Biography

Melissa Shaginoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay'dini'aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village, Alaska). She is of Ahtna and Paiute descent. An interdisciplinary artist and museum specialist, she is currently working on Dena’ina lands in Dghayitnu (Anchorage). Melissa centers her art practice around conversation, seeking deeper understanding through moments of exchange and reciprocity.

She has completed residencies in Alaska, Canada, Sweden, and New Mexico. Melissa has curated and juried art exhibitions for organizations such as the Anchorage Museum, Alaska Pacific University, the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Coe Center, the Fairbanks Art Association, the Anchorage School District, and the International Folk Art Museum. Additionally, she curates and operates the Kuzuundze’ ts’eghaanden “the place where we make/destroy pretty things” Gallery, an Indigenous-centered space that supports Elders, youth, and emerging artists in developing their exhibition readiness.

Her written work has been published in Material Intelligence Magazine, Alaska Humanities FORUM Magazine, First American Art Magazine, Inuit Art Quarterly, and the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center’s Learning Lab. Melissa is also a founding member of Łuk’ae Tse’ Taas (fish head soup) Comics, a new media collective. Her work within the collective is focused on creating Ahtna and Dena’ina language materials as well as the sharing of Dene knowledge as her character Auntie Melissa in the 80% Studios comic Chickaloonies.