Artisans of Nations Podcast

Artisans of Nations

Artisans of Nations is a contemporary storytelling agency dedicated to uplifting the voices and creativity of Indigenous people. Through authentic interviews, we aim to educate listeners with topics such as contemporary art forms, history, language preservation, cultural heritage, and the experiences of modern Indigenous artists and thought leaders. Each episode offers insight of Indigenous methodologies and wisdom, bridging gaps in knowledge and fostering meaningful connections. Join us as we honor Indigenous artists, listen to their stories, and create a space for learning and inspiration.

  1. Jul 7

    Reclaiming Taos Pueblo & Pueblo Architectural Painting w/Artist Brian Taaffe-Cordova

    Taos Pueblo painter Brian Taaffe-Cordova joins the Season 2 premiere of Artisans of Nations to talk about painting Pueblo architecture as an act of respect and reclamation. From the multi-story adobe of Taos Pueblo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to the red figure that honors his late grandmother Rose Cordova, Brian shares how he tells his people's story from the inside, and why he paints the Pueblo full of color and life. Recorded at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Store Gallery in Santa Fe, where Brian also works. 00:00 "Buildings tell the story of the people" 00:46 Welcome to Season 2 (in partnership with MoCNA) 01:44 Meet Brian: Taos Pueblo, Santa Fe & Hawaii 02:14 What is Pueblo architecture? Adobe, flat roofs & Taos 04:05 Reclaiming the narrative from the Taos Founders 06:18 Painting with respect: honoring what's sacred 06:45 Why he paints buildings, not people 07:39 Quiet season & grandmother Rose Cordova 09:05 The red figure: honoring Grandma Rose 10:29 Finding his voice: mentors Jeff & Jim 12:24 The business hurdle: from introvert to gallery 14:15 A DJ & music background that transferred to art 15:11 Who inspired him: teachers & Manitou Gallery 18:48 Why mentorship matters 19:14 Working at the MoCNA Store: lifting up emerging artists 21:56 IAIA & earning his fine art degree 22:56 The ladder painting: ground to sky 25:17 Color as life 26:04 Where to find Brian 27:25 "New Beginnings, Vol. 1" & our partners Find the artist, Brian: IG @wish161 • www.briantaaffe.com • Facebook: Brian Taaffe 📍 Recorded at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Store Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico Follow + Subscribe + Like Artisans of Nations: YouTube, Spotify & Apple @ArtisansOfNations • Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn @ArtisansOfNations | www.artisansofnations.com 📘 Learn more about the artist: Brian Taaffe-Cordova is on the cover of our coffee-table book New Beginnings, Volume One — available at the MoCNA Store and online. 🙏 Season 2 is produced in partnership with IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. We are grateful for our community partners who made this possible: City of Santa Fe Arts & Culture and Nusenda Credit Union.

  2. Jun 16

    Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Shelley Patrick, From Disney Imagineering to the Mvskoke Waters Gallery | Artisans of Nations

    For decades, a widely circulated book called the circular designs of Southeastern Indigenous art "sun circles." Muscogee artist and independent scholar Shelley Patrick says most of them are not sun circles at all. They are land-based, place-based, and rooted in Mvskoke ways of understanding time, direction, and existence.In this closing episode of Artisans of Nations, recorded live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in partnership with Muscogee Nation, Shelley walks through the visual language of Muscogee iconography with the precision of a scholar and the perspective of someone who grew up surrounded by it. Daughter of Muscogee artist Phyllis Fife, MFA candidate at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Disney Imagineering collaborator, and co-curator at the newly opened Mvskoke Waters Gallery in Jenks, Oklahoma. She is one of the most rigorous voices in this space, and this conversation reflects that.She covers how geometry shapes her art practice, why she learned Muscogee design traditions before European ones, what makes Southeastern iconography distinct from other Indigenous visual traditions, and what it means for Muscogee artists to now have their own tribally run gallery."Art is one of the very first languages to exist, if not the first language, visual language to exist." Find Shelley at shelleypatrick.com and on Instagram at @ShelleyPatrickArt A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation⁠ Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

  3. Jun 15

    Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Dan Beaver, Wood Carver | Artisans of Nations

    Dan Beaver is the only Muscogee Nation citizen still making the traditional gunstock war club and he's been doing it for 25 years.A retired law enforcement officer and wood carver from Wetumka, Oklahoma, Dan has spent decades reviving the "Itonufkos", the traditional Mvskoke name for this weapon, using Southeastern Mississippian motifs: raging rivers, wind designs, horned serpents, and thunder patterns. His work is held by the Smithsonian Institution, Emory College Museum, and the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and a piece he made was once displayed in the White House. In this opening episode of Muscogee Nation Artist Talks recorded live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in partnership with Muscogee Nation, Dan talks about the history behind the weapon, why pre-contact Southeastern design matters today, and what it means to be the last person in your tribe keeping a tradition from disappearing. "They didn't suffer through all that for me to forget about where we're from." Find Dan on Facebook and Instagram under Red Hand Designs. A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

  4. Jun 15

    Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Dan Beaver, Wood Carver | Artisans of Nations

    A Muscogee Nation Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Dan Beaver is the only Muscogee Nation citizen still making the Itonufkos: the traditional Mvskoke gunstock war club. He has been doing it for 25 years from a small town in eastern Oklahoma.The Itonufkos is not a decorative object. Its name means "hitting wood," and its distinctive angled shape, like the stock of a rifle, was a functional weapon carried by Southeastern peoples into the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the last major military stand of the Muscogee before forced removal. What makes Dan's work singular is the surface: he wood-burns Southeastern Mississippian motifs: raging rivers, wind patterns, horned serpents which are part of the vocabulary shared across the Muscogee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee nations because they descend from the same mound-building ancestors. A retired law enforcement officer from Wetumka, Oklahoma Dan came to carving not as an artist but as a man looking for somewhere to put his hands. That body of work is now held by the Smithsonian Institution, the Emory College Museum, and the Cowboy Hall of Fame. A piece he made was once displayed in the White House. In this opening episode of Muscogee Artist Talks, Dan explains why he visits schools year-round, not only in November, to show Native youth that their people are still here and still making. His son knows how to make the war club. That, Dan says, matters more than anything else. An urgent, grounded opening to a series about what it means to carry something forward when you are the last one left. A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: www.artisansofnations.com | social media: @artisansofnations Muscogee Nation: www.muscogeenation.com | Instagram: @visitmuscogeenation

    Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Dan Beaver, Wood Carver | Artisans of Nations

About

Artisans of Nations is a contemporary storytelling agency dedicated to uplifting the voices and creativity of Indigenous people. Through authentic interviews, we aim to educate listeners with topics such as contemporary art forms, history, language preservation, cultural heritage, and the experiences of modern Indigenous artists and thought leaders. Each episode offers insight of Indigenous methodologies and wisdom, bridging gaps in knowledge and fostering meaningful connections. Join us as we honor Indigenous artists, listen to their stories, and create a space for learning and inspiration.