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Cannupa Hanksa Luger
Born 1979 (age 45–46)
Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota
Nationality Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation
Education Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Known for Installation art, Sculpture, Performance art, Environmental art, Ecological art
Awards Burke Prize (2018), National Artist Fellowship (2016), Multicultural Fellowship Award (2015)

Cannupa Hanska Luger (born 1979) is a talented artist from New Mexico. He creates amazing artworks that help people think about important issues. These issues include protecting our environment and stopping violence against people, especially women and girls.

Luger is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. He also has heritage from the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Austrian, and Norwegian cultures.

About Cannupa Hanska Luger's Life

Growing Up

Cannupa Hanska Luger was born and grew up in Fort Yates, North Dakota. This town is located on the Standing Rock Reservation.

His parents are Kathy "Elk Woman" Whitman and Robert "Bruz" Luger. After his parents divorced, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona with his mother and five siblings. His mother is an artist who carves stone sculptures. She looked for a place to sell her art there. Cannupa spent his summers on his father's ranch back on the Standing Rock Reservation. He says his mother and ancestors gave him the confidence to become an artist. They also helped him find his own unique creative voice.

His Education

In 2011, Cannupa earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He studied studio arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Cannupa Hanska Luger's Artworks

Amazing Art Installations

Every One, 2018, by Cannupa Hanska Luger
Every One, 2018, by Cannupa Hanska Luger

Luger creates large art pieces, sculptures, and performances. He uses video, sound, and many different materials. His art often acts as a way to speak out about important topics. He shares stories about what it means to be an Indigenous person today.

His art has been shown in many famous places. These include the Princeton University Art Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. He even won the first Burke Prize from the Museum of Arts and Design. His work has also been seen in Paris, France, and Montreal, Canada.

The Every One Project

One of Luger's most powerful art pieces is called Every One. It has been shown at places like the Museum of International Folk Art and the Denver Art Museum. This artwork is made of 4,000 handmade ceramic beads. People from Native and other communities across the United States and Canada made these beads.

Each bead represents a missing or murdered Indigenous woman, girl, or LGBTQ person. The artwork is a way to remember them and bring attention to violence against them. Luger explains that he didn't create this alone. He says, "It took hundreds of people to make it." This shows how important teamwork was for this project.

The Mirror Shield Project

Luger is also famous for his Mirror Shield Project. This project was used during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock in 2016. He designed and made 100 simple shields using masonite and mirrored vinyl. He even shared a video online showing others how to make them.

Groups in other cities, like Minneapolis, made even more shields. This project helped people protect themselves peacefully during the protests. It showed how art can be used to support important causes.

Other Exhibitions and Performances

Cannupa has had many solo art shows. In 2013, he had a show called Cannupa Hanska Luger Stereotype: Misconceptions of the Native American. In 2019, his Every One show was featured at the Gardiner Museum.

In 2020, his work was part of a big exhibition at the Heard Museum. He also helped create an opera called Sweet Land. This opera was about colonialism and won an award for best new opera. In 2021, he had his first solo show in New York City. It was called New Myth. He also created an installation about migration and border issues.

Working Together: Collaborations

Cannupa Hanska Luger often works with other artists and groups. While he was in college, he was part of the Humble Art Collective. Later, he worked on the Mirror Shields and Every One projects with many people.

He has also collaborated with groups like Winter Count and Postcommodity. He also works with R.I.S.E., which stands for Radical Indigenous Survivance and Empowerment. These collaborations show how much he values working as a team.

Awards and Special Honors

Cannupa Hanska Luger has received many awards for his amazing art. In 2015, he got a Multicultural Fellowship Award. In 2018, he won the first Burke Prize from the Museum of Arts and Design. He also received a National Artist Fellowship in 2016.

More recently, he was honored by the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. In 2020, he received a Creative Capital Award and a fellowship from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. In 2022, he was awarded the Guggenheim fellowship in Fine Arts.

Where You Can See His Art

Cannupa Hanska Luger's art is part of many public collections. This means his work is owned by museums and galleries for everyone to see. Some places where his art is kept include:

See also

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