Women; and at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for Forever Enshrined. Some of the images are black-and-white, while others feature only three of the women.


color photograph of 4 Native American women wrapped in colorful blankets standing on fallen tree trunk on La Push beash in Washinton
Strength and Dignity, La Push Beach, La Push, Washington,

Tapahe, a native of Window Rock, Arizona, who holds a Master of Fine Art degree in studio art from Brigham Young University in Provo, recently chatted with Pasatiempo about the spookiness of traversing what amounted to a ghost nation in 2020, combating cultural ignorance, and the pandemic’s effects on both his psyche and his bottom line. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Do you always have such vivid, memorable dreams?

Many artists do sketches or preliminary work, but I conceptualize a lot of my works before I start doing art. I think it was a unique situation in that, even when I woke from the dream, it was still resonating with me. It really touched me and affected me to the point where I gave it life by sharing it with my wife and my daughters. The idea [at first] wasn’t to take it to the world; I just wanted to do one dance in a sacred place, to make the dream true.

But when we went out to the Bonneville Salt Flats — which is close to us — and the girls danced, that changed our whole perspective. We were the only people on the land, and there wasn’t a dry eye the whole time. The girls said they knew they weren’t dancing alone; they could feel the spirits of the ancestors of that land dancing with them spiritually. When the dance was over, Dion said, “Dad, we’ve got to take this to the land. We can’t just do it one time.” I said, “In my dream, I was at Yellowstone National Park, so let’s go to national and state parks.” Because those lands were colonized first — taken from the Native people — if we heal those lands and ancestors, they will come and help us heal during COVID.

You mention healing, and people suffered in numerous ways during the pandemic. How were you affected?

My family and I couldn’t go home to help our people and family, so it was difficult to see from afar the pain and death. Because of this, we felt it was important to go on this healing journey so that we could bring healing and unity through art.

Had you already visited all of the places featured in Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project?

At some points, it was the first time we’d ever been there. In many places, it was really tough because we didn’t spend weeks there; I knew as a landscape photographer that early mornings and late evenings were the best times to take photos and for the girls to perform the jingle dress dance, since the natural light would be better. During the days, we traveled and the girls did their homework, because at the time everything was online.

This project began in 2020; what years does it cover?

It started in June 2020 and continues to this day. We are being invited to universities and colleges to speak and serve on panels. This has given us a great platform to [bring attention to] not just the project, but also to address Native issues, such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, Native rights, Native lands, and land acknowledgement.


black and white photograph of 3 Native American women in Jingle Dresses with right fists raised in front of the Lincoln Memorial
Photographer Eugene Tapahe’s ongoing Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project at Monroe Gallery features images taken of his daughters and their friends at state and national parks during the pandemic. The images include Forever Enshrined, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC (2021, above). 
Courtesy Monroe Gallery of Photography

How did Sunni and JoAnni get involved?

They’re good friends with Erin and Dion. We’re all Navajo, and during COVID, the Navajo Nation shut down and closed their borders, so we couldn’t go home to help or be with our family members. They were already in quarantine here in Utah with our family, and that’s how we managed to do what we did.

The world had largely shut down.

We kept to ourselves; all restaurant dining areas were closed, so we either packed our own food or ordered takeout. We only entered public spaces to get gas and use the restrooms, but we remained very cautious because none of us wanted to get sick. At that time, there were no vaccinations available. When we visited Yosemite National Park, the six of us and two rangers were the only people there. It was a deeply spiritual moment — yet also surreal and eerie. It was late June, and the rangers told us that normally, they wouldn’t have any available camping spots, and the park would usually be filled with thousands of visitors.

How did you get into the park?

At Yosemite National Park, the rangers happened to be Natives [Miwok] from that land, and they already knew who we were. So, when we reached the guard gate, they understood that our purpose was spiritual and healing, and they allowed us to enter. The girls danced at the Indian village, and afterward, the rangers wanted to give them a gift. They shared their popsicles, which were so refreshing on that hot day in June.

Did you have issues accessing other locations?

The only place we thought we might have trouble was Yosemite National Park, because there are only a couple of entrances, but we were fortunate that the rangers there knew what we were doing and understood our purpose. Most of the other parks didn’t have anyone at the entrances because of COVID.

One of your images features the since-closed Nicholas Galanin exhibition Never Forget, consisting of 45-foot letters spelling out “Indian Land” in Palm Springs, California, which was featured in Galanin’s SITE Santa Fe exhibition Interference Patterns. Did Galanin (Tlingit-Unangax) know about your visit?

The organization, Desert X, has a biennial art installation in Palm Springs. We wanted to go there to dance and do a photo session. I reached out to them to let them know we would be coming. They responded on the day of our trip and said they were working on getting Nicholas to fly out the next day to meet us. They also managed to get Congressman Raul Ruiz from Palm Springs to come, and we had an impromptu get-together with Galanin. The ceremony opened with a local Native community performance featuring a traditional Cahuilla bird song by John Preckwinkle III. It was a spiritual moment.

How much do the dresses weigh?

Between 8 and 12 pounds.

color photograph of 4 Native American women in brightly colored Jingle Dresses standing on rock outcropping with Monument Vallery in background

Nizhoni (Beautiful), Monument Valley, Arizona, 20200


You encountered ignorance about Native people during your travels. That likely wouldn’t happen in New Mexico; where did it occur?

Mostly in urban areas; it occurred a few times on the East Coast. When we talked at universities, some people said, “I didn’t know that Native Americans still existed,” or, “Do you still live in teepees?” That’s still out there. It’s still common.

That sounds infuriating. How did you respond?

Our project is both healing and educational. When I was younger, I would have gotten angry, but now I realize they’re not saying it out of racism. Especially on the East Coast, that’s all they learned. In high school, the textbooks focused on Plains Indians, and they learned that Native Americans all lived in teepees, rode horses, lost battles, and were eventually wiped out.

It sounds like this show would be even more educational if it were featured in other areas of the U.S. Do you know if it will become a traveling exhibition?

I really don’t, but that’s exactly why I documented the project: the educational purpose behind it is important. It needs to be shared; it’s healing for everyone.

What are you showing at Indian Market this year?

A few images from [Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project] will be in my booth, as well as landscapes and a lot of wildlife photography.

You’ve mentioned that the number 4 is considered sacred in Navajo culture. How did it manifest in this project?

We have four girls who represent the four worlds; in Navajo culture, we believe we’re in the fourth world. In the Four Worlds photo, there are four peaks on the Teton National Park mountains. During our photo session, the girls were facing me, and my daughter Dion set up the shot and poses. It turned out that they were almost in the same spots as the peaks on the mountains behind them. When we were ready to start printing the photos, that’s when we all saw it. It’s incredible how this project brought so much healing to us and to those who can see the images now. Art truly heals. 



details

The Jingle Dress Project

Through September 14

Monroe Gallery of Photography

112 Don Gaspar Avenue

505-992-0800; monroegallery.com

Friday, August 8, 2025

Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, an exhibition coinciding with Santa Fe Indian Market

 Via Pasatiempo

August 8, 2025

Four Native American women in brightly colored Jingle Dresses stand in tall greet grass with snow-capped Teton mountains in background

Dress Dream

The inspiration for Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, an exhibition coinciding with Santa Fe Indian Market that’s showing at Monroe Gallery of Photography, can be traced to a dream that artist Eugene Tapahe (Diné) experienced during the pandemic.

The dream featured the Ojibwe jingle dress dance, an Indigenous dance with roots in healing and spiritual practices — which resonated with Tapahe during a time of widespread illness and social upheaval. Tapahe since has traveled thousands of miles photographing or taking videos of family members and friends performing the dance, documenting a striking combination of brightly colored dance garb and sweeping natural backdrops at national parks and monuments.

A reception is 5-7 p.m. Thursday, August 14, and at 5:30 p.m. Tapahe will discuss the work and preview a documentary he’s developing. Originally from Window Rock, Arizona, he has won awards including best of show in 2018 at the Cherokee Indian Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma. — B.S.


Note: Tapahe talk will be available on Zoom, register here.

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Save The Date: August 14, Eugene Tapahe Artist Talk During Indian Market Weekend In Santa Fe

 



 Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to announce a special event during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest and most prestigious Indigenous art market in the world, now in its 103rd year.

An Evening with the Artist Eugene Tapahe.

Diné (Navajo) artist Eugene Tapahe will present an artist talk and preview the in-development documentary film Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project on Thursday, August 14 at 5:30. The important exhibition featuring a photography series by artist Eugene Tapahe titled Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project is on view through September 14, 2025.

Please contact the Gallery for further information.


Read In The Eye of Photography Monroe Gallery of Photography Eugene Tapahe : Art Heals, The Jingle Dress Project

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. 

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
 

Friday, April 25, 2025

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Eugene Tapahe: Between the Worlds

Via Utah Policy

November 6, 2024 


Celebrated Native American art exhibit comes to UVU’s Museum of Art at Lakemount


In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the Utah Valley University Museum of Art at Lakemount is pleased to present an art exhibition by Diné (Navajo) artist Eugene Tapahe. “Eugene Tapahe: Between the Worlds” opens with a reception on Tuesday, November 12, from 5-7:30 pm. The exhibition will remain on view through February 15, 2025.

“Eugene Tapahe: Between the Worlds” explores multiple meanings, connecting the contemporary world with tradition while highlighting the relationship between people and the land. Curated by Katherine Jackson, professor of art history at UVU, the exhibition includes a combination of Tapahe’s installations, photography, and performance, engaging people and places while mapping monuments as sacred sites throughout the modern world.

“I draw inspiration from my Diné (Navajo) traditions and modern experiences. My work reflects the fragility and resilience of Native American culture. I strive to unite these two worlds in my concepts while transcending worldly uncertainties. Through various visual mediums, I intend to celebrate and honor the identity and culture of Native Americans. Ultimately, the persona of my work offers unity, hope, and healing,” said Tapahe.

Tapahe is Diné (Navajo) and originally from Window Rock, Arizona. He received his MFA in studio art from Brigham Young University. Tapahe has exhibited his work in prestigious shows at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market, the Cherokee Art Market, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. He has received awards for his photography from the Cherokee Art Market (2018) and the Museum of Northern Arizona (2019), and he was honored with two International Awards of Excellence from “Communication Arts” magazine.

Tapahe’s work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Arizona State Museum, the Minnesota History Center, the College of Wooster Art Museum, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University, and more.

His art is represented by the Modern West gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah; Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol, England; and Four Winds Gallery in Sydney, Australia. Tapahe resides in Provo, Utah, with his wife, Sharon, and their two daughters, Erin and Dion.

“Eugene Tapahe: Between the Worlds” is one of several concurrent exhibitions at the UVU Museum of Art at Lakemount. The annual Faculty Art Exhibition highlighting the work of 41 artists teaching at UVU is on view in the upstairs galleries through November 20, in addition to several exhibits of artwork from the museum’s permanent collection.

At Utah Valley University, we believe everyone deserves the transforming benefits of high-quality education — and it needs to be affordable, accessible, and flexible. With opportunities to earn everything from certificates to master’s degrees, our students succeed by gaining real-world experience and developing career-ready skills. We continue to invite people to come as they are — and leave ready and prepared to make a difference in the world.

For more information, visit UVU’s Newsroom website for fact sheets, maps, leadership bios, history, photos, b-roll, filming policies, and a list of interview-ready faculty experts at https://www.uvu.edu/newsroom/# or scan this QR code.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

High Contrast: The Enduring Paradox of Native Photography

Via Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Stark comparisons of the traditional and the modern have informed the visualization of Native Americans from colonization to the present. Early contemporary Native photographer Horace Poolaw (1906–1984) created a dialogue with modernism through his adoption of composite narratives steeped in the cosmopolitan realism of the early 20th century. Lecture by Nancy Mithlo, Assistant Professor, Art History and American Indian Studies Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

LOCATION: Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Education Annex, 123 Grant Avenue.
COST: $5; Members and Business Partners, FREE.

Reservations suggested: 505.946.1039 or online at www.okmuseum.org

Register here.