Kelly Tapia-Chuning (b. 1997, California) is a mixed Xicana artist of Indígena descent, living and working between Utah and Montana. Her multidisciplinary practice involves genealogical and historical research, textile appropriation and deconstruction, and large-scale needle felting. Through her work, Tapia-Chuning critically examines histories of assimilation and the power dynamics related to cultural and racial identity, gender, and language.


Tapia-Chuning received an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she was awarded a Gilbert Fellowship. In 2025, her work was selected for the 18th International Triennial of Textile in Łódź (PL). Other awards include CAA's 2023 Professional Development Fellow in Visual Arts Award and the 2024 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center. Tapia-Chuning's work has been included in exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, UT; The Shepherd, MI; The Bunker Artspace, FL; Kimball Art Center, UT; Liliana Bloch Gallery, TX; Cranbrook Art Museum, MI; Onna House, NY & FL; among others. Tapia-Chuning has been an artist-in-residence at Stove Works, TN, and Ucross, WY, and has been featured in Artnet News, Southwest Contemporary, Surface, and Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine, among others. Tapia-Chuning's work is held in numerous private and public collections across the US, including Cranbrook Art Museum, MI; Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery, NY; The Bunker Artspace, FL; Onna House, NY & FL; the State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection, the Southern Utah Museum of Art, and the Salt Lake County Visual Art Collection. In 2026, Tapia-Chuning will present a solo exhibition with Liliana Bloch Gallery in Dallas, TX.