Melissa Melero-Moose (Fallon Paiute/Modoc) is a mixed media visual artist, curator, writer, mother, and founder of the art collective Great Basin Native Artists in Reno, Nevada. She resides in Hungry Valley, Nevada on the Reno/Sparks Indian Colony.
Melero-Moose has a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts and a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University, Oregon with artist fellowships from the Institute of American Indian Arts; Nevada Museum of Art; School for Advanced Research; Southwest Association of Indian Art; and the Wheelwright Museum.
Her artwork integrates organic materials (willows, pine nuts, cattails) found in her home in the high desert and her interpretation of the Great Basin landscape and culture. Her goals for the GBNA collective is to create awareness of Native arts in the Nevada and California regions, create opportunities for Native artists in the region with exhibits and workshops for the business of art and develop a useful directory to connect artists with their community and the public.
She is currently working on a comprehensive Great Basin Native Artists directory and archive, to be available at the Nevada Museum of Art, Center for Art + Environment, Reno, Nevada.
Links:
First American Art Magazine interview