Nanibah Chacon facts for kids

Nanibah "Nani" Chacon (born 1980) is a talented artist. She is a Diné (Navajo) and Chicana painter, muralist, and art teacher. Her amazing artwork can be seen in many places. These include the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe and the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock. Her art has also been shown at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

About Nani's Early Life

Nani Chacon was born in Gallup, New Mexico. She grew up in different places like Chinle, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

How Nani Started Her Art

When Nani was 15, she first got involved in street art and graffiti. For 10 years, she created street art. After that, she started making large painted murals. She also joined a group called Honor the Treaties. This group creates art about the rights of Native peoples and land issues.

Nani Chacon's Art Career

Famous Murals and Exhibitions

In 2012, the City of Albuquerque asked Nani to create a mural. It was for the ISEA International Arts and Technology Symposium. This mural is called She Taught Us to Weave. It is part of the Wells Park Rail Corridor Mural Project. The mural even has a special radio transmitter. This device sends out the words, Hozho naahaslii. This is a Navajo phrase that means "the true value of living beautifully."

In 2013, Nani's mural, Against The Storm She Gathers Her Thoughts, became the first mural at the Navajo Nation Museum. It was part of an exhibit called Ch'ikééh Baa Hózhǫ. Also in 2013, her work Manifestations of Glittering World was shown. It was in the Stands With A Fist: Contemporary Native Women Artists exhibit. This exhibit was at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Nani's art was also featured in the 19th Young Latino Artists Exhibition. This show was at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas. It displayed art from young Latinx artists. They explored ideas about race, gender, and cultural identity. That same year, Nani was a special guest speaker. She spoke at a conference at Northern New Mexico College.

Large-Scale Projects and Collaborations

In 2015, Nani Chacon was the main artist for Resilience. This is the largest mural in Albuquerque. She worked with a youth arts group called Working Classroom. Many students from Washington Middle School in Albuquerque helped her. That year, she also finished a mural in Izhevsk, Russia.

In 2016, Nani's art was part of the Code Mixing: From Concrete to Canvas Exhibition. This was at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA) in San Jose, California. In 2017, she created Sing Our Rivers Red. This art piece honored over 1,000 Indigenous Canadian women and girls. They were reported missing or killed since 1980. This installation was at the CHAC Gallery in Denver, Colorado.

In the summer of 2017, Nani worked with young people from Española. Together, they completed the mural The River Flows Through It. This mural is at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. It shows the many different textile traditions of Northern New Mexico. It includes art styles from Navajo, Pueblo, and Spanish fiber art.

In fall 2018, Nani was an Artist-in-Residence at Michigan State University. This program helps students connect with women of color. A professor named Estrella Torrez said that Nani is a very important muralist. Her paintings are beautiful and share important stories of Indigenous women.

Nani has also been a visiting artist at Washington State University. There, she created another mural.

Nani's Personal Life

Nani Chacon lives in Albuquerque with her son. Her brother, Raven Chacon, is also a well-known sound artist.