Racing Magpie Mural Residency

OVERVIEW

This spring we called for proposals from Native artists to create a mural that addresses the challenge of envisioning the future of Native art in our area in a post-pandemic world. We will ask the artist to develop a project that works with the community to address changes needed to decision making processes, recenter the “art world” around Lakota epistemology by making it more community-centric and less capitalistic, and helps lay some groundwork for our community in the post-pandemic world. We hope that this will be a transformative opportunity for an artist and our community.

As our community continues to grapple with how to deal with the effects of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, artists, culture bearers, and other creatives are also facing an ongoing reality of canceled events and decreased sales. Because of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Native populations, and how intensely the Native artist/creative/culture bearer community has felt with the loss of markets (Native art markets and in-person sales), inspiration and community support (social distancing), and other sources of revenue (teaching, lecturing, workshop “gigs”), it is imperative that a Native artist or artists lead this conversation and process.

SELECTED ARTIST

We are excited to announce that Micheal Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota) has been chosen to work with community to create the first mural at our new home! Mike has been a studio artist at Racing Magpie in the past and collaborated on the mural at our former location, and we are so happy to have him working on this project.

From his artist statement: “My most recent work has been an eclectic array of disciplines and mediums. I have been weaving together elements of photography, painting, printmaking, songwriting and other creative disciplines to create multi-layered compositions that invite audiences to question, critique, explore and take action. Lakota identity, history and place (land) are prevalent narratives that have surfaced and resurfaced throughout my career. I wish to continue confronting and examining the contradictions of Lakota histories and settler colonialism both in my art and in the community work that I am committed to.”

In June and July 2021, Mike invited the Lakota community to two conversations - one virtual and one in person (with appropriate and safe protocols in place) - where he welcomed multigenerational input on the mural, from Oceti Sakowin relatives. The input that Mike received from these sessions around the ideas of resiliency, recovery, and the future informed his design of this large-scale mural that now graces our new space. Mike, his cousins Doug and Reed, and young artist Tusweca painted the piece in June and July 2021 and it was completed in late July.

**This program is made possible through a Residency for Recovery grant from the South Dakota Arts Council. South Dakota Arts Council support is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.