In May 2017, a five-member, all-Native Advisory Council formally organized to manage the LOOM Indigenous Art Gallery in partnership with gallupARTS. A $5,000 grant from the First Nations Development Institute launched the Council, funding a strategic planning and training initiative. LOOM Gallery is now the only Native-managed, commission-free art space in Gallup.

LOOM Gallery Advisory Council Members hard at work during last spring’s strategic planning session.

The LOOM Gallery Advisory Council’s mission is to create “a space for community transformation through storytelling by emerging Indigenous artists and dialogue with communities in the Gallup region.” The Council has innovative ideas and ambitious plans for highlighting emerging Indigenous artists, sharing Indigenous voices, and creatively engaging the Gallup area’s Indigenous and wider communities.

The Advisory Council’s first annual group show is a powerful example of the potential of LOOM to effect change. Since its inception, the LOOM Gallery has emphasized the work of socially-engaged contemporary Indigenous artists such as graphic artists, filmmakers and installation artists. It has also featured several traditional artists, from silversmiths to Katsina carvers to weavers, in its efforts to empower and fuel Native self-representation in Gallup.

Here’s a sampling of past LOOM artists:

With the Winter Group Show, LOOM is giving more Indigenous artists than ever the opportunity share their stories. The Council received submissions from over 15 artists in response to its Call for Artists for its Winter Group Show, and has selected 9 artists representing the broad spectrum of Indigenous arts to show. The selected artists come from across the Indigenous Americas, from the Northwest Coast to the Southwest, they work in a variety of media, from painting to photography, and they interpret tradition in different ways. The Winter Group Show opens on Saturday, December 9th from 7 – 9pm (during ArtsCrawl) and will be on view through February 28, 2018.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect from LOOM’s Winter Group Show:

If the Advisory Council’s first annual group show is any indication, LOOM Gallery promises a nothing-but-groundbreaking future, of which gallupARTS is more than excited to be part.

Find more information on LOOM Gallery by visiting its website, following @LOOMIndigenousArt on Facebook or Instagram.