Aug 30 Sunday
Inspired by both the occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes in 1969 as well as a treatise written at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) that same year and first published in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this presentation of Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969 marks a kind of ‘homecoming’ for the conceptual basis of the groundbreaking exhibition, which has been previously shown in the Northeastern United States and in Canada.
Curated by Candice Hopkins
Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros explores contemporary earthen artworks, establishing a profound dialogue between regional roots and global perspectives. As visitors engage with the exhibition, they embark on a journey through time, examining the intricate relationship between humanity and the elemental material of unfired earth.
Visit Harwood Museum of Art website for an in-depth view of this exhibition.
Image Credit: Ronald Rael, LIMINAL, 2026, 3D printed adobe. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Brad Trone.
Aug 31 Monday
EARLY CLOSURE AT 3PM ON MARCH 20TH DUE TO PRIVATE EVENTIn honor of the 50th anniversary of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC), this exhibition highlights the Center’s history through Pueblo imagery and perspectives of the past, present, and future. A combination of fifty objects from the IPCC’s Collections and Archives, with an emphasis on Pueblo pottery, illustrates the significance of the Center as a gathering place where Pueblo arts and culture are celebrated by visitors from around the world and, at once, nurtured by Pueblo communities across the generations. Gallery videos, updated throughout the year, will feature interviews with Pueblo artists, scholars, and culture bearers that present insider views of the IPCC. Join us to celebrate the exhibition on March 21 from 5-8pm during our free, public reception. Visit indianpueblo.org for 50th anniversary program schedule updates including an exhibit closing event on February 15, 2027.
EARLY CLOSURE AT 3PM ON MARCH 20TH DUE TO PRIVATE EVENT.Organized by the School for Advanced Research (SAR) and the Vilcek Foundation, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, a unique traveling exhibition featuring over 100 historic and contemporary works in clay, offers a visionary understanding of Pueblo pots as vessels that carry community-based knowledge and personal experience. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC), established by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico in 1976, welcomes the pottery vessels back to the Southwest as the “returning home” host venue of the exhibition’s four-year national tour. Curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, Grounded in Clay opens at the IPCC as the leading program of the Center’s 50th anniversary celebration year. The exhibition and its associated events are generously supported by the First Nations Development Institute and Noon Whistle Fund.
On the 100th anniversary of Route 66 in 2026, experience “The Old Road”—a mural that at once remembers the first major highway traversing the United States and gives emphasis to its impact on Pueblo communities and New Mexico. Through the eyes of artists Warren Montoya (Pueblos of Santa Ana/Santa Clara), Margarita Paz-Pedro (Pueblo of Laguna/Mexican American), Akilah Martinez (Diné), and Keith Scott (Pueblo of Laguna), this multi-dimensional installation travels through time showing Pueblo people and places along the “Mother Road,” otherwise known as Route 66. Explore the eccentric narrative created by these artists as they look at multiple roads simultaneously, from ancestral times to recent history, to glimpses of the present and future. Already a historic exchange route within Indigenous communities, Route 66 still echoes in the personality and culture of New Mexico byways. Journey through this mural located in the Art Through Struggle Gallery at the end of the IPCC’s permanent exhibition.Image: Keith Scott, Laguna Pueblo Water Tower, 2023, digital photograph.
Sep 01 Tuesday
The NMSU Art Museum is excited to announce the opening of Mapping Spaces: Selections from the Lannan Art Collection at NMSU. This exhibition will showcase selections from the generous gift of 63 works of art from the Lannan Art Collection to the NMSU Permanent Art Collection in 2024. Mapping Spaces will open in the Contemporary Gallery on Thursday, June 11th, and run until September 5th, 2026.
After almost 65 years, with 27 of those spent in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Lannan Foundation closed in 2024. As part of Lannan’s closure, the Foundation gifted its remaining collection of more than 1,600 objects to 55 institutions, including the NMSU Art Museum. By adding these pieces to the UAM’s collection, this gift deepens the significance of the works by placing them into an academic context, where teaching, research, and public engagement further activate each of them. The NMSU Permanent Art Collection continues to evolve and grow not only as a repository of contemporary art objects, but also as a living resource that invites ongoing dialogue about the role of artists in shaping how the NMSU and Las Cruces communities understand our dynamic border region.
Featuring artists such as Claudia Andujar, Subhankar Banerjee, Max Cole, Pard Morrison, Victoria Sambunaris, and James Turrell, Mapping Spaces brings together a dynamic range of artists whose works explore landscapes and the environment, documentary photography, abstraction, and traditional art historical references. Together, this exhibition features artists at the center of the UAM’s mission, emphasizing the importance of continued support for art, research, and community-engaged practices in cultivating a creative ecosystem across New Mexico.
Join us for the opening reception on June 11th from 4:30-6:30 PM. UAM is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm, at 1308 E. University Ave., Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003. Admission to all programming is free and open to the public. For more information and a detailed calendar with associated programs and dates please visit uam.nmsu.edu.