Nicholas Galanin: Reclaiming Native Alaskan Narratives Through Art

Nicholas Galanin: Reclaiming Native Alaskan Narratives Through Art

Nicholas Galanin is a native Alaskan artist of Tlingit and Unangax̂ ancestry. He apprenticed with Indigenous master carvers and jewelers, earned his BFA in Jewelry Design from London Guildhall University and his MFA in Indigenous visual arts at Massey University in New Zealand. Galanin offers perspectives rooted in connection to land and broad engagement with contemporary culture. 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.

STORYTELLERS highlights artists who use narrative to communicate personal stories and universal truths. Featuring: sculptor George Rodriguez, whose oversized ceramic figures tell universal stories; the Art to Wear movement with gallerist and craft historian Julie Schafler Dale and textile artist Linda J. Mendelson, who draws inspiration from poetry and pushes the boundaries of wearable art; multimedia works by Nicholas Galanin, an artist of Tlingit and Unangax̂ ancestry, that critically explore society’s past and present; and Christina Bothwell, who explores themes of loss and hope through her unique approach to glass.

Preview from the STORYTELLERS episode, PBS premiere December 11, 2020.

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