Artist Talk: Mona Cliff

By Jui Mhatre

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

April 2, 2026 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | Beach Museum of Art | Free and open to the public

Kansas Triennial 25/26 exhibition artist Mona Cliff creates sculptural works that combine seed bead embellishment, natural materials, and traditional techniques to explore Indigenous identity, cultural memory, and connection to place. Her practice honors ancestral knowledge while embracing contemporary forms of expression. This talk offers an opportunity to hear directly from the artist about the ideas, influences, and experiences that inform her work.

A woman standing in front of a painted mural. There is text printed on her t-shirt that reads "Haskell"
Mona Cliff
Photo by Taylor Mah

Several tiny beads stuck together on two canvases to create abstract shapes and topographical surface. Mona Cliff, You Can’t See the Wind, 2025, seed beads, bugle beads, beeswax (copal, pine rosin, petroleum jelly),thread, resin, glue, and canvas, courtesy of the artist

Several tiny beads stuck together in rows on an uneven surface to create a topographical sculptural work. Mona Cliff, Conjured Topography, 2022, seed beads, beeswax, thread, maple wood, plywood, glue, courtesy of the artist