Alana Tapaha was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation in the Four Corners region of Red Mesa, Utah. She resides in a small town of Cedar City, Utah where she graduated from Southern Utah University, with a Bachelors’ in Fine Arts in Graphic Design the 2019.

Alana’s exhibitions include her Senior Exhibition at the SUMA Museum at Southern Utah University. Included in this exhibit was her handcrafted booklet featuring the “Navajo Sacred Animals” which used letterpress, linocut, inkjet, and pigment linear. 

Gina Adam’s, an internationally recognized indiginous artist, was Dartmouth’s 2019 summer visiting artist. During Gina’s artist residency, Alana had the honor to be her assistant. As the assistant, Alana was a featured artist in Gina Adam’s Solo Exhibition and was included in “Gina Adam’s Catalog” book. In addition, Alana designed her exhibition catalogue and posters and designed Gina’s Open Letter Cutting Sessions at Dartmouth and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Alana is an emerging designer who wishes to express and amplify the Navajo Culture and its moral teachings and language through design and illustration. Alana’s artistic desire is to share the Navajo story with the younger population and beyond, to create continuity between generations.

2020 has been a very exciting summer for Alana as she is participating in the ArtTable’s Fellowship for the Oklahoma Contemporary remotely in Cedar City, Utah.

Future aspirations include continuing to develop her Navajo language series and the passion to help support other Native heritages in her work. Also to learn more about Museum curatorial activities and behind the scenes practices, and to elevate underrepresented artistic voices within the museum setting and beyond. Another goal is to attend Rhode Island School of Design for a Master’s of Art.