The Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute (OHSAI) is being held on the campus of the University of South Dakota from June 1-13, 2025. The institute is open to high school students with a demonstrated interest in the visual arts and American Indian culture. The OHSAI provides workshops for a group of 20 talented and committed high school art students to learn about contemporary Native American Fine Arts. All courses are taught by impressive professional artists and all accepted students attend FREE of charge, including meals, housing, instruction and art supplies, thanks to very generous financial donor support.
The OHSAI honors longtime University of South Dakota professor and American Indian Northern Plains artist Oscar Howe, by helping educate the next generation of Native American artists. Howe established a summer art institute in the 1960s that provided instruction to avid students desiring to learn more about Native American art. The current OHSAI began in 1991 and continues to support the goals Howe set forth through transference of cultural knowledge from one generation to the next.
Applications due April 1 annually and must include:
- Application Form, due April 1.
- Letter of reference from an instructor, artist or other interested party, addressing why the nominee should be accepted into the institute.
- Portfolio of artwork, consisting of 10 images of the student’s artwork. Preferred method is to send an email of the students work in jpg format to art@usd.edu.
