Shadow on the Land, an Excavation and Bush Burial (2020) commissioned for the 2020 Biennale of Sydney
Nicholas Galanin: Haa Aaní (Our Land)
Virtual Lecture
October 21, 2020
Nicholas Galanin (b. 1979)
Tlingit/Unangax̂/ Multi-Disciplinary Artist
Nicholas Galanin's work engages contemporary culture from his perspective rooted in connection to 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 past, present, and future to expose intentionally obscured collective memory and barriers to the acquisition of knowledge. His works critique 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 B.F.A. at London Guildhall University, and his M.F.A. at Massey University, he lives and works with his family in Sitka, Alaska.
Cosponsored by the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, the Department of Art, and the Artists, Ideas, and Practice Seminar.