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Megan Driving Hawk is an Artist, Mother and Educator practicing habits of the heart to facilitate connection, healing, and learning. Creatively she researches collective healing, generational trauma, memory, and time. Academically she researches culturally responsive teaching in art and Indigenous education. She earned a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Arizona State University, an MEd in Secondary Education with a teacher certification in Art K-12 from ASU, and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Hartford. She is SEI and CTE endorsed and serves as the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Rep for the Arizona Art Education Association. She is an artist of Eye Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona, Spilt Milk in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Running with Purpose Athlete Advocate.
Her artwork has been reviewed, collected, and exhibited numerous times throughout the present-day U.S. and internationally. She has been invited as a guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, and panelist for various events. In 2020, she received honorable mention in the Women Photographing Women category of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards.
Driving Hawk currently lives on O’odham, Yavapai, Akimel O’odham (Upper Pima) and Hohokam lands in present day Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches high school traditional photography including dual enrollment and AP-2D classes. This is her 9th year of creating and teaching a culturally responsive art education curriculum. This is her 5th year as the campus Indigenous Student Advisor and 4th year on the Equity team. In 2020, she was awarded the Chandler Education Association Member-to-Member grant.
Her artwork has been reviewed, collected, and exhibited numerous times throughout the present-day U.S. and internationally. She has been invited as a guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, and panelist for various events. In 2020, she received honorable mention in the Women Photographing Women category of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards.
Driving Hawk currently lives on O’odham, Yavapai, Akimel O’odham (Upper Pima) and Hohokam lands in present day Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches high school traditional photography including dual enrollment and AP-2D classes. This is her 9th year of creating and teaching a culturally responsive art education curriculum. This is her 5th year as the campus Indigenous Student Advisor and 4th year on the Equity team. In 2020, she was awarded the Chandler Education Association Member-to-Member grant.
Published on March 19th, 2023. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I am really interested in how gallery spaces can become a more inviting space where people can sit and be with the work. I’ve been listening to a lot of Indigenous artists and curators thinking about this right now. In my current works in progress, I’m interested in how data can be translated into a piece of art. I’ve been gathering all sorts of data for the last couple years and am working through how I’m going to map out each set of information I’ve collected.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
As an artist in my early 20’s in undergrad, I was afraid of failure because I was super self-conscious. I had imposter syndrome and felt like everyone around me knew more than I did and was better at doing what I wanted to do. So, I would like to swoop down and say to my younger artist self that she is exactly where she is supposed to be and that there is no one way to be an artist. That is something that I remind myself all the time today, too. There is no one way or right way to be an artist. Just BE.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
I like to remind myself that phases are only temporary, and I try to surround myself with people, books, podcasts, etc. that show up for artists no matter what phase of life they are in. I also have different art practices that are more accessible than others. I can’t always bring out sharp needles or small beads when my toddler is around, but I can make photographs while we are out on a walk, or write poetry on my phone in between moments with him.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
Three years from now I will no longer be an artist member of the artist collective, Eye Lounge, so I would like to shift my attention from creating solo exhibitions to applying for grants and artists residencies to learn and experiment with new techniques.
I’d also like to be writing more poetry and working on publishing a book of poetry or a combination of poetry and photography.
Hopefully I’m doing something exciting that I couldn’t have imagined right now because opportunities lead to other opportunities.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I remind myself of how far I’ve already come. I do what makes me happy and not what I think others want me to do or think I should do. I’m doing a lot of reflection and trying to incorporate as much celebration as possible. I’m trying to give myself as much grace as possible which means being mindful of what I say “yes” to. I allow myself to say no to things that are not aligned with my career or family goals.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I am really interested in how gallery spaces can become a more inviting space where people can sit and be with the work. I’ve been listening to a lot of Indigenous artists and curators thinking about this right now. In my current works in progress, I’m interested in how data can be translated into a piece of art. I’ve been gathering all sorts of data for the last couple years and am working through how I’m going to map out each set of information I’ve collected.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
As an artist in my early 20’s in undergrad, I was afraid of failure because I was super self-conscious. I had imposter syndrome and felt like everyone around me knew more than I did and was better at doing what I wanted to do. So, I would like to swoop down and say to my younger artist self that she is exactly where she is supposed to be and that there is no one way to be an artist. That is something that I remind myself all the time today, too. There is no one way or right way to be an artist. Just BE.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
I like to remind myself that phases are only temporary, and I try to surround myself with people, books, podcasts, etc. that show up for artists no matter what phase of life they are in. I also have different art practices that are more accessible than others. I can’t always bring out sharp needles or small beads when my toddler is around, but I can make photographs while we are out on a walk, or write poetry on my phone in between moments with him.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
Three years from now I will no longer be an artist member of the artist collective, Eye Lounge, so I would like to shift my attention from creating solo exhibitions to applying for grants and artists residencies to learn and experiment with new techniques.
I’d also like to be writing more poetry and working on publishing a book of poetry or a combination of poetry and photography.
Hopefully I’m doing something exciting that I couldn’t have imagined right now because opportunities lead to other opportunities.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I remind myself of how far I’ve already come. I do what makes me happy and not what I think others want me to do or think I should do. I’m doing a lot of reflection and trying to incorporate as much celebration as possible. I’m trying to give myself as much grace as possible which means being mindful of what I say “yes” to. I allow myself to say no to things that are not aligned with my career or family goals.
Find Megan Driving Hawk on Instagram
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