First American Art Magazine No. 27, Summer 2020 | Page 11

EDITOR'S GREETING
THE SPRING 2020 ISSUE of
First American Art Magazine
(FAAM) marked the pandemic
hitting the Americas with a
force. Now we’re in a state of limbo.
The United States leads the world in
COVID-19 cases, followed by Brazil.
Peru ranks 8th, Chile 12th, Mexico 14th,
and Canada 17th. 1 The Navajo Nation
became one of the hardest-hit nations in
the world. 2 Cases are rising but many of
our states are opening back up.
Much more is now understood
about the nature and treatment of the
virus than was known three short months
ago. What is known is that large gatherings,
especially indoors, are dangerous
and greatly increase the risk of the virus
spreading, which means in-person art
markets and conferences are done for the
foreseeable future. Museums and galleries
in different countries are cautiously
reopening to test if social distancing can
provide a safe art experience for the public.
In March, the Native art world, like
much of the rest of the world, turned
to the internet. Museums and other art
organizations hosted virtual lectures,
exhibitions, and even art markets. While
nothing fully replaces in-person events,
these online experiences provide a valuable
link to help keep us connected.
In the face of this health crisis and
our economic and social collapse, many
within the Native art community have
asked themselves how they could help
people. Whether lending their artistic
skills to craft personal protective equipment
(PPE), creating artwork to capture
the zeitgeist, or trying to create opportunities
for artists whose sales venues have
evaporated, the Native art world has
responded swiftly and in force.
FAAM editorial advisors and writers
agreed that we need to document these
above Roy Boney Jr. (Cherokee Nation), ᎥᏳᎩ ᏗᎵᏍᏗᏍᎩ (Virus Fighter), 2020,
ink, watercolor on paper, 9 × 12 in. Image courtesy of the artist. royboney.com
efforts and share some of the stories of
these responses. Of course, there are so
many we can’t capture them all, but we can
share a sampling. The stories we recorded
offer a glimpse into how our community
has been looking out for each other and
the broader public.
Like so many other art organizations,
FAAM also turned to the internet.
Our writers interviewed Native artists
from different regions about their experiences
in quarantine, which are published
on our blog. We launched our first-ever
virtual art exhibition, Masked Heroes:
Facial Coverings by Native Artists, and
received coverage in publications from
The New York Times and NMAI Magazine
to the Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News.
Most recently, we have partnered with
the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in
Santa Fe to host “Collections Spotlight,” a
reoccurring Zoom conversation in which
Native artists select different artworks
from the Coe’s collections to discuss.
We are thankful that we can
continue to provide a service to the public
during these times, and I’m so grateful
to all the new subscribers FAAM has
acquired in recent months. Thank you
for your support, and I look forward to
sharing better days ahead.
—America Meredith
(Cherokee Nation)
1. Center for Systems Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, “Confirmed Cases by Country/Region,” Coronavirus Resource Center, June 17, 2020, web.
2. Robert Klemko, “Coronavirus has been devastating to the Navajo Nation, and help for a complex fight has been slow,” Washington Post (May 11, 2020), web.
First American Art Magazine has a new mailing address!
FAAM, 3334 W. Main St. #442, Norman, OK 73072
SUMMER 2020 | 9