Margaret Jacobs, Akwesasne Mohawk, is an artist, educator, and independent curator. Her work explores the natural world and man-made materials while embracing and intermingling technology processes with materials more frequently associated with Indigenous work such as antler, shell, and horn. In Jacobs’ sculpture and jewelry, she frequently combines contradicting materials and colors. She believes that the materials and objects chosen for the artmaking process have their own narrative, and often explores the tension and harmony between man-made objects and those occurring in nature. It is important for her to use a material in a manner that remains true to this narrative and to see how and what it can lend to the work and add to her story. Jacobs is drawn to elements that have a combination of textures or can be used to make a combination of textures and surfaces. For this reason, she primarily uses metal in her work—steel in her sculptures and powdercoated brass in her jewelry. She finds that metal is an incredibly versatile material that lends strength and visual weight to the work, and her unique powdercoating process gives her the ability to add incredibly unique color choices.
Jacobs is a 2018 awardee from the Rebecca Blunk Fund through New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), a 2019 recipient of the Artist in Business Leadership Award through the First Peoples Fund, and a 2022 United States Artist Fellowship Nominee. She has participated in several artist residencies including at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Sante Fe, NM, Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, MN and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT where she received a Native American Fellowship through the Harpo Foundation. She has shown her work internationally including shows at the Boise Art Museum (Boise, ID); the Fruitlands Museum (Harvard, MA); and 516 arts (Albuquerque, NM). Her work has been featured in print and online press including at mic.com in the article “11 Native American Artists Whose Work Redefines What it Means to be American” and the Art New England feature, “10 Emerging New England Artists.” Jacobs attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH where she graduated with high honors for her thesis work and received the Perspectives on Design (POD) award.