CV
Shanna Ketchum-heap of birds
Independent Writer, Scholar, and Educator
Based in Oklahoma City, OK
https://dinehwriter.art/
educational background
2014-2021
Ph.D. in Art and Visual Culture, School of Art and Design,
Middlesex University, London, England, UK.
Distance Learner, Part-time. Director of Studies: Prof. Katy Deepwell; Supervisors: Prof. Jean Fisher, Assoc. Prof. Richard Hill
Thesis: Indigenous Performance Politics: A decolonial perspective of performative works by Kent Monkman, Spiderwoman Theater Company, Rebecca Belmore, and James Luna. Phd dissertation. Middlesex University, London, UK.
2001-2007
Master of Arts in Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Thesis: Locating the Native Artist: Memory and Transformation in Contemporary Artworks. Master Thesis. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
1996-2000
Bachelor of Arts in Art History
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
University of Arizona, Tucson
academic employment
2007-2018
Instructor, Native American Studies Department; Affiliate Faculty, Women and Gender Studies and Center for Social Justice, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Classes developed and taught:
NAS 4023: Native Cultural Aesthetics and the Heritage Industry
NAS 3503: Gender and Sexuality in Native North America
NAS 3113: Native American Philosophy online and face-to-face
Graduate level taught: NAS 4023 and NAS 3503
Spring 2021
Adjunct Instructor, Art History Department, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.
Classes developed and taught:
ARTH 2033: Native American Art
publications
Book Chapters
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2018). Subverting the System: Kent Monkman and the Cultural Politics of Performing ‘Two-Spiritedness’. After Failure: Essays on the Cultural Politics of ‘Failure’ in Theater and Performance. Eds. Tony Fisher and Eve Katsouraki. London: Routledge.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2017). Native American Art History: Critical Interventions in Theory and Practice. Transforming Our Practices: Indigenous Art, Pedagogies, and Philosophies. Eds. Christine Ballengee-Morris and Kryssi Staikidis. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2011). Norman Akers: Symbols and Reflections; George Longfish: A Sense of Spirit; Tom Jones: Turning the Camera Around; Lorenzo Clayton: Concerning the Spiritual; James Luna: Performing Art; and James Lavadour: Land and Life. Manifestations: New Native Art Criticism. Santa Fe: Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2008). Sam Durant: America's Founding Myth Reconsidered. The Hugo Boss Prize 2008. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Ketchum, S. (2006). Transgressing the 'National': Metaphors of Emancipation. Vision, Space, Desire: Global Perspectives and Cultural Hybridity. Washington, DC and New York: National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution.
Refereed Journal Articles
Ketchum, S. (2006). El espacio transcultural en la obra de Diego Romero [Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero]. Estrago: Revista de Centroamérica. Trans. Alejandra Urdapilleta. No. 3, October 2005-February 2006, 69-79.
Ketchum, S. (2005). Native American Cosmopolitan Modernism(s): A ReArticulation of Presence Through Time and Space. Third Text: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Art & Culture. Vol. 19, Issue 4, 357-364.
Museum Publications
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2018). Writing Against the Enemy: Re-Thinking Native Modernism and Shifting the Horizon Lines of History. Action Abstraction Redefined. Santa Fe: IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 35-40.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2012). Public Memory as Communal Experience. Nuance of Sky: Edgar Heap of Birds Invites Spirit Objects to Join His Art Practice. Claremont: Pomona College Museum of Art, 42-44.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2012). Crossing Boundaries: Native America and the Contemporary Art World. Octopus Dreams: 200 Works on Paper by Contemporary Native American Artists. Siberia: Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Art. June 29-August 26, 2012, 13-17.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2008). Border Identities as Cultures of Resistance. Narciso Argüelles, Luis Jiménez & Joe Ramiro Garcia. Oklahoma City: Untitled [ArtSpace], 5-7.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2007). On Legitimizing the Body Politic: America's Founding Myth Reconsidered. Sam Durant: Scenes from the Pilgrim Story: Myths, Massacres and Monuments. Boston: Massachusetts College of Art Exhibitions, 12-25.
Ketchum, S. (2005). Representing Two Cultures: The Art of Star Wallowing Bull. Between Two Cultures: The Art of Star Wallowing Bull. North Dakota: Plains Art Museum, 7-10.
Ketchum, S. (2003). Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds: Diary of Trees—A Site of Convergence. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. New York: George Gustav Heye Center.
Ketchum, S. (2003). Kay WalkingStick: Revisiting Chief Joseph. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. New York: George Gustav Heye Center.
Periodicals
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2018). Kent Monkman: La Ribellione È Un Classico. Wired Italia Magazine. June 2018, no. 85, 102-103.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2018). Remembering James Luna. Passages: Artforum International. 26 March 2018. Web link: https://www.artforum.com/passages/shanna-ketchum-heap-of-birds-on-james-luna-1950-2018-74742.
Ketchum-Heap of Birds, S. (2017). Curation and Colonization in Art: A lively exchange about tone-deaf exhibitions and the institutions that fund them. With Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Missy Whiteman, and Ruth Hopkins, moderated by Ray Cook and Alex Jacobs. Indian Country Magazine. Issue 3, Aug-Sept 2017. Web link: https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/curation-colonization-art
Ketchum, S. (2006). Remembering in America: Toward a Critical Dialogue. ConunDrum: Journal of Contemporary Aboriginal Artists & Aesthetics [journal online]. Winnipeg: Urban Shaman Gallery of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Vol. 3, Issue 3, June 2006. Web link: http://conundrumonline.org/Issue_3/Remembering_in_America.htm
professional activities
International Conference Presentations
(October, 2019). A Decolonial Approach to an Indigenous Performance Politics [Skype online]. Barcelona Facultat De Geografia; Història Universitat De Barcelona; Museu D’art Contemporani De Barcelona (MACBA). 30 October 2019.
(November, 2011). Narratives of Resistance and Recovery: The Art of Diego Romero. The Research Group EA 2325 SEARCH (Savoirs dans l'Espace Anglophone: Représentations, Culture, Histoire). University of Strasbourg, Alsace, France.
National Conference Presentations
(November, 2016). Kent Monkman’s Landscapes: Unsettling Colonialism and Queering the Native Body. American Studies Association Annual Conference. Denver, CO.
(February, 2012). Reclaiming Indigenous Lifeways: Native Women and Power in the 21st Century. Take Root: Red State Perspectives on Reproductive Justice. University of Oklahoma, OK.
International Visiting Lectures
(March, 2017). Kent Monkman’s Landscapes: Unsettling Colonialism and Queering the Native Body. Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, Singapore.
(March, 2015). Contemporary Issues in Native American Art & Philosophy. Goldsmith’s University of London, Department of Visual Cultures, Centre for Research Architecture, Centre for Cultures Studies, London, England.
(November, 2007). Contemporary Native American Art. Sala consigliare dell Assessorato alla Cultura del Comune di Padova, Italy.
(March, 2006). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, Department of Art, London, England.
(August, 2005). A Survey of Native American Art. Bandung Institute of Technology, Faculty of Arts and Design, Galeri Soemardja, Java, Indonesia.
National Visiting Lectures
(August, 2020). Contemporary Native American Performance Art and Theater [Zoom online]. Shape: A Virtual Artist Residency. Vinegar Projects: An Artists-Run Space. Birmingham, AL.
(March, 2019). Kent Monkman’s Landscapes: Unsettling Colonialism and Queering the Native Body. Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA.
(September, 2018). My Life in Art: Hock E Aye Edgar Heap of Birds with Shanna Ketchum-Heap of Birds. Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM.
(January, 2018). The Work Between Us: Reflections on Jean Fisher. Artists Space, New York, NY.
(June, 2017). Native American Artists as Agents of Social Change. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN.
(April, 2017). Kent Monkman’s Landscapes: Unsettling Colonialism and Queering the Native Body. University of Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS.
(January, 2016). Native American Artists as Agents of Social Change. The Ohio State University, Department of Art and American Indian Studies Program, Columbus, OH.
(October, 2015). Contemporary Native American Artists. University of Oklahoma, Department of Anthropology, Norman, OK.
(October, 2014). Contemporary Native American Artists. University of Oklahoma, Department of Anthropology, Norman, OK.
(February, 2013). New Native Art Criticism. Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA.
(January, 2013). Contemporary Native American Artists. University of Hawaii, Department of Art, Manoa, HI.
(September, 2012). New Native Art Criticism. Pitzer College, Department of Art, Claremont, CA.
(March, 2012). New Native Art Criticism. Maryland Institute College of Art, Department of Art, Baltimore, MD.
(February, 2012). New Native Art Criticism.University of Memphis, Department of Art, Memphis, TN.
(February, 2012). Art Criticism and Writing About Contemporary Native American Art. Diné College, Department of Art, Tsaile, AZ.
(October, 2011). Contemporary Native American Artists. University of Oklahoma, Department of Anthropology, Norman, OK.
(March, 2011). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. University of St. Croix, Department of English, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
(February, 2010). Survey of Contemporary Native Art. Diné College, Department of Art, Tsaile, AZ.
(November, 2008). Contemporary Native American Artists. Diné College, Department of Art, Tsaile, AZ.
(October, 2008). Survey of Contemporary Native American Artists. Emporia State University, Department of Art, Emporia, KS.
(May, 2008). Tourism, Culture, and Tradition. Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM.
(September, 2007). Issues in Contemporary Native Art. University of Minnesota, Department of Art, Minneapolis, MN.
(April, 2007). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. Slippery Rock University, Kaleidoscope Arts Festival, Slippery Rock, PA.
(October, 2006). Survey of Contemporary Native American Artists. University of Central Oklahoma, Department of Art, Edmond, OK.
(May, 2006). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. California Institute of the Arts, School of Art, Valencia, CA.
(May, 2006). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Art, Los Angeles, CA.
(October, 2005). Transcultural Space in Context: The Art of Diego Romero. Georgia College & State University, Department of Art, Milledgeville, GA.
Panel Participant
(January, 2009). Dismantling Creative Apartheid. Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM.
(November, 2007). Dismantling Creative Apartheid. Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe,
NM
Professional service
Advisory Committee
(September, 2017). LU!LU!LU!LU! An Evening Celebrating Spiderwoman Theater’s 40 Years. La MaMa in Association with Spiderwoman Theater Presents a Loose Change Production, New York, NY.
Book Reviewer
(Fall, 2018). Colonized Through Art: American Indian Schools and Art Education, 1889-1915. By Marinella Lentis. Chronicles of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Historical Society. Vol. 96.3: 369-370.
(Fall, 2020). Sonny Assu: A Selective History. Essays by Candice Hopkins, Marianne Nicolson, Richard van Camp, Ellyn Walker. Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Journal. Vol. 7.2: 199-200.
(Forthcoming). Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics. Edited by Jami C. Powell; with contributions by Morgan E. Freeman, Courtney M. Leonard, Sequoia Miller, Anya Montiel, Rose B. Simpson, and Roxanne Swentzell. Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Journal.
(Forthcoming). Painting Culture, Painting Nature: Stephen Mopope, Oscar Jacobson,
and the Development of Indian Art in Oklahoma. By Gunlög Fur. Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Journal.
Manuscript Reviewer
(April-September, 2013). American Studies in Scandinavia. Nordic Association for American Studies (NAAS), Finland.
Project Coordinator
(May, 2008). Native American Arts Writer Workshop. Santa Fe Art Institute in conjunction with the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM.
professional affiliations
Member
Performance Studies International (2016-present)
American Studies Association (2016-present)
College Art Association (2007-present)
Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. (2005-present)
Board of Directors
Spiderwoman Theater Company, New York, NY (2018-present)
Pablita Velarde Museum of Indian Women in the Arts, Santa Fe, NM (2013)