Kelsey Mata

Kelsey Mata is an Alaska Native artist who adores all-things character design and illustration. She also thinks squirrels are pretty cool, too.

She grew up in Southeast Alaska, a region known for its temperate rainforest and Alaska Native culture, inspired the endless backstories of anyone who found themselves in the

She learning about her Tlingit culture through the Johnson O’Malley Program and the Sitka Native Education Program. Through the marriage of traditional and digital art, Kelsey creates characters and scenes that seek to represent and progress the depictions of Native culture and the Pacific Northwest.

Since 2019, she has been collaborating with Hyphen Reads Books Inc, a proud supporter of indigenous artists and advocate for cultural preservation, and Seattle-based Nick Alan Art.