As the second Edgar Heap of Birds Family Artist in Residence at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, renowned sculptor Anna Tsouhlarakis learned new artistic techniques and connected with students.
Anna Tsouhlarakis expanded conversations around Native presence in contemporary art spaces as the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Artist in Residence at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg
Anna Tsouhlarakis is a trained sculptor who also works in performance art, installation, video and photography. As the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Artist in Residence at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Tsouhlarakis spent time throughout the semester working closely with students in the glass program and accompanied a group of about 45 students on a trip to the Whitney Biennial in New York City, where her much-lauded sculpture “SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH” was on display.
She also took on the role of a student, learning techniques in glass that she applied to creating new artworks.
“I've always wanted to learn how to blow glass but I’ve never had a chance. Since it’s here, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I think that would be really great to try out.’” said Tsouhlarakis. “It’s really fun. I usually have a lot of fun, but this is a different type of fun.”
Tsouhlarakis is the second artist selected for the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Artist Residency, following Oklahoma-based Osage painter and printmaker Norman Akers as the inaugural artist in residence. In 2025, renowned Cheyenne and Arapaho artist Edgar Heap of Birds, TYL ’79, made a gift to create a new gallery and artist residency in his name within Temple Contemporary Gallery in Tyler School of Art and Architecture, with the objective of creating more awareness of Native American and Indigenous art and activism. The residency provides artists with studio space, access to facilities and equipment, a monthly stipend and budget for materials, and culminates in a solo exhibition at the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery.
“I think something that is really important with having Edgar’s name both on the residency and on the gallery is that for students that are visiting Temple that are Native, it gives them a touchstone to know that they matter here, that their perspective is embraced and literally part of the campus,” said Tsouhlarakis.
A Navajo artist who is also Greek and Creek, Tsouhlarakis is an associate professor in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her work spans disciplines and is characterized by layered cultural commentary. Aside from the Whitney Biennial, her work has appeared in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, among others.
“Throughout her residency at Tyler, Tsouhlarakis has been so kind and generous in sharing her work and time with students and creating a dialogue with us,” said Béatrice Duchastel de Montrouge, an art history PhD student from Woodinville, Washington.
For students who were accompanied by Tsouhlourakis on a trip to the Whitney Biennial in New York City to see her piece “SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH” in person, the trip was a chance to get a deeper look into the art world and to see what’s buzzing among contemporary artists and curators.
Tsouhlarakis accompanied 45 Tyler School of Art and Architecture students on a trip to the Whitney Biennial in New York City, where her much-lauded sculpture “SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH” was on display.
Photo by Amara Johnson
“It was very special to be able to visit ‘SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH’ with Anna Tsouhlarakis herself; ‘SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH’ is incredibly striking and clever—two hallmarks of Tsouhlarakis’ work,” said de Montrouge.
Tsouhlarakis’ own glass practice during her residency has resulted in sculptures that will be showcased in her solo exhibition at the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery in the fall and previously made sculptures made of other mediums. Tsouhlarakis will also return to Tyler on Sept. 17 for an artist talk at Temple Contemporary.
“I think it’s important for people to see that Native people have complex identities, that it’s not one-sided,” Tsouhlarakis said of what she hopes audiences take away from her work. “By creating work that has this push and pull of culture, but also sarcasm and humor, it shows the versatility of Native people.”
In line with Heap of Birds’ original objective of using the gallery and residency to create more awareness of Native American and Indigenous art and activism, Tsouhlarakis notes its impact in uplifting Native representation for future generations.
“If I was visiting with my kids to a university and saw something like the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery, I’d say, ‘Wow, you belong here,’” said Tsouhlarakis.
