bio

photo by Stevei Houkamau



Erin Genia is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice follows various strands: merging cultural imperatives, pure expression, and exploration of materiality, with a response to past, present, and future matters. She pursues work that creates a powerful presence of Indigeneity, with a goal of fostering an evolution of thought and practice in societal instruments that are aligned with the cycles of the natural world and the potential of humanity. As an artist, Genia contributes to this process through the act of creative inquiry and expression, based upon Dakota ways. Learning to apply and pass along Wodakota, as well as Dakota language, stories, and other cultural elements is central to her work. She is also interested in addressing questions that test the boundaries of what art is, from her perspective as an Indigenous person. Erin seeks to connect the transformational possibilities of art and the creative process to community-based work, and as a student and practitioner of Wodakota, is led by yuhapi c’ante waste – with a good heart.

She has a Master of Science in Art, Culture and Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology  and a Master of Public Administration in Tribal Governance from The Evergreen State College. She has worked as a community organizer, writer, educator and cultural worker. She is a practicing artist fluent in two and three-dimensional forms and is currently exploring digital fabrication, sound, performance and public art interfaces.