Star WallowingBull Awarded Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship

Star WallowingBull (Ojibwe-Arapaho) has been named the third recipient of the Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship. Created in partnership with the Denomie/Wilson family, All My Relations Arts, and Bockley Gallery, this $10,000 award recognizes a Native artist who best exemplifies the values Denomie (1955-2022) demonstrated in his own career: commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit, and engagement with community.

“Star WallowingBull is an exceptional artist who is known for his talent, his generous heart, and his commitment to sobriety and community. As Jim’s family, we are thrilled to see his legacy continued through this award,” said Diane Wilson, Denomie’s wife.

Through his intricate paintings and color pencil drawings, WallowingBull explores the intersections of Indigeneity and pop culture to tell personal stories and imagine cosmic Indigenous futures. He has created work for museums, gallery exhibits, and private collectors, as well as mentored youth through collaborative art projects and community murals. Recent solo exhibitions include Mapping and (Meta)Morphing, Bockley Gallery (2024); Machine Head, Bockley Gallery (2019); and Transformer, Plains Art Museum (2015-16, catalog). 

“Star’s observant, humble, and inquisitive nature informs his unique talent as an artist and goes hand in hand with his commitment to family and community,” said gallerist Todd Bockley. “Star and Jim were longtime friends, and Star looked up to Jim as a role model in life as much as in art.”

Jim Denomie (1955–2022) (Ojibwe) was a prolific artist, creating vividly hued paintings, works on paper, and sculptures that aimed a critical lens on the history of Indigenous people and their intersections with mainstream culture. Denomie was also passionate about supporting and mentoring other artists. The Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship was previously awarded to Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Ojibwe) and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe).

WallowingBull was also recognized in the July 2024 issue of National Geographic, a special issue titled “Indigenous Futures.” View his painting Teewinot in the section titled “See the future through the eyes of 6 Indigenous artists.”