Artist Walt Pourier giving a talk to a crowd of people inside the artist studio

Native Arts Artist-in-Residence

Artist Steven Yazzie speaking in the studio in front of a crowd of visitors

About the Program

The DAM’s Native Arts Artist-in-Residency Program serves as a three-week incubator for creative expression, providing artists with an opportunity to push their artistic practice, study and take inspiration from the museum’s collections, and engage and collaborate with museum visitors.

In 2025, the DAM is excited to award the residency to two artists, Jenny Irene (Inupiaq) and Robert King (Chahta Okla, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma).

2025 Artists-in-Residence

Black and white headshot of artist Jenny Irene

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Jenny Irene (Inupiaq)

Lived and worked in Dgheyay Kaq' / Anchorage, AK

Jenny Irene was awarded a residency and was set to spend her time in Denver from July 19 through August 9. On April 28, Jenny was traveling to the rural village of Nanwalek to teach photography when she passed. We are working to find a way to honor her on-site during her residency weeks and will post updates as we know more.

Jenny Irene was a well-known artist, photographer, professor, and inspirational community advocate. Her medium was primarily photography and her work focused on identity, community, the familial archive, memory, and place. She was a storyteller, which she said " has always been within my family and ancestors.”

The poetics found in what is seen or refused in Irene’s images make important contributions to her work. She explained, “The notion of protection shows up in my work in the form of refusal. I think about how much information to give the viewer and how much to keep for myself. To refuse is to exercise extraordinary power. I see my work as a form of visual sovereignty.”

Jenny Irene held an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico, a BFA in Photomedia and a BA in American Indian Studies from the University of Washington.

Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently in a solo exhibition at the Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, in Colorado Springs, CO, and in a group show at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, NM. In 2023, Jenny made the 2023 Silver List, organized by Silver Eye Center for Photography based in Pittsburgh, PA.

She received awards from Photographers Without Borders, Nia Tero, Alaska Humanities Forum, National Geographic, Fulbright Canada, and a Fulbright Canada Killam Fellowship to Canada. Her work has been featured by Inuit Art Quarterly, The New York Times, National Geographic, Canadian Art, and Lenscratch, among others. Jenny’s work is currently held in the collections at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College, and private collections.

Jenny Irene was also on the board of the nonprofit Native Movement. To learn more about Jenny's life and work, visit her website and Instagram at @jennyirenestudio.

Black and white photo of Robert King

Photo courtesy of Brandon Soder.

Robert King (Chahta Okla, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

Lives and works in Galisteo, NM
Residency Dates in Denver: September 4 - 24, 2025

Robert King is a self-taught ceramic artist who collaborates with the wild clay, rocks, minerals, sand, and trees surrounding his Galisteo, NM home and studio to craft ceramics that express the natural environment where these materials have rested for millennia.

King is among a new generation of artists who have emerged to rekindle pottery traditions as a means of expressing how it feels to be a modern-day Native, "understanding that each vessel we make is not only a rebellion against those who attempted to eradicate and colonize our people but also a chance to reconcile and educate those who are willing to listen."

Robert King holds a Bachelor of Science with Distinction in Zoology and Biomedical Sciences and a Medical Doctorate, both from the University of Oklahoma.

He is the founder of the Duende Gallery, an Indigenous-owned space in the historic village of Galisteo, a 30-minute drive from downtown Santa Fe. Duende Gallery offers an intimate experience with both established and emerging artists working across diverse mediums, each exhibition a compelling invitation to engage with the stories they bring to life.

King has exhibited at the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCO) in Pomona CA, Gallery Hozho in Albuquerque NM, the STRATA Gallery and El Zaguan in Santa Fe NM, the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) in Richmond VA, and the Phillips Gallery in Salt Lake City UT.

He received first place in the Abstract Sculpture category at the 2023 SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe NM and was awarded the Emerging Artist Fellowship from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) in 2024.

To learn more about Robert, visit his website and follow him on Instagram at @duende.ceramics.

Past Residencies

Past Native Arts Artist-in-Residents include:

Men and women dressed in traditional Indigenous clothing celebrating Powwoww in front of the museum entrance

Our Commitment to Indigenous Communities

The Denver Art Museum is located on the homeland of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute people, along with many people from other Indigenous nations that call this place home. Museums have benefited from the displacement of Indigenous people and the removal and historical misrepresentation of their arts, often resulting in deep harm to originating communities.

While we cannot change the past, we can change how we move forward. Indigenous people have made substantial impacts to our institution, and our identity is innately tied to the Native histories and contributions of Indigenous people past and present. This inspires and grounds us as we move forward in a better way.

We commit to:

  • Building authentic and sustained relationships with Indigenous people at multiple touch points across the museum.
  • Centering, elevating and supporting Indigenous people in our programs and practices and providing meaningful access to our resources including collections, programs, tools, and spaces.
  • Actively listening to and integrating Indigenous voices to grow as an inclusive and accessible space.

The Native Arts Artist-in-Residence program is supported by The Christensen Fund, Deacon Turner, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).