Content area
Full text
Six years ago, Erica Lord worried her art career was over.
She had gone to school at the Institute for American Indigenous Arts in 2000 and decided to move to Santa Fe permanently after completing a residency there in 2017. Almost as soon as she moved, she was hit by a car while riding her bike and broke her back in multiple places, knocking all the plans she had off course.
In January, she was one of four Santa Fe-based artists who received prestigious Creative Capital awards in visual arts and film, which give $50,000 in unrestricted funds for artists to complete a specific piece of work. This year's theme is "Wild Futures: Art, Culture, Impact."
"I'm very proud of Santa Fe this year," said Lord, who has Athabaskan, Iñupiat, Japanese and European heritage.
On its website, the 25-year-old Creative Capital Foundation says its grants help "underserved, risk-taking artists with unrestricted project grants, professional development, and community-building services to advance freedom of expression and foster sustainable careers." In an email, Santa Fe Arts and Culture Director Chelsey Johnson described the grants as "career-makers and game-changers." This cycle 5,600 people applied, and of the 50 awardees four are based in Santa Fe, all of whom are Indigenous.
The other awardees are multidisciplinary artist Chaz John (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Mississippi Band Choctaw), filmmaker Chris Eyre (Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes) and Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne).
"I think we're on a really good wave of people looking at Native art and taking it seriously," said John.
Considering its notorious difficulty, John said it was "pretty incredible I got it and that so many other Indigenous artists and people here in New Mexico got it."
Several other recipients have Santa Fe ties as well. Albuquerque-based Diné and...