America Meredith ( Cherokee Nation) is painter, curator, educator, and editor of ''

First American Art Magazine The ''First American Art Magazine'' is a quarterly art magazine covering living, historical, and ancestral art of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Background ''First American Art Magazine'' was established in 2013 "to provide a common platfor ...

''."Face to Face: Portraits by America Meredith."
''Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.'' 2006. Accessed 9 April 2011. Based in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, her work is known for its humorous approaches to social and environmental issues and for combining Native American and pop imagery.

Background

America Meredith was born in 1972 to Howard Meredith, a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

author and American Indian Studies professor, and Mary Ellen Meredith, a Cherokee museum director and curator. Meredith's maternal grandfather was William Thomas Milam, a Cherokee photographer and aeronautical engineer from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Both of her grandmothers were Swedish-American. W. T. Milam's uncle was

J. B. Milam Jesse Bartley Milam (1884–1949) was best known as the first Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation appointed by a U.S. President since tribal government had been dissolved before Oklahoma Statehood in 1907. He was appointed by President Franklin ...

, the

Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Principal Chief is today the title of the chief executives of the Cherokee Nation, of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the three federally recognized tribes of Cherokee. In the eighteent ...

, and his great-uncle was Will Rogers, a Cherokee humorist, actor, and movie producer. During much of the 1990s, Meredith worked as a bike messenger in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, where she was active in the

International Longshore and Warehouse Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 West ...

Local 6's organizing campaign of the Bay Area urgent delivery industry. Meredith earned her AA at

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franci ...

; her BFA in painting from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

; and her MFA in painting from the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

in 1995. She also attended the

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) is a public liberal arts college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college in Oklahoma with a strictly liberal arts–focused curriculum and is a member of the Council of Public ...

Chickasha Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connected ...

and the

Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

."America Meredith."
''Southeastern Indian Artists Association.'' 2011. Accessed 9 April 2011.

Artwork

Meredith paints with

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, and

egg tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

."America Meredith: At the Crossroads."
''Oklahoma Arts Council.'' 2007. Accessed 9 April 2011. In the series, ''The Cherokee Spokespeople Project'', handmade paintings and drawings illustrate Cherokee words that are reproduced as spokecards, which were distributed to cycle couriers and cyclists worldwide.

Art career

In addition to her studio practice, Meredith curates shows such as ''Frybread and Roses: Art of Native American Labor'' (2006) and ''Freedom of Information: The FBI, Indian Country, and Surveillance'', which she co-curated with Ishkoten Dougi (

Jicarilla Apache Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athab ...

) in 2010. At Ahalenia Studios in Santa Fe, Meredith and other

Native American art Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...

ists, such as

Melissa Melero-Moose Melissa Melero-Moose is a Northern Paiute/ Modoc mixed-media artist and co-founder of Great Basin Native Artists, a collective based in Nevada. She is enrolled in the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony. Early life and ...

( Northern Paiute/ Modoc) and Sam Haozous (

Chiricahua Apache Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans. Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehend ...

), curate shows "too edgy, too silly, or otherwise inappropriate for other local galleries."Sanchez, Casey
"Low Overhead, High Experimentation: Ahalenia Studios."
''Santa Fe New Mexican: Pasatiempo'' via Free Online Library. 31 Dec 2010. Accessed 9 April 2011. In 2019, she co-curated with Jean Merz-Edwards ''Stories from the Land: Indigenous Voices Connecting within the Great Plains'' at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, and co-curated with Callie Chunestudy (Cherokee Nation) ''Earth Shakers: The Influence of Cherokee Women'' at the

Cherokee Heritage Center The Cherokee Heritage Center (Cherokee: Ꮳꮃꭹ Ꮷꮎꮣꮄꮕꮣ Ꭰᏸꮅ) is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee. ...

Honors

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...

named Meredith its 2018 Sequoyah Fellow. In 2006, Meredith tied for ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

s Best Painter award. She was awarded with a Cultural Equity Individual Artist Grant from the

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cali ...

, and she participated in the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

visiting artist fellowship. She has received numerous awards in juried art shows at the Cherokee Heritage Center, SWAIA's

Santa Fe Indian Market The Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the weekend following the third Thursday in August. The event draws an estimated 150,000 people to the city from around the world. The Southwestern Association for ...

, the

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

, and others, including the 2007 IAIA Distinguished Alumni Award - For Excellence in Contemporary Native American Arts.

Personal

Meredith serves on the board of the Cherokee Arts and Humanities Council, a grassroots community organization based in northeastern Oklahoma. She is active in the movement to revitalization indigenous languages. Meredith says she sees indigenous tribal people as "the future, not the past, in our globalized world."

Notable exhibitions

* 2019–21: ''Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native American Painting'',

George Gustav Heye Center The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Sm ...

, New York, NY * 2019–20: ''Laughter and Resilience: Humor in Native American Art'',

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medici ...

, Santa Fe, NM * 2019–20: ''Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists'',

Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United Stat ...

, Frist Art Museum, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and

Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...

* 2019: ''Outspoken: Paintings by America Meredith'', Bardo Arts Center,

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...

, Cullowhee * 2012-13: ''Octopus Dreams: Works on Paper by Contemporary Native American Artists'', 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM; Samara Regional Art Museum, Samara, Russia; Novosibirsk Biennial of Contemporary Graphic Arts, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia; Togliatti Art Museum, Togliatti, Russia; Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, Ekaterinburg, Russia. * 2010–14: ''Indigenous Brilliance: Contemporary Native American Art Exhibition'', Highgate Institute, London, England (2012); Palazzo Vecchio, Seborga, Italy; Casa de la Señoría, Olocau, Spain (2013); Amsterdam; curated by Elijah Vandenberg and Lyle Toledo Yazzie. * 2012: ''Reconquête par l'Art, Festival America de Vincennes 2012'', La galerie Orenda,

Vincennes, France Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

* 2012: ''Messengers'', Rainmaker Art Gallery, Bristol, England, curated by Joanne Prince. * 2012: ''Low-Rez: Native American Lowbrow Art,'' Santa Fe, NM * 2009 ''United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Art Show''.

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, New York, New York. * 2006-7 ''Face to Face: Portraits by America Meredith''.

, Santa Fe, New Mexico. * 2007 ''Do Not Park Bicycles: Aboriginal Cycling Culture.'' Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. * 2006 ''Native Pop''.

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

, Santa Fe, New Mexico.Sanchez, Aurelio
"Lichtenstein Show Traces Union of Pop, Native American Art."
''Albuquerque Journal.'' 12 Feb 2006. Accessed 9 April 2011.

Notes

External links

America Meredith
artist's official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, America 1972 births Cherokee Nation artists Cherokee Nation writers Living people American people of Swedish descent American women painters Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Bicycle messengers Cherokee artists Institute of American Indian Arts alumni Native American curators Native American painters Native American women artists Painters from New Mexico Painters from Oklahoma People from Norman, Oklahoma San Francisco Art Institute alumni 21st-century American women artists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women American women curators American curators