08/21/2026
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT 💫 Cedar Rose
Bio: Cedar Rose is an interdisciplinary Indigenous artist from Santa Fe, located within the traditional Tewa Territory of northern New Mexico. She is Holikachuk Dene (Athabaskan) and Diné (Navajo). Blending an array of materials, including textiles, photography, paper ephemera, and found objects, her practice encompasses clothing design, collage, installation, and assemblage. Involved in performance art since childhood, she is one of five founding members of a collaborative performance art troupe in Santa Fe. Rose earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Fort Lewis College in 2015 and her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in 2026. Having lived and worked as both a creative and business professional across the East and West coasts, she now resides in her hometown of Santa Fe.
Artist Statement: My work explores themes of identity, relationship, belonging, and memory through the lens of my relationships with my parents and ancestors, as reflected in the material belongings they have created and collected. Through my art, I navigate these relationships by piecing together fragments of memory with my own collected and inherited textiles, in an attempt to make sense of my place within the Indigenous community. By utilizing these materials, I confront the deep sentimental attachments I feel to my family’s ancestral stories. I engage in slow, methodical, and repetitive processes like stitching, beading, and weaving, which prompt me to remain present and mindful of the emotions these items recall. Ultimately, my work strives to gently navigate and process painful family histories, continuing a journey of generational healing initiated by those who came before me in hopes that it resonates with others processing the complex legacies of settler-colonialism.
