Gallery Dialogues: Demian DinéYazhi´

Join Demian DinéYazhi’ in a walkthrough of his exhibition A Nation is a Massacre, an exhibition that utilizes the artistic style of agitprop activist propaganda to bring attention to ongoing acts of violence against indigenous bodies via posters and flyers made at Pioneer Works and Small Editions.

Demian DinéYazhi´’s artwork is materialized through the lens of art production, site-specific installation, poetic expression, social engagement, and curatorial inquiry. DinéYazhi´ was raised in a matrilineal household and their maternal grandfather served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Navajo Code Talker. The undercurrents of DinéYazhi´s work include a reverence toward traditional Diné practices, storytelling, traditional ceremonies, and acknowledging the criticality and sacredness of land, while simultaneously challenging contemporary archetypes of authenticity and jurisdiction. They received their BFA in Intermedia Arts from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2014. DinéYazhi´ is the founder of the artist/activist initiative R.I.S.E.: Radical Indigenous Survivance & Empowerment. DinéYazhi´ also serves as co-editor of the zine Locusts: A Post-Queer Nation Zine. DinéYazhi’ is a recipient of a 2015 Art Matters Foundation grant as well as the Henry Art Museum’s 2017 Brink Award. Currently, he has a solo exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA, and is in the group exhibition Between the Waters at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY.