Quick Facts
Biography
Nicholas Galanin (pronounced gah-LANN-in) is a multi-disciplinary artist and musician of mixed Tlingit/Aleut and non-Native ancestry. His work often explores a dialogue of change and identity between Native and non-Native communities.
Background
Nicholas Galanin was born in Sitka, Alaska in 1979. As a young boy, he learned to work with jewelry and light metals from his father. At London Guildhall University in England, he learned silversmithing and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He then received a Masters of Fine Arts in indigenous visual arts at Massey University in New Zealand.
Artworks
Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan (We Will Again Open This Container of Wisdom That Has Been Left in Our Care)
Part 1 Part 2
2006. video. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
This two part, looping video mixes traditional Tlingit culture with contemporary Western culture. In the first video, a dancer (David Elsewhere) pops to a customary Tlingit song. In the second, a Tlingit dancer in customary regalia dances to a spare electronic groove composed by Galanin. The Tlingit song contains the words used in the title of the piece, "Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan" pronounced "soo HAYdee shoe GAK tu tahn."