Joseph James (Yakima County) is a musician based on the Yakama Reservation who creates work under the name n8vboy. His work challenges the conventions of electronic dance music, taking an experimental approach that combines electronic beats and traditional instruments, vocals, and sounds reflective of his indigenous identity. Through his music, he hopes to make space for and uplift other underrepresented creators and expand the definition of modern dance music beyond its commercial trends into a medium reflective of an artist’s personal and cultural identities.

Entirely self-taught, James has built his career from the ground up—producing, mixing, promoting, and performing his own work while staying deeply connected to his community. His music has been featured on Seattle’s C89.5 and he’s performed at venues across the Pacific Northwest, including a scheduled performance at Capitol Hill Block Party in 2025. Through collaboration, mentorship, and cultural representation, he continues to build a platform that not only reflects his vision but opens the door for others to do the same.

Learn more about n8vboy »

Mikaela Shafer (Thurston County) is a visual artist and poet living in Olympia. Her current project focuses on matrilineal storytelling, and her process of reconnecting with her Hopi culture and heritage. Working in painting, textile, sewing, and collage, she often incorporates natural materials like kombucha leather and seaweed. Her work is guided by memory and emotion, and is often created in the outdoors, where she will set up a small generator and sew on her paintings, creating layered abstractions in direct conversation with the land she descends from.

Shafer’s artwork has received notable recognition, including a blue ribbon from the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation LIFT award. Beyond her artistic practice, Mikaela actively engages in community efforts, including mutual aid and cultural initiatives. She is the lead storyteller for yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective and founder of Maqa Collective, organizations dedicated to supporting artists and promoting storytelling through community engagement. Her work continues to serve as a bridge between personal, cultural, and collective healing.

Learn more about Mikaela Shafer »

Following strategic efforts to increase cultural and geographic equity, both of this year’s recipients reside outside King County—a first in the 15-year history of the award. Joseph James is also the first recipient of the Arts Innovator Award to live east of the Cascades, marking progress on Artist Trust’s ongoing goal to reach artists in every corner of the state.

Shafer and James were selected as awardees from a cohort of eight finalists by a multidisciplinary panel comprised of four artists from across the state. The remaining six finalists will each receive a $500 honorarium in recognition of their collective achievement and time they invested to participate. See the full lists of finalists and panelists below.

See the full lists of finalists and panelists below!

2025 Arts Innovator Award Finalist Cohort 

Stephen Anunson (Media, King County)

Jill Louise Busby (Literary, Thurston County)

Megan Griffiths (Media, King County)

Jesse Higman (Visual, King County)

Katherine Paul (Performing, Skagit County)

Olivia Stephens (Literary, King County)

Learn more about the AIA Finalist Cohort »

 
2025 Arts Innovator Award Panelists

Robert Campbell​ (Media, King County​)

Perri Lynch Howard​ (Visual, Okanogan County)​

Sasha LaPointe​ (Literary​, Pierce County)​

Jacqueline Wilson​ (Performing, Whitman County)​