Sky Hopinka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sky Hopinka
Sky Hopinka in 2018
Born	1984 (age 40–41) Ferndale, Washington, US
Nationality	Ho-Chunk Nation; American
Education	Portland State University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Known for	Video, film, animation
Style	Experimental
Awards	Guggenheim Fellowship (2020) MacArthur Fellowship (2022)

Sky Hopinka (born in 1984) is an amazing American artist and filmmaker. He is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and has family from the Pechanga Band of Luiseño people. In 2022, Sky Hopinka received a very special award called the MacArthur Fellowship. This award is given to talented people who show great creativity.

Sky Hopinka's Early Life and Education

Sky Hopinka was born in Ferndale, Washington. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Southern California.

His Journey in Education

Sky went to Portland State University (PSU) for his first degree. There, he became very interested in making documentary films. He earned a degree in liberal arts, which means he studied many different subjects. While at PSU, he also started to learn about bringing back Indigenous languages. These are the languages spoken by Native American people.

In 2013, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This area is the homeland of the Ho-Chunk Nation, which is his family's tribe. He studied at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He earned a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts in film, video, and new kinds of art.

What Kind of Art Does Sky Hopinka Make?

Sky Hopinka's art often explores what "home" and "land" mean to him. He also looks at how language and culture are connected to these ideas. He uses film and video to share his unique views.

He once said that changing how stories are told through film helps him be free. It lets him explore new ways for Indigenous cinema to look and feel.

Where His Films Have Been Shown

Sky Hopinka's films and videos have been shown in many important places. These include the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London. His work has also been featured at big film events like the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Organizing Film Programs

Sky Hopinka also put together a special film program called What Was Always Yours and Never Lost. This program focused on experimental cinema made by Indigenous artists. Experimental films are often very creative and try new ways of storytelling. This film series started in 2016 and was later shown at the 2019 Whitney Biennial, which is a big art exhibition.

Sky Hopinka as a Teacher

Sky Hopinka has shared his knowledge with many students. He used to be a professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. There, he taught students about film, video, and animation.

Currently, he is an assistant professor at Bard College. He teaches Film and Electronic Arts there. He has also taught Chinuk Wawa, which is an Indigenous language from the Lower Columbia River Basin.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Sky Hopinka has received many awards and honors for his amazing work:

• 2022: MacArthur Fellowship
• 2021: Residency fellowship at Forge Project, Taghkanic, N.Y.
• 2020: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship
• 2020: MacDowell (artists' residency and workshop) fellowship
• 2019: Media City Film Festival's Chrysalis Fellowship
• 2018–19: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University fellowship. He used this to work on a film called Imał. This film explores Indigenous language and culture in the Pacific Northwest in a new, mythical way.
• 2017: Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowship
• 2016: More with Less Award, Images Festival
• 2015: Third Prize, Media City Film Festival
• 2015: Tom Berman Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, Ann Arbor Film Festival

Where You Can Find His Art

Sky Hopinka's artworks are part of the permanent collections in several famous museums:

• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City
• Museum of Modern Art, New York City
• Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.