Decolonization Through Art
Artist and Educator Marty Two Bulls Jr. discusses the importance of the First Amendment, freedom of expression in art, and how representation is the key to social change in any community. Two Bulls shares his life story and artistic process, and reflects on art’s power as a form of free speech.
Marty Two Bulls Jr. is an artist and educator based in Rapid City, SD. Two Bulls is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and was raised in the high plains of South Dakota. Two Bulls eventually went on to study printmaking and ceramics at The Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM where he earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2011.
After graduation, Two Bulls spent several years in Santa Fe developing his art practice and working in contemporary art galleries where he worked with a plethora of contemporary artists from around the world. In 2017, he was offered a full time faculty position with Oglala Lakota College (OLC) to teach art. Two Bulls jumped at the opportunity to return to his homelands and work with his tribal community. Since returning home, Two Bulls has created a Graphic Arts program at OLC and continues to work as a positive force for the arts in his communities both near and far. Two Bulls has exhibited his artwork in galleries and museums both nationally and internationally with works in several museum permanent collections.