About the OLA
The Oglala Lakota Artspace (OLA) is an arts facility on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Kyle, South Dakota. Completed in 2021, the Native-run program is administered by Oglala Lakota Artspace LLC, a partnership between Artspace, Lakota Funds, and First Peoples Fund. The facility provides a collaborative and intergenerational environment for artists to learn, share, and grow their businesses. Oglala Lakota Artspace LLC partners with local artists and Rolling Rez Arts to offer artistic, business, and financial services to Native artists across the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, located within the Great Sioux Territory, is home to around 26,000 tribal members, with a significant portion being 25 years old or younger. Roughly 30% of the population identifies as artists. However, Native artists on the reservation face challenges in accessing creative space, business training, supplies, equipment, and networks necessary for building successful art businesses rooted in Lakota cultural identity. This hinders the development of art business skills, intergenerational sharing of cultural knowledge, and the ability to generate income from art businesses. Additionally, it limits the broader expression of Lakota culture and identity, which is desired for healing and strengthening the people of Pine Ridge. The Rolling Rez Arts bus was established in 2016 to address these issues, and now the Oglala Lakota Artspace has been opened. Together, they serve as a central hub for Lakota youth, artists, and culture bearers, offering year-round arts and culture programming, studio and production spaces, as well as business and financial services.