Raven Chacon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raven Chacon
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Chacon speaking at Columbia University in 2022
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| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) Fort Defiance, Arizona, United States
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| Education | California Institute of the Arts University of New Mexico |
| Known for | sound art, non-vocal instrumentalist, installation art, composer, musician, visual artist |
| Style | noise music, experimental sound, composer, musician, visual artist |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship 2023 Pulitzer Prize 2022 |
Raven Chacon (born in 1977) is an amazing Diné (Navajo) composer, musician, and artist. He was born in Fort Defiance, Arizona, which is part of the Navajo Nation. Raven Chacon made history in 2022 when he became the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. He won this huge award for his special musical piece called Voiceless Mass. Besides composing, he also performs noise music by himself and has worked with cool groups like Postcommodity.
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About Raven Chacon
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Raven Chacon was born in 1977 in Fort Defiance, Arizona, USA. This area is located within the Navajo Nation. He studied at the University of New Mexico, earning his degree in Fine Arts in 2001. Later, he received a master's degree in music composition from the California Institute of the Arts in 2004.
His Art and Music
Raven Chacon creates both visual art and sound art. His unique works have been shown in many places around the world. For example, his art piece Still Life, #3 (2015) was a room-sized sound and text installation. It was featured at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.
His art has also been displayed at major events and museums. These include the Sydney Biennale, the Kennedy Center, and the Whitney Biennial. His work has even been part of documenta 14, a very important art exhibition.
Working with Others
Chacon is also part of several music groups. He performs in KILT with Bob Bellerue and Mesa Ritual with William Fowler Collins. He also works with John Dieterich in a group called Endlings. He has collaborated with other artists like Laura Ortman. In 2016, the famous Kronos Quartet asked him to compose a piece for their "Fifty For The Future" project.
Raven Chacon helps young artists too. He is a Composer-in-Residence with the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project. This project helps Native American students learn about music composition.
Awards and Recognition
Raven Chacon has received many important awards for his work. In 2012, he won a Creative Capital Visual Arts grant. He was also honored with a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowship in Music in 2014. In 2018, he received the Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin.
A huge moment for him was in 2022. He became the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He earned this prize for his amazing composition called Voiceless Mass. In October 2023, he was also named a MacArthur Fellow. This is a very special award given to talented people in many fields.
Postcommodity Art Collective
Raven Chacon was a member of a Native American art group called Postcommodity. With this group, he created multimedia art installations. These installations have been shown all over the world. Other artists in Postcommodity include Cristóbal Martínez, Kade L. Twist, Steven Yazzie, and Nathan Young.
In 2017, as part of Postcommodity, Chacon helped create a project called ...in memoriam. This project was shown in Edmonton, Canada.
Personal Life
Raven Chacon lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is married to Candice Hopkins, who is a curator from the Tagish people. His sister, Nani Chacon, is also an artist known for her murals.
Music Albums
Raven Chacon has released many albums and recordings of his music. Here are some of them:
- Voiceless Mass (with Present Music and Ariadne Greif) (New World Records, 2025)
- Inhale/Exhale (with Carlos Santistevan and Tatsuya Nakatani) (Other Minds Records, 2022)
- An Anthology of Chants Operations (Ouidah, 2020)
- Horse Notations (Cimiotti Recordings, 2020)
- Crisalide Fossile (with OvO) (Bronson, 2016)
- Your New Age Dream Contains More Blood Than You Can Imagine 12"LP (with Postcommodity) (Anarchymoon, 2011)
- Kitchen Sorcery (with Bob Bellerue) (Prison Tatt Records, 2011)
- At the Point Where the Rivers Crossed, We Drew Our Knives 12"LP (Anarchymoon, 2010)
- Black Streaked Hum (Lightning Speak/Featherspines, 2009)
- Overheard Songs (Innova, 2006)
- The Incredible 17000 km Split (split with Torturing Nurse) (8K Mob, 2006)
- Jesus Was a Wino (with Jeff Gburek) (Herbal Records, 2005)
- Still/life (Sicksicksick, 2004)
- Meet the Beatless (Sicksicksick, 2003)
