Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship
A partnership of All My Relations Arts/NACDI, Todd Bockley Gallery & Denomie/Wilson Family
Jim Denomie (La Courte d’Orelille Ojibwe) was an internationally acclaimed artist who was also passionate about supporting and mentoring other artists. The tremendous outpouring of love and support following his passing in March 2022 inspired his family to create the scholarship to continue his legacy. Throughout his highly successful career as a visual artist, Jim was committed to encouraging younger artist to believe in themselves and their talents. Jim’s heartfelt support for emerging artists helped sustain a vibrant, dynamic and thriving arts community in the Twin Cities.
To continue Jim’s legacy of mentoring emerging artists, we have created a Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship fund to offer an annual award to a Native artist who best exemplifies the values Jim demonstrated in his own career: commitment to excellence; generosity of spirit; and engagement in community.
All My Relations Arts is pleased to announce the fourth recipient of the Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship to awardee Tamara Aupaumut (Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican, Oneida, Brothertown). Created in partnership with the Denomie/Wilson family, All My Relations Arts, and Bockley Gallery, the annual $10,000 prize recognizes a Native American artist who best exemplifies the values Denomie demonstrated in his career: commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and engagement with community.
Tamara Aupaumut is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist and independent curator living on Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota). She descends from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, the Oneida Nation, and the Brothertown Indian Nation. Her creative practice is guided by an epistemological and ontological framework, including what she terms “dream-epistemology,” and engages critically with concepts of memory, interrelationship, space and time. Central to her research and artistic production is the enduring influence of her cultural heritage and ancestral lineage, which serve as foundational elements in the development of her visual concepts. She continues to create a collection of multidisciplinary works, This Land Is My Body, that speaks to the healing connection between the land and our bodies.
“Tamara’s commitment to nurturing and uplifting artists within the community beautifully reflects Jim’s lifelong dedication to mentorship and his unwavering championship of emerging Native artists. Their close relationship, built on mutual respect and humor, made the selection of Tamara a truly poignant testament to the enduring legacy of Jim and the indelible mark he left on the world. Tamara’s artistic practice, characterized by an experimental and deeply contemplative engagement with a diverse range of multiple media, positions her as a compelling artist to watch as her career continues to evolve.” – Juleana Enright (Lower Brule, Lakota), All My Relations Arts Gallery and Programs Manager.
“This award is truly an honor and fosters a greater sense of belonging and purpose for me, as well as supports me in sustaining my practice. The Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship is a reflection of Jim’s spirit—how we as a community continue to inspire and uplift one another and how the gift of giving keeps on giving.” – Tamara Aupaumut.
To see more of Tamara’s work, follow her on Instagram HERE.
Star WallowingBull (Ojibwe-Arapaho) has been named the third recipient of the Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship. Created in partnership with the Denomie/Wilson family, All My Relations Arts, and Bockley Gallery, the annual $10,000 prize recognizes a Native artist who best exemplifies the values Denomie demonstrated in his own career: commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and engagement with community.
Star WallowingBull spent his formative years in the Twin Cities, raised by an artist father, Frank Big Bear, who greatly influenced and nurtured his creative development. A tribal member of the White Earth Nation in Minnesota, Star is Ojibwe-Arapaho and has lived in the Fargo-Moorhead area of Minnesota and North Dakota area since 2001. With a focus on both painting and colored pencil drawings, Star’s style combines Native American symbolism with contemporary pop culture imagery. Meticulously clean lines, bold color, and elemental details come together in his work, often illustrating multiple deeply personal and cultural stories in a singular piece.
He has created work for museums, gallery exhibits, and private collectors, as well as mentored youth through collaborative art projects and community murals. Star has received numerous grants and awards for his work, including the 2010 Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship, a Jerome Fellowship, and more. His work can be found in the collection of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art ( Overland Park, KS, Tweed Museum of Art (Duluth, Mn), Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND), The British Museum (London), The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Washington DC), and the Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis, MN), among others.
“Star Wallowing Bull is an exceptional artist who is known for his talent, his generous heart, and his commitment to sobriety and community. As Jim’s family, we are thrilled to see his legacy continued through this award.” – Diane Wilson.
“Star’s observant, humble, and inquisitive nature informs his unique talent as an artist and goes hand in hand with his commitment to family and community. Star and Jim were longtime friends, and Star looked up to Jim as a role model in life as much as in art.” – Todd Bockley.
To see more of Star WallowingBull’s work, visit https://bockleygallery.com/artist/star-wallowingbull/.
Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) has been named the recipient of the second Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship. Created in partnership with the Denomie/Wilson family, All My Relations Arts Gallery, and Bockley Gallery, the annual $10,000 prize recognizes a Native artist who best exemplifies the values Denomie demonstrated in his own career: commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and engagement with community. Denomie passed away in March 2022 at age 66.
The multimedia works of Maggie Thompson expand various textile traditions’ inherited ways of being and becoming. Thompson skillfully and intuitively works with both natural and synthetic materials to address personal and universal experiences of loss, grief, and love.
Selected for the 2023 Renwick Invitational at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Thompson has recently exhibited at the Plains Art Museum and Minnesota Textile Center. Her recent solo exhibitions include Just Friends at Bockley Gallery (2022) and Dakobijige / She Ties Things Together at the Watermark Center in Bemidji, Minnesota (2021). She has been awarded grants from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and her work is collected by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Minnesota Historical Society, among other public institutions.
Thompson holds a BFA in Textiles from the Rhode Island School of Design (2013). In addition to her art practice, she is a curator, and owns and operates Makwa Studio, a creative space and brand creating wearables that incorporate Native textile designs. Thompson is based in Minneapolis. For more information about Maggie, visit: http://makwastudio.com/.
“As a talented artist, Maggie shows a deep commitment to her artistic practice and a generous heart that is equally committed to supporting her community.” – Diane Wilson.
Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Ojibwe) has been named the recipient of the first Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship. Created in partnership with the Denomie/Wilson family, All My Relations Arts Gallery, and Bockley Gallery, the annual $10,000 prize recognizes a Native artist who best exemplifies the values Denomie demonstrated in his own career: commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and engagement with community. Denomie passed away in March 2022 at age 66.
Jonathan Thunder is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in painting and digital media and currently resides in Duluth, MN. His imaginative, colorful work includes surreal paintings, digitally animated films and installations that address personal experience and offer social commentary. Since completing his studies at Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and the Art Institute International, Thunder has exhibited in state, regional and national exhibits. To see more of Jonathan Thunder’s work, visit www.thunderfineart.com.
“Jim Denomie impacted and influenced so many artists and we at All My Relations Arts fondly remember his generosity, humility, humor, and his incredible talent that we were lucky to display on numerous occasions through our gallery’s history,” said Angela Two Stars, All My Relations Arts Director. “We are honored to be a part of this scholarship which will continue his legacy of advocating and supporting up and coming Native artists. Jonathan Thunder is a prime example of an artist that exemplifies Jim’s values as an artist. All My Relations has had the privilege of working with Jonathan on multiple occasions, most recently through his work as a mentor for the We Are Still Here project. I am impressed with his kindness, generosity and sharing of his knowledge as a mentor, as well as his dedication and commitment to his craft, which includes an impressive variety of paintings, animation, and public works. There is a humility in Jonathan’s personality and humor in his work that is a reminder of Jim and it is heartwarming to know that Jim will continue to impact artists like Jonathan and others as this scholarship continues to honor Jim’s spirit and legacy.”
Jim Denomie (La Courte d’Oreilles Ojibwe) was an internationally acclaimed artist whose work earned numerous awards–including the McKnight Distinguished Artist award–for his imaginative imagery, brilliant use of color, and visual stories that combined humor with piercingly honest truth-telling. Denomie was also passionate about supporting and mentoring other artists. The tremendous outpouring of love and support following his brief illness and passing in March 2022 inspired his family to create the scholarship as a way to honor and continue his legacy. To see more of Denomie’s work, visit https://bockleygallery.com/
“Jim’s unique vision as an artist was matched by his passion for championing young artists. This scholarship embodies both, in the best way possible.” – Todd Bockley.
The Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship is administered by partner All My Relations Arts Gallery/NACDI, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, where Jim Denomie has exhibited in the past. The scholarship is completely funded by donations from family, friends, and supporters. Scholarship partners include the Denomie/Wilson family (wife Diane Wilson, children Cheryl Lane, Sheila Umland, Cody Cyson and Jodi Bean), and Bockley Gallery (Todd Bockley) who has been Denomie’s gallerist for more than 15 years. Bockley Gallery is assisting in the establishment of the Jim Denomie Estate and will continue to represent and exhibit Denomie’s art.
Please support this initiative by making a donation for future awards. To support the future of the Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship, click the “donate” button below and in the dedication note include “Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship.”