BEMIDJI — Region 2 Arts Council’s Anishinaabe Arts Initiative Council recently awarded $5,000 fellowships to Ningozis White and Martina Isham.
The AAI Fellowship is made possible by the McKnight Foundation and aims to assist the region’s most talented enrolled tribal members and descendants in their artwork by awarding financial support to fund creative time, purchase of arts materials, supplies and equipment or arts research and experiences, a release said.
Photographer Ningozis White of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is a graduate of Bemidji State University with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and is highly motivated when it comes to good physical and mental health, the release said.
He first started practicing photography at Lake Superior College in 2016. His experience in photography has mostly been spent in commercial photography for apparel merchandising, websites and marketing. He has a strong connection to his community and actively participates in tribal cultural activities throughout the United States and Canada.
White loves the outdoors and plans on improving his photographic abilities capturing nature, and wildlife, and photo-documenting the important aspects of his Anishinaabe culture and people, the release said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bead worker Martina Isham of Red Lake Nation is inspired by nature and her Anishinaabe heritage. She acknowledges her style is “very woodland" and loves to reference nature in the design, color, and flow of the beads in her work, the release said.
Both of her parents are Anishinaabe artists, and Isham's love for art and creating started with them. She grew up in Red Lake and currently resides with her partner Steve and their three boys in Bemidji.
The Trust Project
