IAIA A-i-R: Whess Harman—Welcome Lunch and Artist Talk
Schedule
Thu Nov 13 2025 at 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
83 Avan Nu Po Road, Santa Fe, NM, United States, New Mexico 87508 | Santa Fe, NM
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Please join the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Artist-in-Residence (A-i-R) artist Whess Harman (Lake Babine Nation) on Thursday, November 13, from 12–1 pm for lunch and an artist talk to learn more about their practices and current projects.Located in the IAIA Hogan, this event is free and open to the public. Lunch will include house-made pizza (meat lovers, southwestern, and vegan) served with house salad and choice of ranch or vinaigrette dressing, aqua fresca, and assorted cookies.
Whess Harman is an artist, curator, and member of the Carrier Wit’at Nation, amalgamated by the federal government under the Lake Babine Nation. Currently based on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, Whess works primarily in drawing, text, and textiles. Their practice is grounded in an exploration of queer comfort and joy, as well as the conditions that shape and sometimes constrain them. Working from their identity as a queer, trans member of the Carrier Wit’at Nation living away from their territories, Whess considers Indigeneity both a cultural and spiritual reality and a political identity. As curator at grunt gallery, and as an editor and contributor to small publications, Whess prioritizes emerging queer and BIPOC artists and cultural workers. Their practice reflects an ongoing commitment to land sovereignty for Indigenous peoples across the globe, including Palestine, and to imagining liberated futures in resistance to colonialism and capitalism. Though self-critical of the imperfections in their projects, Whess embraces this as part of an iterative process of thinking and making alongside communities who share both rage and hope in the face of ongoing injustice. For this proposed series, Whess envisions large-scale drawings composed of single or interconnected sheets, each featuring gatherings of at least one hundred figures. These works will reflect the multiplicity of Indigenous identities and the vibrant, chaotic revelry of being in spaces held predominantly by Indigenous peoples. The project builds upon earlier works, expanding into an immersive exploration of community, kinship, and presence.
For more information about the IAIA A-i-R program, please contact Maia Filippi, A-i-R Program Manager, at [email protected] or call (505) 424-2369.
If you are an individual with a disability and in need of any auxiliary aid or service to attend events, please contact IAIA’s ADA Office at least seven calendar days before the event or as soon as possible at [email protected] or (505) 424-5707.
https://iaia.edu/event/iaia-a-i-r-harman-welcome-artist-talk/
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Where is it happening?
83 Avan Nu Po Road, Santa Fe, NM, United States, New Mexico 87508Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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