Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Loida Maritza Pérez is the Founder and Executive Director of AfroMundo. A native of the Dominican Republic, she is an independent scholar, cultural activist and author of Geographies of Home, a novel published in the United States and abroad. Her upcoming book, Beyond the Pale, won a PEN America 2019 Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History. Her work has appeared in the Michigan Quarterly Review, Latina, MaComere, Meridians, Edinburgh Review, Bomb, Callaloo and Best of Callaloo. A 2022-2023 National Leaders of Color Fellow, she has received awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with University of New Mexico and Rutgers University, IC3-Institute for Communities, Creativity and Consciousness, Djerassi’s Henry Louis Gates Fellowship, Ragdale Foundation for the Arts U.S.–Africa Writer’s Project, MacDowell Arts Colony, Yaddo Foundation, Hedgebrook, Millay Arts Colony, Ucross Foundation and Villa Montalvo.

Los Descendientes Del Presidio De Tucson

Discipline: Crafts

Losalia Ah Chee is a revered traditional weaver from Pago Pago, American Samoa, whose artistry is deeply rooted in Samoan heritage. Entirely self-taught, she honed her craft through keen observation and an intuitive connection to her surroundings, mastering the intricate techniques of weaving with dried pandanus and coconut leaves. Over time, weaving has become more than a skill, it is an extension of her identity and a source of strength. Her passion for the art was nurtured by the enduring wisdom of her late mother, Telesia Ah Chee, whose words “‘E te ola i ou lima” (“You live by your hands”) that continue to guide her journey. Through weaving, she has cultivated resilience, purpose, and a profound sense of cultural pride. Committed to preserving the traditions of her ancestors, Chee actively shares her knowledge with youth and community members, ensuring that the legacy of Samoan weaving lives on through intergenerational learning and cultural stewardship.

Louise Cutler Studio

Artist

(Amanalli Lu) was born in Mexico City. Vargas migrated to Los Angeles, California at the age of 11. She then moved to Santa Rosa where she works as a Professional Tattoo Artist. Inspired by Mexican and Native American Culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, and race in American society. Art has transformed her life and has helped her heal her trauma. She hopes to use the same process to help young people. Vargas strongly believes art is one of the best activities for anyone to heal the body, mind and spirit.

Chief Entertainment Officer, CASA ALTA LLC

Lynne Hardy, originally from Arizona, currently resides in Provo, Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in entrepreneurship.

Her work, created using digital drawing and painting in Adobe Fresco, is described as colorful, modern depictions of her Navajo people and culture. Inspired by her ancestors, Hardy strives to preserve their stories. Authenticity, Native representation, and inclusion are central to her creations, as she aims to share her culture and combat harmful Native stereotypes.

In 2020, Hardy launched her small online business, Ajoobaasani, where she sells self-designed Navajo products, including stickers, prints, and apparel. The success of Ajoobaasani opened doors for her to collaborate with Native-led organizations and companies seeking Native art, enabling her to become a full-time illustrator.

Hardy hopes to continue growing her art career and business while working with clients who value Native culture.

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Magdalen Santos is an emerging bead-maker from Talabwogh, also known as Tanapag. She is learning her craft through the guidance of her maternal aunts and relatives, whose knowledge deeply shapes her journey. Through bead-making, she connects with her cultural roots and contributes to the preservation of her community’s traditions. Her growing practice is both a personal exploration and a tribute to the history, skills, and resilience passed down through generations.

Maka/Keixe Yaxti, a Tlingit woman from Yaakwdaat, carries a rich heritage rooted in her clan’s migration along the Copper River from the North. Based in Southeast Alaska, Yaakwdaat is where her ancestors have lived and stewarded the land for hundreds of years.

Monture belongs to the Raven moiety of the Copper River Clan, the House of the Owl, and she is a child of the Kanien’kehá:ka people. Her early education was shaped by the land itself, with her maternal grandparents serving as interpreters. Her understanding of humanity has been profoundly influenced by traditional practices, including harvest, song and dance, language, ceremony, and genealogy.

 

Maka’s creative work stems from the intersection of storytelling and a vision for radical abundance. She remains a lifelong student of Tlingit history and art.

Mallika Singh is a poet, farmer, and cook based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their chapbook, Retrieval, was published in 2020 by Wendy’s Subway. This season, they are growing okra, marigolds, hibiscus, and more alongside their coworkers at Ashokra Farm.

You can find them out in the field or by the river.

Discipline: Music

Malosi Tanielu Lui is happy to communicate with the community with his talent. Growing up, music was instilled through church choir, youth, and Sunday school. Started playing piano at the age of 10, and since then he was able to use the God given talent in high school choirs— Leone High Taumafai Swing Choir & Samoana High Tautua Choir. He was also blessed with the opportunity to play for American Samoa’s Choir at the Festival Arts of the Pacific this past summer.

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Music

Discipline: Photography

Marcella Fitisone, a proud daughter of Samoa, is the visionary owner of Sinavemafiti Photography and Creative Studios. Her creative work is a tribute to two core values that define her life: family and culture. Through her lens, she captures the essence of the Samoan way of life and strong bonds of family, creating timeless photos that tell stories of heritage and love. From birthdays to weddings, family faalavelaves, and the beautiful landscapes of American Samoa, Fitisone believes that preserving these moments through photography is a gift to future generations and a tangible documentation of living narratives.