UCROSS FEATURES ARTWORK BY NATIVE AMERICAN FELLOWS IN NEW EXHIBITION

,Ucross, the acclaimed residency program, announces the opening today of Resilience at the Ucross Art Gallery.
 
Exploring the resiliency of Indigenous artists across generations, the new exhibition features artwork from the 2025 recipients of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists, including sculptor Gina Herrera (Tesuque Pueblo) of Bakersfield, California; writer Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) of Cherokee, North Carolina; mixed-media artist Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota)​ of Rapid City, South Dakota; and visual and performance artist Sarah Ortegon HighWalking (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho) of Fort Washakie, Wyoming.
 
This exhibition is curated by Ucross alumnus Marwin Begaye (Navajo) of Norman, Oklahoma. A working artist, Begaye is a professor of painting and printmaking at the University of Oklahoma, where his research examines issues of cultural identity through the intersection of Indigenous American and popular cultures. He has received numerous awards; his artwork has been exhibited internationally on five continents and is held in several national collections.
 
“Cultural resilience is created through language, kinship, knowledge, and our relationship to place,” said Begaye. “The work in this exhibition is rich and diverse. The collective works are visual evidence of diverse Indigenous narratives and a testament to the power held within cultural memories. Each expresses the idea of resilience in their creative voice.”
 
The Indigenous artists whose works compose Resilience come from different disciplines, as well as tribal nations, each expressing their own concept of resiliency.
 
Gina Herrera uses ceramics, steel, and found materials to construct figurative sculptures that explore her Tesuque Pueblo and Costa Rican heritage, as well as her experiences as an army veteran. Herrera utilizes natural materials and organic forms as a juxtaposition to industrialization and environmental damage, symbolizing the somatic process of creation. She has attended artist residencies across the country and now teaches younger generations of artists at Arvin High School and Bakersfield College.

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, a writer, is a graduate of Yale University and the College of William & Mary. Saunooke Clapsaddle is the author of Even As We Breathe, the first novel published by an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. She won the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, and was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020, among many other notable accomplishments.
 
Wade Patton is a mixed-media artist who borrows symbols from his Oglala Lakota roots to illustrate the delicate relationship between earth and sky, with bison intersecting these sacred spaces. His process highlights the intrinsic connection between art and culture. Patton possesses a natural affinity for various mediums, including oil pastels, ink, and has recently embraced beading guided by his mentorship with Molina Jo Two Bulls.
 
Performance and visual artist Sarah Ortegon HighWalking’s work is ingrained in her Indigenous heritage as a member of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho and her relationship to the land. She has performed in handmade dresses across the United States and beyond, including with Jeffrey Gibson’s acclaimed She Never Dances Alone in the 60th Venice Biennale. In addition to her performance work, Ortegon HighWalking’s visual art has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts show Women to Watch in Washington, D.C., in 2024. She was featured in the accompanying traveling exhibition Wyoming Women to Watch, which was on view at the Ucross Art Gallery in 2024.
 
All artists featured in this exhibition are recipients of the 2025 Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists. Established in 2018, this fellowship supports contemporary Indigenous visual artists, writers, and performers. The fellowship offers a four-week residency on the majestic High Plains of Wyoming, and includes private studio space, living accommodations, staff support, meals prepared by a professional chef, a stipend, an award of $2,000, and the opportunity to present work publicly, such as a featured exhibition in the Ucross Art Gallery, a reading, or a performance. With early support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the fellowship began by supporting visual artists, then expanded over the years to include writers and performers, with Ortegon HighWalking as the inaugural awarded performance artist.
 
Resilience will be on view from January 29 through May 15. The Ucross Art Gallery and Café, located at 30 Big Red Lane in Ucross, Wyoming, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free admission.
 
The public is invited to join Ucross for two special events on Friday, April 17. The curator and featured artists will present an artist talk at 11 a.m. in Kinnison Hall at Sheridan College. In the evening, Ucross will host a reception at 6 p.m. in the Ucross Art Gallery for the community to view the exhibition. Both events are free and open to the public with required registration.
 
Click here for more information on Resilience.