Quills, needles and hides
Chelsea Kaiah’s art of healing in ‘Lazy Stitch’
Tpresent “Lazy Stitch,” an exhibition of works by Denver-based multimedia artist Chelsea Kaiah. A passionate advocate for Native rights, cultural awareness and sustainability, Kaiah’s practice skillfully adapts traditional materials and techniques — such as beadwork, pine needle weaving, porcupine quilling, and hide work — to explore themes of resilience, mental health, system reformation, and healing.
This exhibition showcases Kaiah’s recent works, offering a diverse range of her artistic endeavors. Visitors will experience some of her most complex and labor-intensive practices alongside her more free-flowing and immediate material studies. Through this, Kaiah creates a powerful dialogue between tradition and innovation, illustrating her commitment to both honoring her heritage and addressing contemporary issues.
Born in 1995 on the Northern Ute reservation, Kaiah is of White River Ute and White Mountain Apache descent, with Irish settler ancestry. She earned her BFA from Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville, Tennessee, and currently resides and works in Denver, Colorado. As a resident artist at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Kaiah continues to expand her practice and impact within the art community.
In recognition of her work, Kaiah was awarded the Native Arts and Cultures LIFT grant in 2022 for early career support, as well as the Greene Grant Fellowship, which provides additional resources for working artists. Her influence extends beyond her personal practice, as she serves on the Indigenous Advisory Council for the Denver Art Museum, where she was selected as the fall 2022 Native Arts Artist in Residence.