50 Artists to Watch: Tani Gordon

Tani Gordon is a Lakota woman from the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota who has created throughout her entire life.

You have the chance to catch her at an exciting event in Rapid City this weekend!

Tani earned the Best of Show award in the emerging artist category at last year’s Native POP event in Rapid City, and she’s back at the arts gathering Saturday (July 16) with new work and a new vision.

“Recently, I’ve decided to share my art with the world and it’s truly the best decision I’ve made for myself. Art communicates beyond words and borders. It’s a way of reflecting back to each other the light and form we all possess. I want my art to inspire and transform others, especially Native youth who are searching for a path of belonging.”

In addition to receiving the 2015 Best Emerging Artist award for her painting, “Ina,” (Lakota word for mother) from the Native Arts gathering, Tani’s art is also being featured at the Native American education & cultural center at Crazy Horse Memorial and at the Racing Magpie gallery (and website) in downtown Rapid City as well as her Instagram: @tani_gordon.

 

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50 Artists to Watch is a special project we’re embarking on in celebration of our 50^th anniversary at the South Dakota Arts Council. This series of short artist features is intended to share the work of South Dakota artists on a wide platform. It is not intended as a list of top or best artists. It is not presented in any particular order. Featured artists are being selected from nominations sent to us. You can nominate an artist by emailing sdac@state.sd.us. We can’t include them all, but we’ll keep all nominations on a list for future features and blogs.

We welcome your continued suggestions for 50 Artists to Watch and your (constructive) comments about the work of those being featured.