Meet Nanibah “Nani” Chacon. Nani is a Dine (Navajo) and Chicana artist and currently serves as an artist mentor for the Green Architecture Project in Rwanda. Most recognized as a painter and muralist. Nani was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and grew up both in both Navajo Nation and New Mexico. Her most notable work has been within the public arts sector, in which she has a cumulative experience of over 20 years. She began a prolific career as a graffiti writer and continued this practice for the next ten years.

In 2005, she began exploring other mediums and developed a strong aptitude in painting, illustration, and design. In 2012, she returned to the public eye creating work on walls. Soon this work transpired to creating Murals and large-scale public works. A return to working on walls and in a public setting was a natural progression that facilitates the content of her work as well as a personal philosophy that art should be accessible and a meaningful catalyst for social change.

In 2003 she received her Bachelor in Education from the University of New Mexico. Community-based arts and educational integration are also a key component of the work Nani creates. Her work has been recognized for its unique style and attention paid to site-specificity, as well as the integration of socio political issues affecting women and indigenous people.

Nani has created works both Nationally and Internationally, working with multiple organizations and institutions. The most notable works were for the National Endowment for the Arts, California Endowment of the arts. US consulate and Embassy in Russia, NM Public Arts Foundation, National Museum of Mexican Art Chicago, Navajo Nation Museum, National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the Museum of Native Contemporary Art.