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Fine Art Friday ~ Weaving with TahNibaa Naataanii
November 4, 2022 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The Santa Fe Children’s Museum is honored to welcome guest artist TahNibaa Naataanii to lead our Fine Art Friday visitors in a special weaving project!
A WORD FROM OUR GUEST ARTIST:
“Ya ah teh, greetings to all. I am a 5th generation Navajo Weaver. I represent the Many Hogan Clan and Coyote Pass Clans. My maternal and paternal clans are the Mexican and Steep Rock Clans. I am honored to virtually extend my gratitude to you for visiting my site. I have created several pages about my life as an artist.
As a young girl my paternal grandmother gave me my Navajo name of: TahNibaa Atlo’iigii, which means “TahNibaa the Weaver”. I believe it was her hope that I may continue the tradition of weaving in our family. I first learned how to weave when I was seven years of age. I came home from school and my mother, Sarah H. Natani, had a loom set up for me and told me: “Today you are going to learn how to weave”. So, my weaving journey began. I wove actively throughout my teenage years into high school. I started out with simple designs and gradually began with complex patterns. After high school, I joined the U.S. Navy and my weaving ceased momentarily. After my active duty tour, I began weaving once again, but this time it was different. I began experimenting with weaving patterns, each one liberating my creativity to step into another creative path. Today, I am exploring with color and design elements. I am also a rancher, I raise the heritage breed sheep, the Navajo Churro. As a full time weaver, a mother, a daughter, a soon to be grandmother I am honored to walk a similar path my grandparents did.“
In addition to her own vision and artistry, TahNibaa Naataanii has become recognized as a gifted and prolific mentor and teacher of holistic Diné weaving practice – from farming sheep to harvesting and dyeing wool, and through the complex techniques of developing and weaving textiles on a loom. She is also a celebrated interpreter of Diné weaving traditions, working with museums and cultural centers to tell the story and process of this remarkable art. Naataanii’s work has been exhibited by the US Department of State for display in Embassies across the globe. In 2020, she received two prestigious national awards: the Community Spirit Award from First Peoples Fund, and the Mentor Artist Fellowship from the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. TahNibaa Naataani is the recipient of the 2022 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship
**Fine Art Friday Programming is included in Museum Admission**
This project is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Partially funded by the City of Santa Fe Arts & Culture Department and the 1% Lodgers’ Tax
Partially funded by the County of Santa Fe Lodgers’ Tax
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