In Conversation
A podcast brought to you by VACNJ and Art Bridges
In Conversation is made possible by the Art Bridges Foundation and was inspired by the loan of the In Conversation: Will Wilson exhibition, on display at The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey from February 13 to August 23, 2026. This 4-part limited series will explore Indigenous art, culture, representation, and more. This podcast is hosted by Dennis Redmoon Darkeem, an Indigenous artist based in New York, with new guests every episode.
Dennis RedMoon Darkeem is an Afro-Indigenous interdisciplinary artist, educator, and community organizer of Yat’siminoli (Creek–Seminole) and African American heritage. Based in New York City, his work centers on Indigenous presence, environmental justice, and community-based education through public art, storytelling, and collaborative practice.
He received his MFA in Art Direction from Pratt Institute, with a focus on education, environmental, and community development. His additional education includes Policy and Performance at NYU and photography at ICP (International Center of Photography).
Dennis is the Founder and Director of RedMoon Arts Movement Inc., an organization dedicated to free and accessible arts, environmental, and educational programming for artists, youth, and families. He is also Vice President and Organizer of the Bronx Native American Festival, Director of the Bronx Art & Book Fair, and Founder of Bronx Artist Day—initiatives dedicated to amplifying Indigenous, Black, and community-centered creative voices.
Visit Dennis’s website here: DennisRedMoonDarkeem.com
Episode 1
In Conversation with Ella Mahoney
The conversation with Wampanoag artist Ella Mahoney covers her multidisciplinary art practice, intergenerational storytelling, the impact of the pandemic on her work, nature-inspired art and storytelling, cultural preservation and visibility, challenges faced by East Coast Indigenous artists, public art and collaboration, fast questions, and the influence of elders.
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Ella Mahoney is a visual artist, illustrator, educator, and member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Her interdisciplinary practice centers on storytelling, drawing from Wampanoag creation stories and her own experiences of indigeneity and connection to land and water. Working across mediums, including silk painting, performance, children’s books, and oral storytelling, she creates multiple entry points for audiences to engage with the meaning and purpose of each story, carrying Indigenous history and knowledge forward for future generations.
Mahoney works primarily in oil, acrylic, and silk, with recent projects focusing on large-scale silk installations that evoke the movement, memory, and atmosphere of Northeast coastal environments, particularly Aquinnah. She has illustrated children’s books for the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project and collaborated with institutions such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Long Island Children’s Museum, and MassArt. Her work has been exhibited in gallery and museum settings, often taking the form of immersive installations that exist in dialogue with performance and place.
Visit Ella’s Website here: ellamahoneyart.com
Visit Ella’s Instagram account here: instagram.com/ellamhoney
Episode 2
In Conversation with Henu Josephine Tarrant
In this episode, our host brings on artist Henu Josephine Tarrant. They discuss topics including:
- The power of music as a healing force
- The importance of acknowledging and representing all indigenous tribes. Since native tribes have been relocated, and other tribes now occupy their land, this often leads to a disconnection from sacred sites and history.
- Non-natives often showing laziness in acknowledging and respecting the names and struggles of native tribes, leading to dismissiveness and lack of understanding.
- The history and struggles of native tribes, particularly on the East Coast, which are often overlooked and erased, leading to a lack of common knowledge and understanding.
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Henu Josephine Tarrant is a multi-talented actress, playwright, filmmaker, singer, songwriter, and comedienne. She is currently serving as the Managing Director of Safe Harbors NYC’s Reflections of Native Voices Festival, a theater organization focused on producing & creating Indigenous theater in New York City. Her most recent work includes a horror short she directed, Native Theatre: Where Are We Now?, for Howlround Theatre Commons; and her one-woman show Red Moon Blues, both written and performed by Tarrant in contemporary song and dance.
Tarrant is a third-generation New Yorker from a renowned family of theater artists, which has had a huge influence on her very urban experience as a Native woman in the performing arts. Through her lived experiences and professional development, she has acquired skills that have honed her personal aesthetic and perceptions of film and performance. Her work is often an examination of Native women who are exhausted by tokenism, hyper-sexualization, and exploitation. She raises the questions, “What is Native feminism and my role as a Native Woman performer? What does feminism mean to Native women in urban areas?”
Visit her Instagram account here: instagram.com/chiefjosephine
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