(Lander, WY) – On January 15, Creative West announced 16 Fellows for the 2026 Creative West Artist Fund, which “celebrates the creative spirit across the West,” and among those named was Lander local and member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, Aiyana Eve Perez.
Creative West was established in 1974 as a nonprofit U.S. Regional Arts Organization (USRAO), and aims to support creativity while “building equitable technology, funding, advocacy, and policy systems to generate creative capacity in the West and beyond.” (Click here for more information about Creative West.)
The Artist Fund program itself “honors artists and cultural practitioners as essential workers in the civic economy,” and is “rooted in the principles of democracy, wellness, and belonging, the fund reflects a commitment to equitable, trust-based grantmaking.”
The Creative West website states that fellows will receive “no-strings-attached funding to support their work, along with four months of coaching and community care to strengthen their practices and expand their professional networks.”
According to her Creative West bio, Perez is a visual artist “known for her surrealist exploration of nature’s beauty through paintings and public art,” like her contribution to the VFW murals back in 2024. She has “a diverse background in art—including digital media, stained glass, photography, and public art,” and “uses various mediums to express her creativity.”
In addition to earning an associate degree in fine arts and an associate of applied science in photography from Central Wyoming College, Perez founded SageBrush Studio in 2022.
“Within my artwork, I incorporate motifs of universal thought, mountainous landscapes, and surrealist realities, allowing viewers to dive into a metaphorical realm,” Perez shared in her Creative West bio.
“Raising cultural awareness by including the Western narrative, but especially Indigenous peoples’ history, in an ever-changing community is what I strive to push through my art narrative. Through my work, I aim to push boundaries, foster artistic dialogue, and share the power of visual storytelling. I hope to create art that encourages others to see the world through a similar lens of wonder and imagination.”
The full list of fellows can be viewed here.