{{short description|Artist (b. 1980)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Nanibah Chacon | image = <!-- use the image's pagename; do not include the "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and do not use brackets--> | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|06|26}} | birth_place = Gallup, New Mexico | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | education = | notable_works = | style = | movement = | awards = <!-- {{awd|award|year|title|role|name}} (optional) --> | website = {{URL|https://www.nanibahchacon.com/}} }} '''Nanibah "Nani" Chacon''' (born 1980)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://esmoa.org/piece/sky-people/|title=Sky People - ESMoA|website=esmoa.org|date=4 December 2018 |access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> is a Diné and Chicana painter, muralist, and art educator.<ref name="cal.msu.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cal.msu.edu/news/forgotten-culture-focus-woci-artist-residence|title=College of Arts & Letters - Forgotten Culture Focus of WOCI Artist-In-Residence|website=www.cal.msu.edu|date=3 October 2018 |access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> Her work has been installed at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, the ISEA International Arts and Technology Symposium,<ref name=":0"/> Old Town Lansing,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wlns.com/news/mural-in-old-town-lansing-highlights-cultures-in-mid-michigan-community/1561095040|title=Mural in Old Town Lansing highlights cultures in mid-Michigan community|last=Ilitch|first=Alexandra|date=2018-10-30|website=WLNS|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> and in the "Que Chola" Exhibition at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/exhibit-on-latina-cholas-opens-in-albuquerque/article_1ff6e66d-6b03-59c8-991f-1e3f9ccc7c8d.html|title=Exhibit on Latina 'cholas' opens in Albuquerque|author=Russell Contreras|agency=Associated Press|website=Santa Fe New Mexican|date=9 March 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> among other venues.
== Early life == Chacon was born in Gallup, New Mexico and raised in Chinle, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://thefusionmag.com/the-art-of-nanibah-chacon/|title=The Art of Nanibah Chacon – FUSION MAGAZINE|last=Moran|first=Beto|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref>
== Art practice == At the age of 15, Chacon first became involved in street art and graffiti. After 10 years of producing street art, she began to make painted mural art. She then became part of the ''Honor the Treaties'' collective that produce work about Native peoples' rights and land issues.<ref name=":0" />
== Art career == Chacon's mural, ''She Taught Us to Weave'', was commissioned by the City of Albuquerque for the ISEA International Arts and Technology Symposium in 2012. This mural is part of the Wells Park Rail Corridor Mural Project and contains a low-power radio transmitter. The radio device transmits the words, ''Hozho naahaslii'', a Navajo phrase that connotes "the instrinsic value of living beautifully."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://publicartarchive.org/art/She-Taught-Us-to-Weave/f6229599|title=She Taught Us to Weave|website=Public Art Archive|access-date=2023-06-19}}</ref>
In 2013, her mural, ''Against The Storm She Gathers Her Thoughts'', became the first mural installation in the Navajo Nation Museum as a part of the ''Ch'ikééh Baa Hózhǫ'' exhibit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fourwindsgallery.com/2013/02/15/nani-chacon-at-the-navajo-nation-museum/|title=Nani Chacon at The Navajo Nation Museum|date=2013-02-16|website=Four Winds Gallery|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> In conjunction with this exhibit, her work ''Na iiz Nah'', was selected for inclusion in the indigenous art zine, ''Ziindi''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ziindi.com/2013/02/11/ziindi-vol-1-2-a-contemporary-native-female-arts-showcase/|title=Ziindi Vol 1.2 : A Contemporary Native Female Arts Showcase|last=ziindi|date=2013-02-11|website=Ziindi|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> Also in 2013, Chacon's work ''Manifestations of Glittering World'' was included in the ''Stands With A Fist: Contemporary Native Women Artists'' exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://santafe.com/article/stands-with-a-fist-contemporary-native-women-artists/|title=Stands With A Fist: Contemporary Native Women Artists|website=SantaFe.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
Chacon was included in the ''19th Young Latino Artists Exhibition'', entitled ''Y, Que? (And What!)'', at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas, which presented multimedia artworks from emerging Latinx artists, under the age of 35, that explored themes of race, class, gender, sexuality, and cultural identity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2014-06-13/young-latina-artists-19-y-que/|title=With this summer's "Young Latino Artists" exhibit at Mexic-Arte Museum, that crucial "o" at the end of the middle word has been replaced with an "a" – it's all art by women|last=Faires|first=Robert|date=2014-06-13|website=Austin Chronicle|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> The same year, she was the featured artist speaker at the Northern New Mexico College conference ''Mapping Geographies of Self: Woman as First Environment.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfreporter.com/news/2014/07/29/take-that-papi/|title=Take that, Papi|last=Lopez|first=Henry|date=July 29, 2014|website=Santa Fe Reporter|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
In 2015, Chacon was the lead artist on the largest mural in Albuquerque, ''Resilience''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-celebrates-citys-largest-mural/1020410595|title=Albuquerque celebrates city's largest mural|last=krqeclairemena|date=2015-09-19|website=KRQE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> For this mural, she partnered with the nonprofit youth arts organization, ''Working Classroom,'' and collaborated with a number of students from Albuquerque's Washington Middle School.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://youthtoday.org/2016/08/at-working-classroom-students-from-historically-ignored-communities-develop-artistic-vision-and-skill/|title=At Working Classroom, Students from Historically Ignored Communities Develop Artistic Vision and Skill|last=Simonton|first=Stell|date=2016-08-15|website=Youth Today|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.krqe.com/news/largest-mural-in-albuquerque-underway/1019631628|title=Largest mural in Albuquerque underway|last=Perea|first=Shelby|date=2015-07-02|website=KRQE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Washington Filmkids ABQ|title=WMS Mural Project Trailer, Largest Mural in New Mexico, Muralist Nani Chacon|date=2015-07-01|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY022uwRdbU|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> That year, she also completed a mural on a wall of the Municipal Arts Gallery in Izhevsk, Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ru.usembassy.gov/navajo-artist-nani-chacon/|title=Navajo Artist Nani Chacon creates a Mural in Udmurt Capital City Izhevsk|date=2015-06-16|website=U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Russia|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
Chacon's work was featured in the ''Code Mixing: From Concrete to Canvas Exhibition'' at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA) in San Jose, California in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maclaarte.org/code-mixing-from-concrete-to-canvas/|title=Code Mixing: From Concrete to Canvas {{!}} MACLA|date=23 August 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> In 2017, she designed and installed the work ''Sing Our Rivers Red'', an installation honoring over 1,000 Indigenous Canadian women and girls who have been reported missing or killed since 1980, at the CHAC Gallery as a part of Denver, Colorado's Sing Our Rivers Red March.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/11/sing-our-rivers-red-marchviolence-against-native-women/|title=Sing Our Rivers Red march and exhibit hopes to use art to raise awareness of violence against Native women|last=WORTHINGTON|first=DANIKA|date=2017-02-11|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
In the summer of 2017, Chacon and youth from Española completed the mural ''The River Flows Through It'' at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. The mural represents the diverse textile traditions of Northern New Mexico and includes elements that represent Navajo, Pueblo, and Spanish fiber art techniques.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greenfiretimes.com/2017/11/a-new-mural-on-the-espanola-valley-fiber-arts-center-the-artist-nani-chacon/|title=A New Mural on the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center - The Artist: Nani Chacón|date=2017-11-03|website=Green Fire Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.riograndesun.com/news/center-celebrates-two-decades/article_cf4f049c-9eea-11e7-9709-4f9265d3675f.html|title=Center Celebrates Two Decades|last=Fisher|first=Austin|date=Sep 21, 2017|website=Rio Grande SUN|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
In fall 2018, Chacon participated in the Michigan State University Womxn of Color Initiative Artist-in-Residence, a program which creates space for students to engage with women of color. As Estrella Torrez, a professor and one of the organizers of the Womxn of Color Initiative, said, "Nanibah Chacón is one of the most significant muralists working today. In addition to creating exceptionally beautiful works of art, her paintings address complex and poignant topics by foregrounding the stories of Indigenous womxn and Indigenous knowledges."<ref name="cal.msu.edu"/>
She has also been a visiting artist at Washington State University, where she created a mural installation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://finearts.wsu.edu/2019/01/31/nanibah-chacon/|title=Visiting Artist: Nanibah Chacon {{!}} Fine Arts {{!}} Washington State University|date=2019-01-31|website=Fine Arts|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref>
== Personal == Chacon lives in Albuquerque with her son. Her brother, Raven Chacon, is a celebrated sound artist.
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chacon, Nanibah}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American painters Category:21st-century American women painters Category:21st-century Native American artists Category:American contemporary painters Category:Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts Category:Navajo painters Category:People from Gallup, New Mexico Category:20th-century Native American artists Category:20th-century Native American women Category:21st-century Native American women artists Category:American muralists Category:American women muralists Category:Native American women painters Category:Textile artists from Arizona Category:Textile artists from New Mexico Category:Navajo women artists Category:Navajo textile artists Category:Native American women textile artists Category:21st-century American women textile artists Category:21st-century American textile artists