Rapheal Begay - Lest We Forget

With love and art in mind, Lest We Forget is a commemorative, creative exploration of space
and time with respect to Diné cultural understandings stemming from the Navajo Nation. In
addition, the show supplements an ongoing investigation and development of the ongoing
photographic series, A Vernacular Response: an attempt to not only document the Navajo
Nation but to also present and represent culture, community, and creativity. As both a creative
and theoretical framework, an ongoing theme within the series is the acknowledgement and
celebration of Indigenous innovation and imagination as revolution. Lest We Forget is the
activation of space, preservation of memory, celebration of indigeneity, and the projection of
creative energy within downtown Albuquerque.

Rapheal Begay is a Diné photographer and curator based in Window Rock, Arizona where he is
currently employed with the Navajo Nation Division of Human Resources. He received his BFA
from the University of New Mexico in 2017 with an overall emphasis in photography, arts
management, and museum studies. As a creative professional, Rapheal seeks to explore the
past, create the present, and curate the future. Past projects include the curation of both the
Gathering of Queer Nations III & IV; several solo/group exhibitions within the Southwest; and
presentations at Santa Fe Indian Market, the 21 st Diné Studies Conference, and the Native
American & Indigenous Studies Association Conference at the University of Waikato in
Hamilton, New Zealand.