Norman Akers

Norman Akers is a Native American artist known for his landscape works that incorporate cultural, historical and contemporary visuals of Native American life. He is a member of the Osage Nation and currently teaches painting in the Department of Visual Art at the University of Kansas.

Biography Norman Akers was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Osage Nation. In 1982, Akers received his BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute. He has stated that he interprets his art as a form of cultural expression that tie to his views politically and historically, while maintaining a contemporary form.

His work also takes inspiration from current mainstream ideas of "immigrants" and what it means to be "illegal" in the present day world and his desire to question these ideas. Revisions: Contemporary Native American Art, Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana (February 2, 2019 - May 18, 2019) (RE)CLAIM: Indigenous Artist Reflect on Identity, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (December 14, 2018 - June 16, 2018) Art for a New Understanding Native Voices 1950's to Now, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (October 6, 2018 - January 7, 2019)