University of North Texas 
Wendy Red Star, M.F.A., visual artist, researcher and educator. Photo: John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Wendy Red Star brings humor, history and Indigenous perspective to UNT lecture
The UNT College of Visual Arts and Design Galleries will host a free public lecture by Wendy Red Star on April 24 as part of the Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Lecture Series.
Lecture: Creative Practice and Artwork
April 24, 2026 | Noon
Art Building, Room 223
Free and open to the public
The lecture offers students, artists, designers and the broader community a rare opportunity
to hear directly from one of the most influential voices in contemporary Indigenous
art — an artist whose work continues to challenge, expand and redefine the narratives
shaping art and culture today.
About Wendy Red Star
Red Star, an Apsáalooke visual artist, researcher, author and educator, is known for
a multidisciplinary practice grounded in the histories, archives and lived knowledge
of the Apsáalooke Nation. Apsáalooke (pronounced opp-SAH-loh-kay) is often translated as “Crow,” a name that originated from a historical mistranslation
by European explorers and traders. Her work bridges rigorous research with contemporary
visual culture, using humor as a deliberate, subversive tool to engage audiences with
complex and often difficult historical truths.
Born in Billings, Montana, and raised in the district of Pryor, Montana, Red Star
draws from family histories, archival materials and cultural memory. Her process emphasizes
close looking, listening and assembling — allowing connections between lineage, record
and lived experience to emerge organically over time. Rather than correcting historical
narratives, her work recontextualizes them, expanding how Indigenous histories are
seen, understood and experienced.
Now based in Portland, Oregon, Red Star has gained international recognition for reshaping
how Native American representation is encountered — moving beyond static museum frameworks
into dynamic, living contexts. In 2024, she was named a recipient of the prestigious
MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the “Genius Grant,” which includes an unrestricted
award of $800,000 supporting continued innovation in her field.
Her honors also include the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, Smithsonian Artist Research
Fellowship, Bonnie Bronson Fellowship and the Infinity Award in Contemporary Photography
and New Media. In 2025, she received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University.
Red Star earned a B.F.A. from Montana State University, Bozeman, and an M.F.A. in
sculpture from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her work is held in more
than 80 public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art; the Guggenheim Museum, New
York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth;
Denver Art Museum; Baltimore Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Smithsonian
American Art Museum; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; and the British Museum,
London, among many others.