Jorge Mañes Rubio and Hollis Chitto. Photo by Jason S. Ordaz
IAIA News:
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is pleased to announce its collaboration with the Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI) through the Transatlantic Rising Stars Project (TRSP), known as Transatlantic Stars, a three-year initiative of the European Union Delegation to the United States. The 2026 Santa Fe residency pairs Spanish artist Jorge Mañes Rubio with Hollis Chitto (Choctaw and Laguna Pueblo), an IAIA-affiliated artist.
The eight-week creative exchange is rooted in reciprocity, cultural respect, and shared artistic practice, bringing together an artist from the European Union and an Indigenous artist from the Southwest. The 2026 residency takes place from April–May, with a public exhibition planned in Washington, D.C., in June 2026.
As the lead collaborating organization and official host site for the Santa Fe residency, SFAI provides housing, studio space, professional development, and residency support at its landmark facility in Santa Fe’s Midtown, including serving as a liaison between the artists and the local creative community. IAIA supports the collaboration through access to its contemporary Native arts resources, museum and archive collections, and Indigenous artist networks. Together, the two institutions provide community engagement opportunities, public programs, and artist network-building support, helping create a platform for artists to exchange perspectives, deepen their creative practices, and build relationships across local and international arts communities.
“This collaboration reflects IAIA’s commitment to Indigenous creative excellence, cultural exchange, and the power of artists to build meaningful connections across communities,” said Dr. Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo), IAIA President. “By bringing together artists from the European Union and Indigenous artists of the Southwest, the Transatlantic Rising Stars Project creates space for dialogue, research, and creative practice grounded in reciprocity and respect.”
A core element of the residency is the pairing of the European Union artist with an IAIA-affiliated Native artist who offers cultural and creative guidance within the local context. Through this artist partnership, the residency supports dialogue across distinct cultural and geographic experiences while centering the importance of relationship-building, consent, and non-extractive engagement with Indigenous communities.
Artists participating in the residency also receive access to MAKE Santa Fe, a community makerspace and fabrication lab that includes wood and metal shops, ceramics, 3D printing, CNC routing, laser cutting, technical training, and a network of local makers. The residency is designed to support both individual studio practice and public engagement, with participating artists expected to collaborate with IAIA and SFAI to share their work through an exhibition, talk, performance, screening, or related public program.
“When the European Union Delegation to the United States approached SFAI to anchor this initiative in Santa Fe, we knew immediately that IAIA was the essential partner. Santa Fe has long been a place of artistic exchange, and this residency strengthens the city’s connection to global creative communities while honoring the deep cultural knowledge and artistic leadership already present here,” said Toccarra Thomas, SFAI Executive Director. “We are grateful to collaborate with IAIA and the European Union Delegation to the U.S. in supporting artists whose work can open new pathways for dialogue, community, and shared understanding.”
The Transatlantic Stars initiative supports artists across visual arts, film, and music, creating opportunities for European and American artists to work together, build professional networks, and share work with new audiences. In Santa Fe, the collaboration between IAIA and SFAI places particular emphasis on Indigenous creative practice, community care, and the responsibilities that come with working in relationship with Indigenous people, lands, and cultural knowledge.
The residency also reflects IAIA’s mission “to empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts, scholarship, and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning, and community engagement.” Through its academic programs, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts (RCCNA), artist-in-residence initiatives, and extensive network of Native artists, IAIA continues to advance contemporary Indigenous arts locally, nationally, and internationally.
Additional information about participating artists and related public programs will be shared as details are confirmed.
About the Artists
Jorge Mañes Rubio. Photo by Jason S. Ordaz
Jorge Mañes Rubio, based in Amsterdam and a graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, reimagines common objects as powerful entities, exploring the role materiality plays in shaping myth, identity, and place. His works are often embellished with glass beads, sequins, freshwater pearls, rhinestones, and other vibrant materials, creating compositions that reflect connections between material and spiritual worlds. His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, among others.
Hollis Chitto. Photo by Jason S. Ordaz
Hollis Chitto (Choctaw and Laguna Pueblo) is a Two-Spirit Indigenous artist whose beadwork practice is rooted in a deep family legacy of artmaking. His grandmother was a beadworker who created and sold her work to support her family, and his father was a painter and illustrator who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before coming to Santa Fe to study at IAIA. His mother comes from the village of Seama in Laguna, New Mexico, home of Arroh-ah-och, a celebrated Two-Spirit potter who lived at the turn of the twentieth century. Chitto sees his work as a continuation of this lineage, bringing spiritual teachings into the physical world through beauty, materiality, and contemporary beadwork.
About the Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—the University for Indigenous Creative Excellence—is the only higher education institution in the world dedicated to the study of contemporary Native American and Alaska Native arts. IAIA offers undergraduate degrees in Cinematic Arts and Technology, Computer Science, Creative Writing, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, Native American Art History, Performing Arts, and Studio Arts; graduate degrees in Creative Writing, Studio Arts, and Cultural Administration; and certificates in Broadcast Journalism, Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History. Recent partnerships, such as those with The Walt Disney Company, Nike, The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and NBCUniversal Media, help students leave their mark in the creative community. IAIA serves approximately 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native students, representing nearly 100 federally recognized Tribes. IAIA is among the leading art universities in the nation and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
About Santa Fe Art Institute
Founded in 1985, the Santa Fe Art Institute is an independent arts organization that supports and amplifies creative practices exploring questions of what it means to live, belong, and create in the world today. Each year, through thematic residencies and fellowships, SFAI hosts and supports artists from a broad range of creative disciplines to advance critical inquiry and foster cultural exchange. Located in a landmark building designed by architect Ricardo Legorreta, SFAI began as a unique platform for emerging artists to study intensively with acclaimed visiting artists, evolving over four decades into a leading center for experimentation, risk-taking, and inquiry-driven artmaking. Over the years, SFAI has welcomed renowned visiting artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, John Baldessari, Helen Frankenthaler, Nancy Graves, John Chamberlain, Susan Rothenberg, Judy Chicago, Vito Acconci, Luis Jiménez, Dread Scott, and Coco Fusco, alongside more than 1,700 creative practitioners at every stage of their careers from around the world. Situated on Santa Fe’s Midtown Campus, SFAI serves as a hub where local, national, and international artists contribute fresh perspectives to the most urgent conversations of our time.
About Transatlantic Stars
The Transatlantic Rising Stars Project, known as Transatlantic Stars, is a three-year initiative of the European Union Delegation to the United States. The project supports artists working in visual arts, film, and music by creating opportunities for cultural exchange, artistic development, professional growth, and collaboration between artists in Europe and the United States. Participating artists join a cohort-and-alum network designed to sustain connections, spark new projects, and open long-term opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.