CONSTELLATIONS FELLOWSHIP COHORT

“This work is to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy, and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do.” - Cece Carpio

Charmain Minniefield standing next to a cactus.

Charmaine Minniefield (she/her) is firmly rooted in womanist social theory and ancestral veneration, and draws from Indigenous traditions as seen throughout Africa and the Diaspora, to explore African and African-American history, memory, and ritual as an intentional push back against erasure. She currently splits her time in residence between Atlanta and The Gambia and will be working with The Historic District Development Commission during the fellowship to bring her work of Remembrance as Resistance: Preserving Black Narratives to a national audience.
Website

CHARMAINE MINNIEFIELD

ATLANTA, GA
HISTORIC DISTRICT
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Artist Disruptor & Culture Bearer

Keala Kahuanui standing in front of a tree.



Keala Kahuanui (she/her) is an educator and a cook aboard Hawaiian voyaging canoes. Based in Kamuela, Hawaii, she will be working with Nā Kālai Waʻa, whose mission is to protect, perpetuate and honor the Indigenous Hawaiian traditions and practices of wa`a (canoe) culture through the Makali`i voyaging canoe programs, for the past, present, and future generations.

KAMUELA, HI
NĀ KĀLAI WA’A

Culture Bearer

KEALA KAHUANUI

Leonard Bruce with his hand up while standing by a cactus.

Leonard Bruce (he/him) is a member of the Gila River Indian Community and a graduate of Arizona State University. His work is focused around his homelands at Gila River but also touches other Indigenous spaces on the urban periphery. His main focus has been delving into decolonizing employment, increasing social and economic mobility, and finding ways that Indigenous peoples can leverage technology to build resilience. He will be working with Three Precious Miracles, using his time in the fellowship to develop materials that are at the intersection of technology and local historical knowledge.
Website

GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY - SACATON, AZ
THREE PRECIOUS MIRACLES

Artist Disruptor

LEONARD BRUCE

Nansi Guevara standing in front of a mountain beside a cactus.


Nansi Guevara (she/her) is a textile/rasquache-based artist, illustrator & teacher based in Brownsville, Texas. Her work focuses on growing border community networks of resistance and support, crafting spaces of reflection and solace, and shifting false narratives of the South Texas border. She will be working with Trucha, an independent multimedia platform dedicated to the people, culture, and social movements of the Rio Grande Valley, centering queer and migrant communities of color.
Website

BROWNSVILLE, TX
TRUCHA

Artist Disruptor

NANSI GUEVARA

Katie Ka Vang wearing white black and red earrings.


Katie Ka Vang (she/they) is a Hmong American playwright and writer of scripts based in St. Paul, Minnesota. As an Artist Disruptor and Culture Bearer, her work magnifies the nuances of communities and cultures and explores diaspora narratives. It is grounded in the heart and aims for systems change. Katie will be partnering with Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, an organization that provides artist residencies and cultural workshops to preserve and promote the Mexica Nahuatl Indigenous arts and traditions.
Website | Instagram | Twitter


ST. PAUL, MN
INDIGENOUS ROOTS

Culture Bearer

KATIE KA VANG

Mariah Gladstone standing in front of a mountain in the desert.



Mariah Gladstone (she/they) is a Culture Bearer residing on the Blackfeet Nation on the Rocky Mountain front. She is dedicated to preserving and re-imagining traditional Indigenous food knowledge and will be working with Fast Blackfeet to reconnect Indigenous people with the stories of our food systems.

MARIAH GLADSTONE

BLACKFEET, CHEROKEE - BABB, MT
FAST BLACKFEET

Culture Bearer

  • “THE POWER OF ARTIST DISRUPTORS IS TO MODEL OR PLANT A SEED OF SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT’S ALREADY THERE. I SEE THIS SHOWING UP IN MY WORK AS A STORYTELLER IN BEING HYPER-PERSONAL OR USING LIVING EXPERIENCES TO NUANCE A NARRATIVE.”

    Katie Ka Vang

  • "WE ARE GRIOTS. WE RECALL THE PAST TO EMPOWER AND SHAPE THE FUTURE. WE HOLD THE WISDOM OF OUR PEOPLE AND CARRY OUR STORIES FORWARD. WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS OF A NEW DAY."

    Charmaine Minniefield

  • "ART IS BOTH A CATALYST FOR AND THE DOCUMENTATION OF POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. ARTIST DISRUPTORS CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THEIR COMMUNITY, THEIR COUNTRY, AND THE WORLD."

    Amy Stretten

  • "ARTIST DISRUPTORS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMAGINE WHAT DOES NOT EXIST YET. THEY CAN CREATE A NEW REALITY WITH THE POTENCY TO REPLACE FALSE NARRATIVES."

    Adam Perez

Cece Carpio with forearms framing front of face.


Cece Carpio (she/her) uses acrylic, ink, aerosol, and installations, to tell stories of immigration, ancestry, collective movements, and narratives of resilience using acrylic, ink, aerosol, and installations. She paints everyday people who have been invincible in order to share their thriving presence and to show the dignity and power of their existence. Based in Alameda County, California, she will be working with Sogorea Te’ Land Trust throughout the fellowship.
Website | Instagram

CECE CARPIO

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA
SOGOREA TE’ LAND TRUST

Artist Disruptor & Culture Bearer

Jason Pereira with shaka hand sign next to cactus.



Jason Pereira (he/him) is a graphic artist and muralist of Samoan and Portuguese descent, currently residing in Orange County, California. He serves the Pacific Islander community through Visual Arts and will be working with Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum during the fellowship to uplift the decolonized stories of our Pacific Islander relatives.
Instagram

JASON PEREIRA

ORANGE COUNTY, CA
PACIFIC ISLAND ETHNIC ART MUSEUM

Artist Disruptor & Culture Bearer

Adam Perez looking out while next to a cactus.


Adam Perez (they/he) is an award-winning independent photographer and filmmaker, based in Exeter, CA. His work centers on intimate stories that reveal the nuances of race, gender, identity, and culture. Previously, Adam was an Emerson Fellow working on a photo and video project about how the pandemic has devastated marginalized communities in California's Central Valley, which produces one-fourth of the country's food. During the fellowship, he will be working with The Central Valley Empowerment Alliance.
Website | Instagram


TULARE COUNTY, CA
CENTRAL VALLEY EMPOWERMENT ALLIANCE

Artist Disruptor

ADAM PEREZ

Amy Stretten holding right side of hair while standing in front of a mountain.


Amy Stretten (she/they) is a bilingual, Chickahominy, Black/Indigenous, queer Femme, journalist, and creative entrepreneur. Known as The Chief of Style, Amy creates cultural fashion content and encourages people of all shapes and sizes to love themselves and their bodies exactly as they are. She is based in Los Angeles County, California, and will be partnering with United American Indian Involvement throughout the fellowship.
Website | Instagram | Twitter


CHICKAHOMINY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA
UNITED AMERICAN INDIAN INVOLVEMENT

Artist Disruptor

AMY STRETTEN

The four fellows above are supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov