Brooklyn-based painter Grace Rosario Perkins is bringing Indigenous abstraction into bold new territory. The Diné (Navajo) and Akimel O’odham artist has been named the second 2025 recipient of the Walker Youngbird Foundation’s Emerging Native Arts Grant, an award that comes with $15,000 over six months, mentorship from cultural leaders, and access to a national network of curators and gallerists.
Perkins—self-taught and raised between Santa Fe, her parents’ reservations, and the Bay Area—creates layered abstractions from text, found materials, and ritual. Her work resists simple narratives, instead inviting audiences to connect through complexity.
“This grant gives me the freedom to focus on a large-scale sculptural work grounded in collaboration with friends and family members across different homelands,” Perkins said. “We are transforming materials that hold both personal and collective stories, and through abstraction, we invite viewers to form their own connections.”
The funded project, Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers, will include large-scale paintings and a monumental sculpture collaboratively built near the Navajo Nation and Gila River Indian Community. The installation will incorporate found detritus—beer cans, aluminum, and fast-food packaging—collected from areas impacted by addiction and environmental harm, cast in concrete and embedded with medicinal plants.
Reid Walker, founder of the Walker Youngbird Foundation, calls Perkins’ work “a mix of memory, ritual, and refusal you don’t come across often,” noting that her vision “builds a language of its own.”
The project will also include workshops for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ youth, fostering storytelling and creative exploration.
Perkins’ work has been exhibited across the U.S., with solo shows at MOCA Tucson (The Relevance of Your Data, 2022), Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis (2024), and de boer in Los Angeles (2023), as well as group shows at SFMOMA, Andrew Kreps Gallery, and Company Gallery in NYC.
The Walker Youngbird Foundation’s Emerging Native Arts Grant supports rising Native artists with funding, visibility, and mentorship. More information is available at www.walkeryoungbird.org.
Managing Editor | OMGCulture.com
Retired U.S. Army Combat Veteran | NAHJ Member | Writer | Cultural Advocate
Daniel Crespo-Montero Sr., also known as El Indio Gordo, is the Managing Editor of OMGCulture.com, a retired United States Army combat veteran, NAHJ member, writer, and advocate for cultural preservation and community empowerment.
Drawing on more than three decades of military service, Daniel brings experience in military law enforcement, paralegal work, and human resources. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Spanish and an Associate degree in Small Business Entrepreneurship, providing a diverse foundation for his work in journalism, cultural storytelling, and community engagement.
Deeply connected to his Indigenous Caribbean roots, Daniel currently holds a leadership position within the Higuayagua Taíno community, supporting cultural preservation, education, and Indigenous representation. His previous responsibilities have included serving as a Tribal Guide (Ehibu’no) and contributing to community relations initiatives.
Daniel has also been involved with the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, where he was previously identified as a New York City Ambassador, reflecting his commitment to entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
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