Free Online Artist Talk with Colleen Bigman

Amerind Free Online Artist Talk with Colleen Bigman
Thursday, May 14, 2026
12:00 pm (AZ time)
To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline05142026Bigman

Please join us on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for a free online artist talk, with Colleen Bigman. (Diné/Navajo).

Yá’át’ééh, my name is Colleen Bigman. I am a Navajo artist based in Tucson, Arizona, with over four decades of creative experience. For the past several years, I have specialized in the creation of intricate marionettes—a practice that began with a focus on Katsinas and has evolved into the Native American Pow-Wow Dancers. This work serves as a culmination of a lifetime of artistic disciplines; each piece seamlessly integrates woodworking, sculpting, painting, beadwork, and textile arts to bring these figures to life.

Meet multi-media artist Colleen Bigman and her incredible marionette creations. We hope you will join us to learn about her journey, what she has been working on, and what’s next in her artistic journey.

We hope you will join us!

Amerind will be at the Tucson Festival of Books

Amerind will be at the Tucson Festival of Books
Booth #550
Saturday & Sunday, March 14-15
9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Free Event
Where: University of Arizona Mall, Tucson, AZ

Join us for a weekend of books and more at the Tucson Festival of Books, where you can come out to see all the exhibitors, stop by the Amerind Booth #550 to say hello and pick up a free pass, learn about what’s new and happening at the Museum, and check out the Amerind Studies in Anthropology publications authored by our visiting scholars and researchers.

Check out the schedule to go to one or more of the many visiting author talks, all free, visit: tucsonfestivalofbooks.org for more information.

We hope to see you at the Book Festival!

 

Raices de Alegria (Roots of Joy) Exhibit Celebration and Artist Talk

 

Raices de Alegria (Roots of Joy)
Exhibit Celebration, Artist Talk & Author Readings
Saturday, February 21, 2026
11:00 am – 1:30 pm 
Free event
From 11:00 am -12:00 pm we will host a Q&A artist panel talk with multiple artists from Raíces Taller.
12:00- 12:30 enjoy the exhibit and light refreshments
12:30 – 1:30 Mujeres que Escriben, a group of creative writers who will give readings of their work, creating a dialogue with the exhibition Join us as we celebrate this exhibit Raíces de Alegría (Roots of Joy) which features artwork by artists with the organization Raíces Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop. Eighteen artists from the Raíces Taller collective contributed to this juried show. Artists were asked to submit works inspired by joy, striving to share the roots of their joy with our visitors. Raíces Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop is a nonprofit arts organization headquartered in Tucson. For some thirty years, their organization has brought together very diverse people from our community to help create a better understanding of our community’s cultures and customs. Learn more about the Raíces Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop at www.raicestaller222.com.This exhibit runs through December 13, 2026.This Free event will waive Amerind’s regular Museum admission fees

For those wishing to hike in the Nature Preserve, Amerind’s regular hiking trail system admission fees will apply.

Online Artist Talk with Santiago Romero

Amerind Free Online Artist Talk

Thursday, November 20, 2025

12:00 pm (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline11202025Romero

Please join us on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for an online artist talk, with painter and potter Santiago Romero (Cochiti/Taos/Santa Ana Pueblos).

Santiago Romero was born in Santa Fe, NM but grew up between New Mexico and the heart of Los Angeles. After graduating High school, he attended Dartmouth College and received a degree in environmental science. He returned to Santa Fe, where he was working as a ceramic sculptor and painter, as well as actively participating culturally in four separate Pueblo communities. He is currently working on his Master’s degree in Texas and continues to work on his art.

Santiago comes from a legacy of artists; his dad, Diego Romero, is a renowned potter from whom he learned traditional polishing and linework. His uncle, painter Mateo Romero, taught him about layout and gestural technique in painting. His artistic influences are many, but he believes the true force behind his artwork lies within his great-grandmother, Teresita Romero. As an artist of many forms herself, he has found himself guided by her work and spirit.

He strives to integrate his background, education, and experience into all his work by incorporating different techniques, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting who he is and where he comes from.

Santiago has won many awards for his work, including, most recently, the coveted “Best of classification in Painting, Photography, drawing, and photography” at this year’s Indian Market. His work can be found in top collections and galleries. In early 2025, Santiago completed an artist-in-residence at the Amerind, where he spent a month painting and honing his artistic skills. Please note the smaller painting in the photo above was painted here on the Amerind grounds, during his residency!

We hope you will join us to learn more about this fascinating young artist.

*Unsure if you will be able to join us live, register using an email and the talk will be sent to all registrants later that evening.

Exhibit Celebration and Artist Talk-The Sound of Rocks and Wind

EXHIBIT CELEBRATION AND ARTIST TALK- The Sound of Rocks and Wind

Saturday, October 4, 2025

11 am – 12 pm

FREE

with Plein Air PaintOut from 8:30 – 10:30 am

Please join us as we celebrate the Sonoran Plein Air Painters exhibit The Sound of Rocks and Wind.  The artist will have a presentation and talk.

Come out and meet the artists and see the beautiful work from the Sonoran Plein Air Painters as we celebrate The Sounds of Rocks and Wind.

The Sonoran Plein Air Painters paint “en plein air,” which translates from French to “in the open air.” There is a unique challenge to painting in this way. The light is constantly shifting, the weather can present difficulties, and all materials, including easels, must be carried to and from the location. Plein air painters embrace these challenges and find joy in the experience of creating art on-site. The Sonoran Plein Air Painters seek out natural settings that offer both physical and atmospheric beauty. At times, these scenes cannot be captured by photographs in a way that conveys the full impression of being there in person. The process of studying a landscape and blending the artist’s impression with careful observation is what leads to the creation of a landscape painting. The creation becomes not only a work of art but also a memento of a fleeting moment in life.

On October 4, several of the featured artists will make a public presentation from 11 am until noon in Amerind’s Art Gallery. Before that program, the Sonoran Plein Air Painters will have a PaintOut from 8:30-10:30 am on Amerind grounds. The public is welcome to watch these talented painters at work. The Plein Air painters will be found in the picnic area and the grassy area just north of the Amerind museum main parking lot.

for more information visit: Sonoran Plein Air Painters PaintOut

*Please remember that if you want to venture out beyond the picnic area or Yucca Park, onto the trails to paint, you must check in with the front desk to fill out a waiver and pay admission.

For more information on The Sonoran Plein Air Painters 

This exhibit will be through October 31, 2025

Image above: Hollyhocks in the Desert, oil, 14 x 11, Greg Wallace

Square image: photo of plein air painter’s easel, Cienega Creek, oil, 9 x 12, Judith D. Johnson

Amerind Free Online Artist Talk with Ishkoten Dougi

Amerind Free Online Artist Talk with Ishkoten Dougi (Jicarilla Apache/Diné)

Saturday, August 2, 2025

11:00 am (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Online08022025Dougi

Please take this opportunity to join us on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 11:00 am (AZ time) for an online artist talk with contemporary artist Ishkoten Dougi (Jicarilla Apache/Diné).
as he discusses his art, creative process, experience and more.

Ishkoten Dougi is a contemporary artist working in painting, stone sculpture, and mixed media. He grew up in Dulce, New Mexico, and attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. He also attended the Al Collins Graphic Design School in Tempe, AZ.

Ishkoten has developed a personalized style combining abstract imagery, creating narratives that stem from both modern and historical reflections on his roots and history. It’s celebrations as well as reminders of historical traumas that Native American communities have endured. Engaging the viewer with a visual dialogue in aims of connection and understanding.

“Whether it’s stone, mixed media or digital my creations are narratives of all that stems from my roots and history-my celebrations as well as the reminders of individuals massacred by manifest destiny or our bureaucratic standing at the time of culture clashing pitted in the timelines of countless land grabs which transformed what was dreamed for us in the beginning.”

Ishkoten is currently a full-time artist residing in Albuquerque, NM. He is widely collected and has been in numerous museum and gallery shows throughout the US.

We hope you will join us to learn about this colorful and fascinating artist!

Unsure if you will be able to watch live? Register using an email and we will send a recording of the talk later that evening.