Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing Santee Frazier has been selected to attend the Amant Residency Siena for the summer of 2024.
Launched in the summer of 2020, the Studio & Research Residency Siena is designed for professionals in the arts and the humanities at all career stages and working in different media, especially music, fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, and the visual arts. Located in the small hamlet of Chiusure, in the heart of the province of Siena, the studios sit on a hill overlooking the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, founded in the 14th century by Benedictine monks.
Residencies run for three months only during the summer. Residents are selected through a nomination process once a year. Amant is a non-profit arts organization in Brooklyn, New York that fosters experimentation and dialogue through exhibitions, public programs, and artist residencies. https://www.amant.org/residencies/siena
Santee Frazier, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, holds a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts and an MFA from Syracuse University. Currently serving as a Viebranz Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at St. Lawrence University, Santee has taught at various institutions, including IAIA, Syracuse University, UMass Amherst, and Clemson University. His pedagogical approach integrates Indigenous cultural teachings with a focus on well-being in order to cultivate individual and collective talents in students. As the former Director of the IAIA MFA in Creative Writing, he reshaped the curriculum to foster relational rigor and cross-cultural sensitivity. His mission is to advance Indigenous intellectualism and provide creative space for students to connect with their cultural heritage.
Building literacy in Indigenous communities is rarely considered when discussing works by authors from Native and First Nations. Native American Literature, as a genre, privileges non-Native audiences in structure and technique. Indeed, if the perceived audiences of Native American Literature lack a complex understanding of Indigenous people and cultures, assembling a text according to conventional literary traditions is expedient. Indigenous cultures and people serve as accessories in literature produced within these circumstances. As an advocate for Indigenous pedagogy, Santee aims to bridge this gap through two projects. One centers on supporting Indigenous students in academia, while the other challenges colonial language constructs through poetry. He plans to travel to key cultural sites, collaborating with artists and language speakers to create sound and visual poetry. The Amant Residency will provide the space to refine and realize these projects, fostering a community dedicated to anti-colonial methods and practices.