Since our founding in 2016, we have prioritized the following: celebrate and educate about contemporary Indigenous arts and culture, create opportunities for Indigenous artists, and provide positive and accurate representation for Indigenous peoples. In the five years Seeds has been in existence, staff has joined the organization in the areas of programming, marketing, development, and production. Together we produce cultural events, programs, and workshops that celebrate and support Indigenous arts and artists throughout North America.
TAILINH AGOYO
Director
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Tailinh Agoyo has worked in public relations, marketing, and design for over 25 years. In her early career, Tailinh was Head of Design for the international firm Monitor Group's West Coast offices. She then moved to SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market as Director of PR, Marketing, and Programming. Leveraging both traditional and social media outlets, SWAIA received international attention for Santa Fe Indian Market resulting in record 175,000 visitors for 2013. Along with two colleagues, Tailinh founded Indigenous Fine Art Market in 2014 and managed marketing and creative services for the national non-profit organization until April 2016. In May 2016, Tailinh produced EAST, an Indigenous art show in Connecticut in partnership with the Pequot Museum and Northeast Indigenous Arts Alliance. Since 2016, Tailinh has served as the director of We Are the Seeds. In its fifth year, We Are the Seeds has produced over 150 celebrations of Indigenous arts and culture and art education programs. Tailinh is also an artist and an actor. Her photography work is focused on capturing the vibrancy of Indigenous people today. The Warrior Project, a collection of photos of Native youth and their commitment to environmental stewardship has received international attention and continues to be impactful. She is the mother to four wonderful children.
Tailinh is the Tomaquag Museum's 2020 Eleanor Dove Entrepreneur Award Recipient! Watch the honoring celebration here. |
XIAO HUI STAR CHIN
Director of Programming
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Xiao Hui joins Seeds with nearly 20 years of project management and operations experience, supporting multidisciplinary teams of creatives, strategists, executives, researchers, and technologists. After graduating with a degree in Urban Studies and Psychology from Columbia University, she worked in video games and other creative tech for many years as a project and product manager. She broadened her experience by working as a consultant across different businesses, including wellness, lifestyle, and user research. Most recently, she led Operations and Employee Experience at Dalberg Design, a social impact consultancy, where she gained extensive experience creating delightful, effective, and inclusive systems and processes for 25 globally distributed human-centered designers. At Seeds, Xiao Hui supports partnership development and program execution and manages The Ashawaug Project.
For Xiao Hui, art and management have always made sense together, as she grew up with a professional artist father and account manager mother. She has a passion for actualizing visionary ideas into implementation through creative collaboration and a service mindset. Beyond her work at Seeds, Xiao Hui is pursuing reeducation in Indigenous foodways, maximizing time outdoors, and learning to paint in watercolor. |
ZACHARIAH JULIAN
Digital Media and Artistic Producer
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Zachariah Julian has produced the Seeds stage since its inception. He curates programs that are diverse, balanced, interesting, and entertaining. Zachariah composes music for From Here, With a View and other Seeds programs. Additionally, Zachariah edits daily content to upload to We Are the Seeds social media and archives, is a podcast producer and host. A musician and performer, he is knowledgeable in production and stage management. He has lived on the Apache Nation for 19 years and has been playing piano for over 20 years. Zachariah started composing when he was 16 and attended University of New Mexico majoring in Music Theory and Composition. He has just released a record titled Oblique.
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MICHELLE ST. JOHN
Content Producer
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Michelle St. John is the producer of From Here, With a View, A We Are the Seeds Philadelphia Podcast, centering Indigenous perspectives on life, art, and everything in-between. Michelle is an established artist/producer with forty years of experience in film, television, radio and music. Michelle is a two-time Gemini Award winning actor and filmmaker. She has produced theater, radio, television and feature films. Her film Colonization Road garnered a Golden Sheaf Award from the Yorkton Film Festival and a Canadian Screen Award nomination for the Donald Brittain Award – Best Social/Political Documentary.
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TCHIN
Artist Facilitator
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Tchin works at Seeds Contemporary at Cherry Street Pier creating artwork, facilitating art workshops, managing general needs of the studio, and engaging with visitors. He is an internationally known, multi-award-winning artist, specializing in silverwork. Inspired by his heritage, Tchin interprets tradition, culture, and history into undeniably contemporary, sophisticated, wearable art. He has been featured in Vogue Magazine, collaborated with Cartier, and received numerous national awards for his metalwork. His jewelry is dreamed, designed, and made by him. In addition, he is an accomplished author, flutemaker, educator, lecturer, folklorist, musician, entertainer, and clothes maker. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design.
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CASSIE ROSE MITCHELL
Community Engagement Coordinator
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Cassie Rose Mitchell produces We Are the Seeds storytime, presents at Seeds programs and partner events, and assists with public relations. Cassie has worked with the Modoc/Klamath Tribal Nations focusing on outreach and prevention. Cassie is an environmental advocate and artist who incorporates her peoples' ancient Indigenous designs with deep meanings into her work. Raising awareness about water and land issues on her Indigenous homeland in the Pacific Northwest has been a lifelong priority. She believes that art and awareness go hand in hand, because artwork can speak to people across the world and have a lasting impact for generations to come.
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U.S. based "Native American" and/or "Indian" artists that sell artwork at We Are the Seeds events are in compliance with The Indian Arts and Crafts Act (Act) of 1990 (P.L. 101-644). These participating artists are "defined as a member of any federally or officially State recognized tribe of the United States, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe."
We Are the Seeds is a project of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia, a charitable 501(c)(3) trust supporting diverse cultural practices in the Philadelphia region. CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia provides a charitable home and affordable shared management resources for arts and heritage programs of diverse disciplines and cultural traditions.
We Are the Seeds is a project of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia, a charitable 501(c)(3) trust supporting diverse cultural practices in the Philadelphia region. CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia provides a charitable home and affordable shared management resources for arts and heritage programs of diverse disciplines and cultural traditions.
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