A new residency program for Indigenous artists working with neon for the first time has been launched through a collaboration between the Walker Youngbird Foundation and Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York. Sarah Rowe, a painter and installation artist from Omaha, Nebraska, was selected as the first recipient from over one hundred applicants. She plans to create a work inspired by the heyoka, a trickster figure from Lakota tradition, and will receive a $10,000 stipend plus fully funded fabrication, materials, studio time, and technical instruction valued at around $50,000. The resulting artwork will be publicly presented, and Rowe will retain full intellectual property rights and ownership.
This residency matters because it addresses the significant barriers Indigenous artists face in accessing the specialized infrastructure and training required for neon art. By providing dedicated support and resources, the program empowers Native artists to claim authorship in a medium and visual vocabulary where they have historically been underrepresented. The initiative reflects a broader effort to expand opportunities for Indigenous artists to experiment with new technologies and materials, allowing them to tell their own stories through innovative forms like neon, which foundation founder Reid Walker describes as "stories carried in charged gas and shaped glass."