Showcasing featured and upcoming exhibitions and events at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.
The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe has long been an institution supporting and bolstering Native American arts in the community and surrounding areas. One of the four museums in the New Mexico Museum system, MIAC celebrates the culture of the peoples of the Southwest from prehistory to present day through a dynamic range of exhibitions, public lectures, field trips, artist residencies and other educational programs held throughout the year. The Laboratory of Anthropology, part of MIAC, is responsible for numerous collections, archives and research pertaining to the cultural heritage of the region and its Indigenous communities, including an “Objects Collection” consisting of more than 75,000 artifacts.
Featured Exhibition
The primary exhibition at the MIAC running through August 31 is Voices of the Clay: San Ildefonso Pottery, 1600-1930. Curated by Bruce Bernstein, Erik Fender and Russell Sanchez in partnership with potters and community members, the exhibition features examples of historic San Ildefonso pots, jars and bowls, including some works by Maria Martinez, Susana Aguilar and Helen Gutierrez. According to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Voices of the Clay “[uses] new methodologies of combining Native ethnogenesis, discussions with descendant community members, and museum object and archival research, developing a holistic approach and portrait of artisans, art production and social contexts.” The exhibition, which originally opened August 2019, “brings this important project to the public’s attention to help in creating more appreciation of the depth of artistic creativity and cultural knowledge incorporated into San Ildefonso art.”
“Voices of the Clay is a unique exhibit in several ways,” says museum director Della Warrior. “The majority of the pots on exhibit have never been seen in an exhibition before. The exhibit encompasses the history of pottery making among the San Ildefonso people for 300 years and the families that have a long tradition of making pottery… The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture has a long tradition of engaging with Native communities to develop exhibitions about their communities. This exhibit is a prime example of how MIAC works with Native communities to tell their stories.”