New Red Order, an artistic collective based in New York City and Ketchikan, was recently awarded a United States Artists Fellowship. The collective is the brainchild of Lingít artist Stephen Jackson, who uses the artist name Jackson Polys, and brothers and Ojibwe artists Adam and Zack Khalil.
A spokesperson for United States Artists, which funds the fellowship, said the award is “dedicated to artists’ communities and building upon shared legacies through artistic innovation, cultural stewardship, and multifaceted storytelling.”
The nationally competitive award grants fellows $50,000 in unrestricted funds.
Polys was born and raised in Ketchikan and grew up carving with his father, the prolific Lingít carver and artist Nathan Jackson. Polys said in a New York Times article last year that a goal of New Red Order is to examine the public relationship to indigeneity and cultural performance as a way to expand Indigenous agency and build a future not rooted in colonial perspectives.
The trio held an exhibition in Queens, New York inspired by the World’s Fair, called “The World’s UnFair,” which featured carnival-themed exhibits that tackled issues of appropriation and fetishization of indigenous cultures.
The group’s work has also been featured worldwide including in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Sundance Film Festival in Utah, and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.
The group was one of 50 fellows nationwide to receive the award.
