POEH AH KA WOHATSAY: THE EMERGENCE TEACHINGS OF RESILIENCE

Mural on View June 28,2024-June 1, 2025
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) is honored to collaborate with NSRGNTS, an Albuquerque-based duo comprised of artists Leah Povi Lewis (Laguna, Taos, Zuni Pueblos/Hopi/Diné) and Votan (Maya/Nahua), on a commissioned mural created for the IPCC Art Through Struggle Gallery. NSRGNTS is a successful Indigenous brand, business, and art collective that advocates for Indigenous rights. They are known for their murals of Indigenous resilience painted in vivid colors in a “kawaii” style-a “cute,” illustrative style similar to Japanese anime. Their seven-panel mural provides a visual story of Pueblo empowerment throughout the past, present, and future.
For their collaboration with IPCC, NSRGNTS envisioned a mural that represents the relationships of Indigenous cooperation and interdependence between animals, humans, and materials of Mother Earth. Their cast of characters depicts warmth, agility, creativity, and persistence, all vital needs for a fruitful life. Their mural creates a dynamic window into the ways that Indigenous artists process intergenerational trauma and healing through visual art. The mural moves between ancestral, historical, and present-to-future times, in three sections from left to right. A central theme throughout the mural is that everything is alive.
Leah Povi Lewis (Laguna, Taos, Zuni Pueblos/Hopi/Diné) was raised in Tiwa territory, also known as Albuquerque. She is an active member of NSRGNTS. In 2017, Leah and her partner Votan of NSRGNTS painted a three story MMIW (Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women) and Water Protector mural in downtown Duluth on the American Indian Community Housing Organization building to bring awareness to the rampant issue of MMIW that is plaguing Native communities. Lewis continues to create murals and artworks for NSRGNTS along with homeschooling the couple's children. Realizing there is a major lack of Indigenous-based curriculum for children, she has partnered with others to create supplementary educational materials that can be applied to any Indigenous nation.
Votan (Maya/Nahua) is the founder of NSRGNTS, an Indigenous artist collective known for their powerful city murals. He is a multifaceted street artist based out of Los Angeles and Albuquerque. Votan grew up amidst the birth of Los Angeles street art which involved tagging, graffiti, and wheatpasting to create powerful statements in community spaces. The artist has traveled around the world, participating in mural festivals in South America, an artist residency in Dubai, and hip-hop graffiti tours in the United States and Europe. In addition to his work with NSRGNTS, Votan plans to further expand his creative endeavors to include an upcoming podcast and documentary with his wife Leah Lewis.