Tiffany Adams

Tiffany Adams is a California Indigenous, Chemehuevi/Koyoomk’awi/Nisenan, multidisciplinary artist who believes that place-based arts and visual representation are crucial to community health and Native identity reclamation. Adams is most known for her striking Red Abalone jewelry and finery, which is daily regalia for California Indians. Adams’ practice also includes painting, clothing, performance, and jewelry. Adams is also part of a Tribal skin-marking revitalization effort in the state. Their portraiture features strong feminine subjects with tribal skin markings. Cultivating self-determination by creating a visual story of a place is the focus Adams focuses on in their artwork and community engagement. Tiffany received her BFA in Studio Arts (Painting and Jewelry with Honors) from the Institute of American Indian Arts with an Indigenous Liberal Studies minor.

Tiffany is currently exhibiting artwork at the R.C. Gorman Museum at UC Davis. They are the 2024 First People Funds Artist in Business Leadership Fellow and a  2023-24 Upstate Creative Corps Grantee. They have shown at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, and are a past recipient of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Blue Ribbon for Diverse Arts. Adams’ works have appeared in museums, galleries, and public spaces for 15+ years throughout California. Tiffany’s commissions have included Sacramento State Esak'tima Center (2023), cover artwork for Ope’ by Yulu Ewis (2022), and Abalone Woman painting for California Indian Legal Services (2020). Adams’s cultural exchange work includes; Toi Kiri World Indigenous Art Festival New Zealand (2023), City of Roseville Mural (2023), Ancestral Ink in Santa Fe (2020), Ngā Uri Muturnag Tattoo Festival in New Zealand (2020). Adams served as the Chemehuevi Tribal Vice Chairwoman and council member (2021-22).