Santiago X is an indigenous multidisciplinary artist and architect working in land art, architecture,

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

, and hip hop music. Born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1982, he is an enrolled citizen of the

Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana ( Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the seco ...

(Koasati) and Indigenous Chamoru from the Island of Guam U.S.A ( Hacha'Maori). X considers himself an Indigenous Futurist. In 2020, he was commissioned by the U.S. State Department to serve as lead artist of The American Arts Incubator, Brazil. As part of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial, X mounted two public installations along the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers consisting of

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

effigies and was the first Native American to be represented at the Biennial. Santiago X received a Bachelors of Environmental Design from the University of Colorado, a Masters of Architecture from the University of Southern California, and a Masters of Fine Arts Studio in Art and Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibitions

Since 2016, Santiago X has exhibited and created installations and land art internationally. In fall of 2019, Santiago X showed the piece S''OLOKCI ITABITKA (WHERE GHOSTS DANCE)'' at the ''Making Space for Resistance: Past, Present, Future'' exhibition curated by the Indigenous Scholars of Architecture, Planning and Design at the

Yale School of Architecture The Yale School of Architecture (YSOA) is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University, and is generally considered to be one of the best architecture schools in the United States. The School awards the degrees of Master of Arc ...

. In 2019, his work ''HAYO TIKBA (THE FIRE INSIDE)'' was commissioned by the Chicago Architecture Biennial. In 2018, he exhibited the light and sound work ''THE RETURN (o:lači okhiča)'' at ArsElectronica in Linz, Austria. His work was also featured in PORTAL a virtual reality exhibition, Expo 2010 Shanghai, and the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

Awards and recognition

* New City Top 50 Artist (2020) * 3Arts Award (2019)

References

{{Reflist American people of Chamorro descent Artists from Phoenix, Arizona Artists from Chicago Black Native American people Koasati Native American installation artists