Beyond the Kitsch: The Pervasive Spirit of our Indigenous Creative Community with Nanibaa Beck

Throughout the Southwest, tourists and locals encounter a range of Indigenous art, from manufactured and imported cultural appropriations to fine art in galleries and museums. The state’s creative Indigenous communities are sometimes lost in what is popularly featured as Native American Art. In this presentation, Diné jeweler Nanibaa Beck will highlight contemporary Native American Art, focusing on eclectic indigenous creatives throughout Arizona and beyond. Beck draws examples from her friends, family, and extended kin to demonstrate the diversity of artistic talents, mediums, and philosophical approaches of Indigenous artists. The presentation will leave participants with a better appreciation for the range of Native American creativity the state has to offer.

This program is cohosted by Tohono Chul Park.

About the speaker:

Nanibaa Beck is a 2nd generation Diné (Navajo) jeweler. Since 2013, her work reflects Native creative expressions and the growth of an Diné ‘Asdzaa (Navajo woman) as a designer and maker. Being intricately connected to the creative process at an early age motivated Beck to become more knowledgeable about the multifaceted areas surrounding Native American Art. Her anthropology background includes work and fellowships with renown museums, including the Heard Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Peabody Essex Museum and the Field Museum.