Melissa Melero-Moose facts for kids

Melissa Melero-Moose is a talented artist who creates amazing art using different materials. She is part of the Northern Paiute and Modoc tribes. Melissa also helped start a group called Great Basin Native Artists, which is based in Nevada. She is officially a member of the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony.

Early Life and Learning

Melissa Melero-Moose was born in San Francisco, California, in 1974. She studied art at the Institute of American Indian Arts and also earned a degree from Portland State University.

Her Art Style

Melissa Melero-Moose creates unique abstract paintings using many different materials. Her art often shows the beautiful landscapes and rich culture of her Northern Paiute people.

Materials and Inspiration

Melissa uses special techniques in her paintings. She often paints with thin layers of acrylic paint and adds layers of rice paper. She also includes natural items like willow branches, tule reeds, cattails, and pine nuts. The wide-open spaces of the Great Basin, ancient rock carvings called petroglyphs, and traditional basket weaving all inspire her artwork.

She is known for her mixed-media art, which means she combines different materials. Her work has been shown by the Nevada Arts Council. You can often see her art at big events like the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Museum Guild Fair & Market in Phoenix, Arizona.

Supporting Native Artists

Melissa Melero-Moose is passionate about making sure that the art of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin is seen and celebrated. Many people didn't know much about these artists, so Melissa decided to do something about it.

Great Basin Native Artists

In 2014, Melissa co-founded the Great Basin Native Artists (GBNA) group. This group helps bring attention to talented Native artists from the Great Basin area. She has organized many art shows for these artists, including one called Great Basin Native Artists in 2016.

The Great Basin Native Artists group works with the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum. They help keep a changing art gallery that features amazing Indigenous artists from the region. Melissa once said, "Indian people, even though so much of the population was wiped out, we never stopped creating."

Research and Recognition

Starting in 2018, the Nevada Museum of Art gave Melissa a special opportunity. She received a fellowship to research and create a list and collection of information about Great Basin Native artists. This helps preserve their history and make their work more known.

Melissa also helps guide the Nevada Arts Council as a board member.

Exhibitions and Awards

Melissa Melero-Moose's art has been shown in many important exhibitions. She has also received several awards for her work.

Selected Exhibitions

• 2019: Stories from the Land: Indigenous Voices Connecting within the Great Plains, Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg, KS
• 2017–18: Connective Tissue: New Approaches to Fiber in Contemporary Native Art, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe
• 2017: Great Basin Artists: Melissa Melero-Moose, Topaz Jones, Karma Henry & Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, CN Gorman Museum, Davis, CA

Awards and Honors

Melissa has won several awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market. In 2016, the SWAIA organization chose her as their Santa Fe Indian Market Discovery Fellow. This was a big honor!

In 2015, the School for Advanced Research selected Melissa as their Ronald and Susan Dubin fellow. The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno also named her the first Peter E. Pool Research Fellow in 2018.