“I’m curious about this legacy that’s inherently found within photography that is synonymous with memory, with identity, with resiliency.”
In This Episode
Anthropologist Hadley Jensen speaks with Diné photographer and curator Rapheal Begay about his life and work and what it means to pay attention to the things we take for granted. Through visual storytelling he foregrounds Indigenous aesthetics, embodied knowledges, and alternative ways of knowing that explore the Diné way of life. Begay describes with visceral clarity the dynamic landscape of the American Southwest and the knowledge systems that animate it.
Download a transcript of episode 1.
Rapheal Begay is a photographer and curator from the Navajo Nation. Currently based in Window Rock, AZ, he works as a public information officer for the Navajo Nation Division of Human Resources. In 2017, he obtained a BFA in art studio with a minor in arts management and undergraduate certification in museum studies from the University of New Mexico. As one of “12 New Mexico Artists to Know in 2020,” Begay utilizes visual storytelling as a means to engage and explore, with respect to and stewardship of, the Diné way of life. Through curatorial collaborations, he highlights, celebrates, and advocates for Queer and Indigenous art throughout the Southwest. |
References
- Hadley Jensen
- Rapheal Begay
- A Vernacular Response (AVR), Maxwell Museum
- Adrienne Salinger
- Regional chapters meeting in the Eastern Agency within New Mexico on the reservation
- Delegate Daniel Tso
- Shooting Back
- Edward Curtis
- Four Sacred Colors
- Diné Pride
- Sacred Together
- Fraction Magazine
- LOOM Indigenous Art Gallery
- Upcoming Solo Exhibition entitled Łichíí’
- 12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now
- Dr. Perphelia Fowler
Special thanks to the Women’s International Study Center in Santa Fe for hosting Rapheal and Hadley for this interview.
