Biograph/Statement/CV
Hoka Skenandore is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin in addition to being Oglala Lakota, La Jolla Band of Luiseno and Chicano. He grew up in a home where he learned to appreciate traditional native art as well as fine art. On his own, he embraced the DIY ethos of punk rock and hip-hop culture, setting him on the path to becoming a style writer.
He transitioned from painting graffiti to working on murals in the Albuquerque metro area in the late 1990s. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Arts in 2006, and later from the University of Oklahoma in 2020 with a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting.
His work has been shown in exhibitions such as "POP!" held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona in 2010, "Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture" held at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2012 as well as "Self-Determined: A Contemporary Survey of Native and Indigenous Artists" at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2022.
He is currently based in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico and he is full-time faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he teaches introductory Painting, Drawing and Fundamentals courses.