Nina Elder

Nina Elder (born April 9, 1981) is an American transdisciplinary artist, writer, muralist, and educator. Her practice is informed by science, field research, and social justice movements. Elder's research based processes result in realistic drawings, performative lectures, and video work. Her writing and teaching hybridize art and science to connect nature and culture. She travels extensively, participating in scientific research and lecturing at universities. She has exhibited nationally and internationally.

Biography

Nina Elder was born and spent her childhood in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She attended Palmer High School, where she studied with art teacher and activist Floyd Tunson.[1] She received a BFA in studio art from the University of New Mexico.[2] She received an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied critical economic theory.[3] She is faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno[4] and affiliated with the University of Oregon[5] and Colorado College.[6] She now lives off-the-grid in Datil, New Mexico.[7][8][9]

Subjects and themes

Elder is known for her detailed drawings of geologic processes, including pit mines, nuclear test sites, and glacial debris. She often collaborates with scientists and academic institutions as part of her creative process.[9] She uses non-traditional drawing materials[10] that she collects from the landscape, including radioactive charcoal,[9][11] wildfire charcoal,[12][13] and pulverized rocks. Major themes in her work include glacial erratics,[14] mining, deep time,[15] forest fire ecology,[16] and geology.[14][17]

Awards, exhibitions, and publications

In 2022, Elder was named one of 12 Artists to Know Now by Southwest Contemporary.[18] She received the Pollock-Krasner Award in 2017[19] and was featured in New American Paintings.[3] She was the 2020 commencement speaker for the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.[20] She has participated in residencies at the Tamarind Institute,[21] the Ucross Foundation,[22] the Ellis Beauregard Foundation,[23] the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology,[24][25] among others.

Elder has had solo exhibitions and major installations at the University of New Hampshire Museum of Art,[26] Southern Utah Museum of Art,[27] the Anchorage Museum,[28] SITE Santa Fe,[29] Central Features Contemporary Art,[30] and the Albuquerque Museum.

Elder's work has been featured in Hyperallergic,[12][31] Art in America, Vice,[11] Southwest Contemporary,[32] and on PBS.[1] Her writing has been published in Edge Effects Journal,[33] American Scientist,[34] and various exhibition catalogs and research publications. Elder has held awarded research positions including Art + Environment Research Fellow at the Nevada Museum of Art, a Polar Lab Research Fellow at the Anchorage Museum, and a Researcher in Residence in the Art and Ecology Program at the University of New Mexico.

References

  1. 1 2 ¡Colores! - Nina Elder (Video). New Mexico PBS. 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via PBS.
  2. ↑ 66 Mile Radius (Video). Tamarind Institute. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2023 – via Vimeo.
  3. 1 2 Katz, Andrew (2013). "A Landscape of Industry: An Interview with Nina Elder". New American Paintings. Archived from the original on 14 January 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Kara Q. (24 February 2022). "MFA-IA Faculty Member Nina Elder". Nevada Today. University of Nevada, Reno. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Overlook Field School - 2022 Topic: Transpecies Design - Artist in Residence: Nina Elder". Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes. University of Oregon, Department of Landscape Architecture. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Black, Noel (30 March 2016). "Artist and Springs Native Nina Elder Returns With Atomic Landscapes & Lecture". Colorado Public Radio. Archived from the original on 14 January 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Wozny, Nancy (4 June 2010). "The Idea Fund gives sophisticated garage art and boy bands with pens a chance". CultureMap Houston. Archived from the original on 23 January 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Elder, Nina (29 October 2025). "Fugitive Dark". Dark Mountain. Archived from the original on 11 January 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Jandl, Nathan (12 December 2017). "Nina Elder Discusses Art, Sustainability, and Her Visit to the UW". Office of Sustainability. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Elkins, Tilke (9 November 2020). "pied midden: issue no.16 : overburdened : nina elder". Wild Pigment Project. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  11. 1 2 Gilbert, Sam; Gilbert, Samuel (24 February 2014). "The Inconceivable Atomic Legacy of New Mexico". Vice. Archived from the original on 22 January 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  12. 1 2 Hill, Scotti (14 December 2022). "Wildfire Ash as a Medium". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Cunningham, Dani/elle (8 January 2026). "The Source Never Diminishes". DARIA: Denver Art Review, Inquiry & Analysis. Archived from the original on 10 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Erratics is a collaborative curatorial project that explores geologic and human intimacy". Erratics. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2023. Erratics is Nina Elder, Hannah Perrine Mode, and Tyler Rai.
  15. ↑ "Exhibitions: Solastalgic Archive". College of Liberal Arts. University of New Hampshire. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  16. ↑ "Artists: Nina Elder". FOREST⇌FIRE. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  17. ↑ "Artist: Nina Elder". Surel's Place. 2025. Archived from the original on 10 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Hegert, Natalie (27 May 2022). "Nina Elder: 12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now 2022". Southwest Contemporary. Archived from the original on 18 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Artist: Nina Elder". Pollock-Krasner Foundation Image Collection. Pollock-Krasner Foundation. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  20. ↑ 2020 Commencement: A Virtual Celebration of Spring and Fall Graduates (Video). Minneapolis College of Art and Design. 11 December 2020. 43:40 minutes in. Archived from the original on 22 June 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  21. ↑ "Artist: Nina Elder". Tamarind Institute. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ucross Announces Fall 2020 Artists in Residence". Ucross Foundation. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 May 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Project: Nina Elder". Ellis-Beauregard Foundation. 4 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Sitka Center to host annual artist Show and Tell". Lincoln County Leader. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "5-Year Impact Report 2020–2024" (PDF). Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. February 2025. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "The Solastalgic Archive and the Deep Time Lab". UNH Today. University of New Hampshire. 19 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  27. ↑ "Exhibits - Nina Elder: Tongue Stones". Southern Utah University. 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  28. ↑ "Nina Elder: It Will Not Be The Same, But It Might Be Beautiful". Anchorage Museum. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  29. ↑ "Exhibitions - SITElab 12: What Endures". SITE Santa Fe. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  30. ↑ Grimason, Maggie (1 December 2017). "Nina Elder: New Works". Southwest Contemporary. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  31. ↑ Weathers, Chelsea (20 June 2022). "An Exhibition Belies Stereotypes of Artists in the Southwest". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  32. ↑ Tresp, Lauren (29 July 2019). "Nina Elder: What Endures". Southwest Contemporary. Archived from the original on 18 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  33. ↑ Elder, Nina (30 November 2017). "Erratic Monuments to a Melting World". Edge Effects. Archived from the original on 17 March 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  34. ↑ Elder, Nina (6 August 2019). "Paradox, Sunrise, and a Thirsty Place". American Scientist. Vol. 107, no. 5 (published September–October 2019). pp. 266–269. JSTOR 26747636. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
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