NICHOLAS GALANIN
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ARTIST
Nicholas Galanin is a Tlingit and Unangax̂ multi-disciplinary artist and musician from Alaska who explores dialogues between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Galanin’s work engages contemporary culture and an interconnectedness with the land. He embeds incisive observation into his work, investigating intersections of culture and concept in form, image and sound.
His works embody critical thought as vessels of knowledge, culture and technology - inherently political, generous, unflinching, and poetic. Through an engagement of past, present and future, he exposes intentionally obscured collective memory and barriers to the acquisition of knowledge. [Source]
Galanin's works critique the commodification of culture, while also contributing to the endurance of Tlingit art. He employs materials and processes that expand dialogue on Indigenous artistic production, and how culture can be carried forward into the future.
GALLERY
Click each work for its title, source, and description.
“My art enters this stream at many different points, looking backwards, looking forwards, generating its own sound and motion. I am inspired by generations of Tlingit creativity and contribute to this wealthy conversation through active curiosity. There is no room in this exploration for the tired prescriptions of the ‘Indian Art World’ and its institutions. Through creating I assert my freedom.”
- Nicholas Galanin