Shonto Begay 

Bio: Shonto Begay, Diné (Navajo) Painter. Illustrator. Author. Educator. The art of Shonto Begay captures the striking beauties of a Navajo upbringing and the realities of modern reservation life. A traditional life of sustainability and prayer helped Shonto endure the brutality of the U.S. government boarding school he was forced to attend as a child. He paints in a series of small brush strokes that repeat like the words of a traditional Navajo blessing prayer. His images harken heartfelt childhood memories and resonate with humankind and Earth's constant struggle for balance and harmony. 

Born in a Hogan, Shonto grew up herding sheep in sheep in Kletha Valley in Shonto, Arizona. One of 16 children, his mother is a traditional Navajo rug weaver from the Bitter Water Clan, and his father was a medicine man born to the Salt Clan. Shonto began professionally writing, illustrating, and painting in 1983. His artwork is sold in more than six U.S. galleries and featured in numerous museum collections, including the Booth Western Art Museum, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Museum of Northern Arizona, and Phoenix Art Museum.

A true storyteller, he has written and illustrated several books for Scholastic and Random House publishers. Shonto speaks to audiences of all ages about inspiration, the importance of education, and embracing cultural backgrounds.

Shonto attended the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools located on the Navajo reservation, and he completed high school in Kayenta, Arizona. He earned an Associate of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He later obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California College of Arts and Crafts. In the 1980s, he worked as a National Park Service ranger at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Navajo National Monument in Arizona. In 2017, he became an Artist in Residence at Northern Arizona University.

 Artist Statement: “In my heart I hold a boundless gratitude to having been born and brought up on the vast beauty of the upper Diné (Navajo land). I see the world and my life experiences through this lens. My paintings are expressions of the purity of the Shonto Plateau I still call home. Beauty in the truth, beauty in the sacred, and the mysteries. I paint to share colors as an expression of having been,” says Shonto Begay, Diné (Navajo) painter, illustrator and author.