IAIA — 60 years of making history

The last two years have presented the world with many challenges, but the Institute of American Indian Arts community has remained resilient and adaptable throughout the pandemic. We have much to celebrate as our students return to campus for a new academic year.

Indeed, this year is extraordinarily special, as it marks IAIA’s 60th anniversary, and our museum, the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, commemorates its 50th anniversary. The theme, Making History, encompasses the celebration of this monumental 60/50 anniversary and is a prominent part of all IAIA and MoCNA events in 2022.

We have come a long way from our early days as a high school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to where we are now — a world-class institution devoted to creating, interpreting and preserving ground-breaking contemporary Indigenous arts. At IAIA, we are cultivating leaders who are decolonizing arts and educational institutions from the inside out while building successful and sustainable careers as self-assured creative professionals.

This summer has been very busy. In May, we celebrated the achievements of not only our most recent graduating class but of students who earned degrees and certificates from 2019 through 2022 in the school’s first in-person commencement in three years.

In July, we welcomed students in our low-residency MFA programs in creative writing and studio arts to campus for their semi-annual residencies. During this time, they engaged in workshops, met their program mentors and presented their creative work. We are proud that these students have chosen to join the IAIA community in seeking their advanced degrees, as have those in our newest MFA program in cultural administration, which we launched in July.

This month, we have even more to offer with entertaining and meaningful events, including our highly anticipated and vitally important Making History Scholarship Event on Wednesday, when we will auction off collaborative and individual artworks by prominent contemporary Indigenous artists to raise critical funds for IAIA student scholarships.

MoCNA will be hosting an opening reception for three exhibits from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, with special guests in attendance, including Jessica Matten (Metis Nation of Canada and Cree) and Kiowa Gordon (Hualapai), the stars of AMC’s series Dark Winds. Many IAIA alums and current students will participate in the 100th annual SWAIA Indian Market from Friday through Sunday.

The scholarship event is one of the most important events we hold all year. As a young man, I benefited from receiving scholarship funds in my academic journey, so I can speak to their significance from personal experience.

Raising scholarship funds is vital for our students because we don’t participate in the federal loan program. Eightyfive percent of our students are eligible for federal financial aid, but these grants only pay for half their annual attendance costs. We depend on scholarships to cover the remaining costs because we want our students to graduate debt-free, and it’s motivating for them to know somebody cares enough to invest in their futures.

Working with our board of trustees, the IAIA Foundation board of directors and a dedicated planning committee, the scholarship event will offer a live auction of one-of-a-kind artworks by some of our most celebrated alumni artists who represent IAIA’s historic six decades.

Many of these artists worked in collaboration with other alumni artists across generations, sharing in the community they know as IAIA. I was pleased that every artist we asked to participate said yes. These generous and dedicated alums were eager to help the next generation of artists to follow in their trailblazing footsteps. For more information on the IAIA Making History 2022 Scholarship Event and Auctions, visit iaia.edu/bid, email foundation@iaia.edu or call 505-424-5730.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Santa Fe community for its generous support of IAIA students, alumni and Indigenous arts and artists in general. I invite you to take the opportunity to visit IAIA and MoCNA during this milestone anniversary year.