IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts is open to the public. We will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm MDT on Mondays & Wednesday through Saturday.
(871)

On Sunday, we are open from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm MDT. We are closed on Tuesdays. IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation of contemporary Native art, history and culture through presentation, collection and acquisition, preservation, and interpretation. MoCNA is recognized as the preeminent organizer of exhibitions devoted exclusively to the display of dynamic and diverse arts practices representative of Native North America.

This month’s featured collection highlight is “Spring Rains” by Terra Manasco. Discover more works by Terra Manasco and ...
06/16/2025

This month’s featured collection highlight is “Spring Rains” by Terra Manasco. Discover more works by Terra Manasco and other artists in the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts collection by visiting research.iaia.edu.

Image: Terra Manasco (Blue Clan Echota Cherokee) ’03, “Spring Rains” (detail), 2002, clay and glazes, 16 x 12 x 12 in. IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Collection: CHE-110; IAIA Museum Purchase, 2002. ©Terra Manasco. Photograph by Larry Phillips.

President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2026 budget on Monday, June 2, proposing the elimination of funding for the Ins...
06/09/2025

President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2026 budget on Monday, June 2, proposing the elimination of funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The IAIA Board of Trustees and administration reject this ill-conceived and extremely harmful proposal. In one budget, Trump is proposing to erase nearly 63 years of progress in American Indian and Alaska Native higher education, artistic expression, and decades of Congressional support for IAIA, the only institution of its kind in the world. As the birthplace of contemporary Native arts, we cannot let this happen.

Trump’s proposal calls for the complete removal of IAIA’s federal funding beginning October 1, 2025, reducing our annual congressional appropriation from $13.482 million to zero. If enacted, this would mark the first time in nearly 40 years that IAIA would not receive federal support under its longstanding Enabling Legislation, Public Law 99-498, Title XV.

We have reached out to the New Mexico Congressional Delegation to join in convincing the Chairs and Ranking (Minority) Members of the House and Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittees and full committees to continue the important work started by Congress in 1987 and fund IAIA at a minimum of $13.482 million in FY 2026. (This would be level funding, as it has been for the past three years.) Our New Mexico Delegation is solidly supportive of IAIA. We could not ask for a stronger congressional delegation than the one we have. We are confident that they will do everything possible to restore IAIA funding in the upcoming fiscal year.

We acknowledge potential future challenges, including ongoing political uncertainty and potential budgetary pressures in the coming fiscal years. With continued support from the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), other Indigenous organizations, and the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, we will closely monitor potential adverse impacts proposed by this administration and proactively work to protect IAIA. The IAIA Board of Trustees, officers, and administration have engaged in numerous meetings with our congressional delegation and other government officials to ensure that our voices and priorities are heard.

In addition to our Congressional Delegation, IAIA has received tremendous support from both the private and public sectors, all of which recognize IAIA’s impact on Indigenous communities and the broader fields of art and scholarship.

Now more than ever, IAIA’s mission and programs have had a profound effect on educating the next generation of Indigenous artists, filmmakers, writers, scholars, museum professionals, performing artists, and leaders.

IAIA alumna heather ahtone, PhD (Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation) ’93, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the First Americans Museum, recently reflected on her transformative experiences at IAIA. She said that “critical skills, faith in my vision, and willingness to take risks were cultivated and rooted in my experiences at IAIA. IAIA exists because so many people believe in the value of Native creatives. It’s a place where students are encouraged to manifest their best ideas, explore their potential, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.”

IAIA is an integral part of the legacy of our ancestors, who sacrificed and signed treaties in which they relinquished precious land in exchange for access to education. This is the reason that IAIA exists. More than 4,000 graduates have taken advantage of the educational opportunities at IAIA, resulting in increased opportunities to share our cultures, histories, and stories through the arts, filmmaking, creative writing, performing arts, scholarship, and leadership.

Going forward, we will remain resilient and focused on our mission to empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts and cultures, regardless of the political shifts occurring in Washington, D.C.

We are asking for your help to ensure continued federal support for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). At this critical time, please reach out to members of New Mexico’s Congressional Delegation to express your support for IAIA and emphasize the importance of their leadership.

Senator Martin Heinrich (202) 224-5521: https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/contact/write-martin

Senator Ben Ray Luján (202) 224-6621: https://www.lujan.senate.gov/contact/contact-form/

Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (202) 225-6190: https://fernandez.house.gov/contact/

Representative Melanie Stansbury (202) 225-6316: https://stansbury.house.gov/contact/offices

Representative Gabe Vasquez (575) 323-6390: https://vasquez.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact

Share a brief message of support (feel free to use or adapt the sample message below):

“As a constituent, I deeply value the work of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was alarmed to learn that President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal calls for the elimination of IAIA’s federal funding. If enacted, this would jeopardize the future of a nationally significant institution that serves as the center for contemporary American Indian and Alaska Native arts and cultures, and displace more than 850 students.

I urge you to join the entire New Mexico delegation in leading efforts to maintain IAIA’s funding at $13.482 million in FY 2026. Please contact the leadership of the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees and full Committees to ensure continued support for IAIA in FY 2026 and beyond. Thank you.”

Your voice matters—thank you for helping us protect IAIA’s future.

*We honor heather ahtone and her preference to lowercase her name.

In the face of proposed federal cuts that would eliminate all funding for IAIA, the urgency to support Indigenous arts and education has never been greater. For over 60 years, IAIA has empowered Indigenous creatives to share their stories, preserve their cultures, and shape the future through painting, filmmaking, writing, museum and culture exchanges, and leadership. IAIA is not just a higher education institution—it’s a promise fulfilled to our Ancestors and a lifeline for the next generation. Your gift helps ensure that IAIA’s mission endures, regardless of political shifts.

Give Today: https://give.iaia.edu/campaign/632949/donate

https://iaia.edu/president-trumps-fy-2026-budget-proposes-to-eliminate-funding-for-iaia/

Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz, Institute of American Indian Arts.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Jason S. Ordaz, Chief Communications Officer, at [email protected] or (505) 424-2348.

Join us at the museum this week on Friday, June 6, from 5–7 pm for the opening reception of our latest exhibition, “Doug...
06/04/2025

Join us at the museum this week on Friday, June 6, from 5–7 pm for the opening reception of our latest exhibition, “Douglas Miles: Always & Forever.”

Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham) A-i-R ’25 is a painter, printmaker, and photographer from Arizona, who founded Apache Skateboards and Apache Skate Team. “Always & Forever” features Miles’ installation “You’re Skating on Native Land” (2022). Miles uses skateboards as moving canvases to reassert the sovereignty of motion and Native American cultures as dynamic and contemporary. “Skateboarding is intimately connected to and in conversation with the land,” explains Miles. Skaters not only use paved skateparks they also construct their own environments, activating and transforming unused and abandoned areas around town. Like lowriding, it is more than an activity—it’s a way of life. Nonconformity, self-made community, and a do-it-yourself attitude are some values associated with the sport.

For more information, please visit https://iaia.edu/event/miles-always-and-forever-opening-reception/

Image: (left) Douglas Miles, “She’s Smiling,” 2024 vintage suitcase, spray paint and applique, 17 3/4 x 10 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. (45.1 x 27.3 x 15.9 cm), (right) Douglas Miles, “Wrapped in Love,” 2024 vintage suitcase, spray paint and appliqué, 21 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 6 1/4 in. (54 x 31.1 x 15.9 cm), photographs by Haiden Renae Gould ’26.

Please join us at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) for family fun during our free Family Day—Celebrat...
05/29/2025

Please join us at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) for family fun during our free Family Day—Celebrate Your Family at MoCNA on June 7 from 11 am–3 pm. The day will include exciting events, engaging art, and learning experiences for the whole family, including hands-on activity stations by STEAM Santa Fe, digital art and stop motion animation using Apple’s “Everyone Can Create” tools, a reading with author Leah Prada Harrison (Genízara), an artist talk with Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham) A-i-R ’24, and food from Smash N Crispy Burgers by Joseph Toledo (Jemez Pueblo).

For more information and the event schedule, please visit https://iaia.edu/event/2025-family-day-celebrate-your-family-at-mocna/

Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz, Institute of American Indian Arts.

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) has published the full, illustrated exhibition guide for “Kite and W...
05/28/2025

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) has published the full, illustrated exhibition guide for “Kite and Wíhaŋble S’a Center: Dreaming with AI,” on view March 21–July 13, 2025.

“Dreaming with AI” is the most comprehensive exhibition to date of Oglála Lakȟóta artist Dr. Suzanne Kite. “The exhibition features artworks created over the past five years, each stemming from Kite’s commitment to dreaming, performance, and critical Indigenous perspectives on artificial intelligence,” says Mikhel Proulx in the introductory essay.

“An Oglála Lakȟóta artist, composer, and scholar, Kite’s work explores Lakȟóta cultural knowledge and worldviews in relation to contemporary technologies, including AI,” writes MoCNA Chief Curator Manuela Well-Off-Man, Ph.D., in her catalog essay. “Collaboration is central to Kite’s methods, often involving family and community members. Many of her installations incorporate stones, minerals, and rare earth metals, materials commonly used in computers, to highlight their significance in Oglála Lakȟóta culture. Rather than perceiving them as inanimate objects, the artist envisions ‘these materials’ potentials as living beings infused with spirit and willpower.’”

View the 37-page illustrated exhibition guide, described by the Albuquerque Journal as having “a dream logic that pulls you in…,” at
https://iaia.edu/event/kite-wihanble-sa-lab-dreaming-with-ai/

Image: Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta) Oíhaŋke Waníča (Infinity), 2023, embroidery on velvet fabric, software, machine learning, performance, photo courtesy of the artist.

Join the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) for the opening reception of our latest exhibition, “Douglas Mi...
05/22/2025

Join the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) for the opening reception of our latest exhibition, “Douglas Miles: Always & Forever,” on Friday, June 6, from 5–7 pm.

Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham) A-i-R ’25 is a painter, printmaker, and photographer from Arizona, who founded Apache Skateboards and Apache Skate Team. Miles draws connections between skateboarding and the Apache warrior tradition, as both involve increased concentration, stamina, and the ability to withstand pain. His work combines traditional and contemporary practices, blending fine art, pop culture, and sport. The exhibition will be on view through February 8, 2026.

For more information, please visit: https://iaia.edu/event/miles-always-and-forever-opening-reception/

Image: Douglas Miles, photograph by Haiden Renae Gould ’26

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is grateful for the contributions of Macy Rose (Cherokee Nation), wh...
05/13/2025

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is grateful for the contributions of Macy Rose (Cherokee Nation), who served as a student intern this spring. An undergraduate at the University of Hawai‘i, Macy brought insight, professionalism, and enthusiasm to every aspect of her work during her time with us.

Macy conducted research on artists Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne) A-i-R ’19, Dr. Suzanne Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta), and Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Akimel O’odham), compiling resource binders for current and upcoming exhibitions. She supported gallery installation and de-installation, documented the process through behind-the-scenes photography, assisted with archival digitization, contributed to a grant-related study of contemporary Kyrgyzstani artists, helped update exhibition checklists and related materials, and more.

Having first visited MoCNA as a child, Macy described her internship experience as a full-circle moment. We are grateful for her meaningful contributions and wish her continued success in all her future endeavors.

Photograph courtesy of Macy Rose.

Join us next week for the closing reception of the 2024–2025 IAIA BFA Exhibition “Kinship Woven Through Ancestral Lands,...
05/08/2025

Join us next week for the closing reception of the 2024–2025 IAIA BFA Exhibition “Kinship Woven Through Ancestral Lands,” on Friday, May 16 from 5–7 pm at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). This exhibition showcases the talent and vision of emerging Indigenous artists from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Bachelor of Fine Arts programs.

Featuring diverse media and themes, the exhibition celebrates contemporary Native art while exploring cultural identity, resilience, and creative expression. “MoCNA’s BFA exhibition provides a platform for new voices in Indigenous art to be seen and heard,” says MoCNA’s Curatorial Assistant Stephanie Stewart (Navajo and Kiowa).

Read more on our website here: https://iaia.edu/event/iaia-2025-bfa-exhibition-closing-reception/

Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz, Institute of American Indian Arts.

Join us next weekend at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Allan Houser Art Park on Saturday, May 10, 2...
05/02/2025

Join us next weekend at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Allan Houser Art Park on Saturday, May 10, 2025, from 2–4 pm for The Seeds and Hereafter—Readings by Graduating Creative Writing Majors, Sarah Chiago (Onk Akimel O’odham, Mojave, and Oglála Lakȟóta), Minja Utahna Gaines (Acoma Pueblo), Emerald GoingSnake (Giduwa and Mvskoke), Tiana Martinez (Ihanktonwan Nakota, Ponca, and Turtle Mountain Ojibwe), and Shelby Morrison (Mvskoke). The graduating Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) seniors will read selections from their works in creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and fiction. Light snacks will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

https://iaia.edu/event/2025-the-seeds-and-hereafter/

Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz, Institute of American Indian Arts.

“What does it mean when computers powered by crystal oscillators and rare earth minerals are viewed through the lens of ...
04/23/2025

“What does it mean when computers powered by crystal oscillators and rare earth minerals are viewed through the lens of cultures that see crystals and minerals as sentient?” asks Logan Royce Beitmen in his April 20, 2025, review of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) new exhibition, “Kite and Wíhaŋble S’a Center: Dreaming with AI,” in the Albuquerque Journal.

The exhibition highlights Dr. Suzanne Kite’s (Oglála Lakȟóta) groundbreaking work, blending Lakȟóta cosmology, Indigenous knowledge, and artificial intelligence. Beitmen reflects on the experience, writing: “I thought I could sense Kite’s consciousness radiating out from her work, reverberating with my own and merging with something wholly other.” The review explores how Indigenous worldviews challenge our understanding of AI, consciousness, and the kinship between humans and machines.

Thank you to Logan Royce Beitmen and the Albuquerque Journal for featuring this insightful review.

“Kite and Wíhaŋble S’a Center: Dreaming with AI” is on view through July 13, 2025.

For more information on the review, please visit our website: https://iaia.edu/abq-journal-review-dreaming-with-ai/

Photographs by Jason S. Ordaz and Sallie Wesaw Sloan, Institute of American Indian Arts.

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) proudly presents “Kinship Woven Through Ancestral Lands,” the 2024–2...
04/02/2025

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) proudly presents “Kinship Woven Through Ancestral Lands,” the 2024–2025 IAIA BFA Exhibition, now on view. This exhibition showcases the talent and vision of emerging Indigenous artists from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Bachelor of Fine Arts programs.

Featuring diverse media and themes, the exhibition celebrates contemporary Native art while exploring cultural identity, resilience, and creative expression. “MoCNA’s BFA exhibition provides a platform for new voices in Indigenous art to be seen and heard,” says MoCNA’s Curatorial Assistant Stephanie Stewart (Navajo and Kiowa).

Join us at the museum on Friday, April 18, from 1:00–2:30 pm for the 2024–2025 IAIA BFA Exhibition: Kinship Woven Through Ancestral Lands—Panel Discussion and on Friday, May 16, from 5:00–7:00 pm for the closing reception.

The exhibition features works by graduating seniors Nelson Albuquerque, Rylin Becenti (Diné), Montana James Miller (Diné), Savannah Morales (Tachi Yokut), Lisa Patencio (Native Village of Ruby), Jennifer Peters, Jade S. Valdéz/Pom Ché-ka-o-né (Picuris Pueblo), and Kayla Wanatee (Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa). This event is co-curated by IAIA student curator Christine Adams (Tlingit) and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Curatorial Assistant Stephanie Stewart (Navajo and Kiowa). Installed with the help of IAIA student preparator Laney Cully (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) and MoCNA intern Macy Rose (Cherokee Nation).

For more information, visit https://iaia.edu/event/2024-2025-iaia-bfa-exhibition/

Image: Kayla Wanatee (Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa), More Sacreder Than Thou (detail), 2024, acrylic on Canvas, 30 x30 inches, photograph courtesy of the artist

Listen to IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts' (MoCNA) Director Patsy Phillips and Chief Curator Manuela Well-Off-Ma...
03/20/2025

Listen to IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts' (MoCNA) Director Patsy Phillips and Chief Curator Manuela Well-Off-Man in “Conversations Different” as they discuss contemporary Native art and what goes into putting the museum’s award-winning exhibits together. The pair talk about current exhibits including “The Stories We Carry,” which features contemporary jewelry made by more than 100 Indigenous artists. They also discuss the upcoming exhibit “Dreaming with AI” from Dr. Suzanne Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta), which features installation, performance, and video works that combine machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Indigenous knowledge.

Join us tomorrow evening for a special reception celebrating MoCNA’s latest exhibitions, “Kite and Wíhaŋble S’a Center: Dreaming with AI” and “Jordan Ann Craig: My Way Home,” from 5–7 pm on Friday, March 21, 2025.

You can find more information and listen to the episode here: https://iaia.edu/event/2025-spring-exhibitions-opening-reception/

Thank you to The Santa Fe New Mexican and Inez Russell Gomez for their support.

Address

108 Cathedral Place
Santa Fe, NM
87501

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

(505) 988-6211

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts:

Share

Our Story

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is the country’s only museum for exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting the most progressive work of contemporary Native artists. MoCNA is dedicated solely to advancing the scholarship, discourse, and interpretation of contemporary Native art for regional, national, and international audiences. As such, it stewards—9,000 Contemporary Indigenous artworks (created 1962 to present). MoCNA is at the forefront of contemporary Native art presentation and strives to be flexible, foresighted, and risk-taking in its exhibitions and programs. MoCNA is located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.