About the Artist
Amy Heath née Curtin was born in Fairfax, VA and had a wandering life growing up through Maryland, Utah, and Louisiana. In high school she moved to Anadarko, Oklahoma and learned about her Native heritage (She is a member of The Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma) and was moved by native artists but wanted to make her art modern and personal to her. She received her BFA from Cameron University in Lawton, OK in 2009 and moved to the Austin area in 2009. In 2020 she received a GIS certificate from Austin Community College and is now a earning a Masters in Geographic Information Science from the University of Maryland where she uses her artistic skill to make maps and data visualizations. She is a City of Austin Employee at the Oakwood Chapel Cemetery Museum where she is a Museum Exhibit Assistant doing research and making maps of the Native American History in Texas and the Austin area where she is helping to put on the digital exhibit "To Relate" show casing this history.
Artist Statement
My artwork is a reflection of my personal history as well as my peoples. I am an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and have come to realize that most people believe that we are extinct. Even though not all of my artwork may be native themed, I feel like any sort of visual representation of our existence is needed especially in Texas where my family had a profound roll in it's formation. As a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Caddo George Washington, the last Caddo Chief in Texas I am trying my best to educate the public through visualizations whether they be paintings, maps, or digital exhibitions.