Talk: Classroom Connections: Teaching the Next Generation of Native Artists

School for Advanced Research’s 2025 Native Arts Speaker Series
Cultural Currents: The Role of Mentorship in Native Arts

Explore how mentorship shapes both traditional and contemporary Native arts.

This third event of four features Leah Mata Fragua and Savannah Morales.

Leah Mata Fragua (Northern Chumash) is an artist, educator, and member of the yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini (Northern Chumash) tribe located on the Central California Coast. As a place-based artist, Leah’s kincentric approach seamlessly blends shared iconography with personal imagery, highlighting the impact each has on the other. She uses a diverse range of materials, from place-based to recycled, to explore the interconnectedness and dependence between land, kinships, and self. She understands that her art is a reflection of the way she prioritizes the protection of traditional materials and the continuation of art forms that are important to her community, which intersect with her individual practice. Leah holds a BA in anthropology, an MA in Cultural Sustainability, and an MFA from The Institute of American Indian Arts in the Studio Arts program. Leah’s work is held in the collections of the Autry Museum, Tia Collection, Denver Art Museum, The Hood Museum, and private collections.

Savannah Morales (Tachi Yokut) is an multi-media artist from the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, originating from California’s San Joaquin Valley. She is a mixed-race mixed media naturalist artist, that works in various materials which include digital art, photography, and painting. Morales creates beautiful depictions of life within their ecosystems, she does this by capturing eliminating light movement. Currently, Ms. Morales serves as the Lead Artist on the upcoming community mural titled; Water Is Life, 2025 which is being displayed at the Institute of American Indian Arts Student Union Building (SUB). Savannah is receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography, within the Studio Arts department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Morales currently has two Polaroid Photography pieces in the 2024-2025 IAIA BFA Exhibition ending May 16, 2025 IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA).

This event is free to the public and takes place at the School for Advanced Research. The events can also be viewed live on SAR’s YouTube channel.