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School for Advanced Research

Name: School for Advanced Research
Address: 660 Garcia Street, Santa Fe, NM, 87505, US
Telephone: +15059547200

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School for Advanced Research

The School for Advanced Research has supported innovative social science and Native American artisti

The School for Advanced Research has supported innovative social science and Native American artistic creativity for more than a century. Since we began offering fellowships in 1972, we have funded the work of more than 345 SAR scholars and artists, among whose ranks are six MacArthur Fellows and eighteen Guggenheim Fellows. Please join us in Santa Fe for insightful lectures or a tour of the Schoo

l's historic campus. You can also follow the work of our resident scholars and Native American artists on our website at www.sarweb.org.

09/01/2026

On September 15, SAR welcomes anthropologist Ashanté M. Reese for a virtual conversation about her book, Gather: Black Food, Nourishment, and the Art of Togetherness.

Reese looks at gardens, family reunions, repasts, and protests to explore the ways Black communities have long used food and gathering to create connection, care, and change. Joining her in conversation are Danilyn Rutherford and Anand Pandian.

Together, they’ll consider food justice not only as a question of access, but as an opportunity to recognize the abundance, knowledge, and community power already around us.

Join us online at 11 AM on September 15! For more details and to register to attend: https://pulse.ly/9cmpqh5w9p

08/27/2026

STAFF PICKS | Katherine Barry

For this SAR Staff Pick, Katherine Barry, Registrar at the Indian Arts Research Center, chose Little Turtle's Journey by Oneida artist Dawn Dark Mountain, SAR's 2015 Dobkin Native Artist Fellow.

Created as a cylindrical watercolor on paper, the piece illustrates scenes from the Haudenosaunee creation story of Little Turtle. As viewers move around the work, the story gradually unfolds, inviting them to experience it from multiple perspectives.

For Katherine, Dawn's work also holds a personal memory.

"Dawn was our artist fellow at SAR while I was an Anne Ray Intern here. It was always amazing to watch her folding the paper for her watercolors in the studio."

It's a reminder that the Indian Arts Research Center's collections don't just steward remarkable works of art. They also steward the relationships, creativity, and moments of connection that happen during an artist's/intern's/staff's/ or scholar's time at SAR.

Explore the Indian Arts Research Center and its collections: https://pulse.ly/f2hgrxifrq

08/26/2026

RECAP | Summer Course: Environmental History of New Mexico

In July, participants joined historian C. J. Alvarez for four days of exploration into the dynamic relationship between people and the landscapes of New Mexico.

Together, the group examined how the state's rivers, forests, deserts, and mountains have shaped human history, while also considering how generations of people have transformed the environment in return. Through lectures, discussion, and a half-day field excursion, participants learned all about environmental history from multiple perspectives and wrestled with questions about conservation and land use.

Thank you to C. J. Alvarez for leading an engaging and thought-provoking course, and to everyone who joined us for a week of learning, discussion, and discovery.

Become a member to gain access to courses like this one and to be the first to know when we launch new ones: https://pulse.ly/ymydba56xt

08/25/2026

TABLE Magazine Feature | Michael Namingha

For artist Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh/Hopi), inspiration didn't come from looking somewhere new. It came from looking more closely at where he came from.

As a former SAR Native Artist fellow, Namingha returned to the Indian Arts Research Center to reflect on pottery created by his great-great-great-grandmother, Nampeyo. During his fellowship, he spent months studying generations of family designs, tracing how each artist interpreted inherited forms while leaving their own creative mark.

What he discovered surprised him.

"I realized there's a direct correlation between those shapes and my shapes," he says. "It's this motion of discovery when you're allowed to spend time with where you're rooted, that you find answers that you didn't realize were there."

Today, Namingha's conceptual photography explores landscape, climate change, and Indigenous relationships to place, blending contemporary materials with artistic traditions that span generations. Rather than seeing tradition and innovation as opposites, he views them as part of the same creative lineage, with each generation building on what came before while finding new ways to tell their own stories.

For artists, researchers, and visitors alike, the collections at the Indian Arts Research Center are more than works of art. They are opportunities to find connection and inspiration in ways that continue to shape creative practices today.

Explore the full Table Magazine article here: https://pulse.ly/a0p44nkqxn

08/21/2026

FEATURED | In Context with School for Advanced Research

You probably don't think much about the electrical grid—until the lights go out.

The vast network that powers our homes, hospitals, schools, and communities is one of the most complex systems ever built, yet it remains largely invisible in our daily lives.

In this episode of In Context, host Paul Ryer sits down with anthropologist Gretchen Bakke, author of The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future, to explore the surprising cultural, political, and ethical questions embedded within the infrastructure we often take for granted.

Whether you're interested in infrastructure, public policy, environmental challenges, or simply the hidden systems that shape everyday life, this conversation offers a thought-provoking look at one of the most consequential (and least visible) technologies of the modern world.

Read more about the conversation and then listen to the full interview anywhere you get your podcasts.

Read the blog: https://pulse.ly/nkk8yfkwqv

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://pulse.ly/rko2j08jzl

08/20/2026

Revisiting Karen Ann Hoffman’s Native Artist Talk!

In May 2026, Eric and Barbara Dobkin Native Artist Fellow Karen Ann Hoffman gave an incredible artist talk to guests both in person and to those tuning in for the livestream.

Drawing from her experiences as an artist, educator, and cultural practitioner, Karen Ann shared insights into her creative process, the stories that inform her work, and the importance of maintaining connections between artistic practice, community, and cultural knowledge.

Guests had the opportunity to learn directly from Karen Ann as she reflected on her time in residence at SAR, the influences that have shaped her work, and the ways contemporary Native artists continue to engage with tradition while forging new paths forward.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special evening, and to Karen Ann Hoffman for sharing her work and perspective with our community.

Did you know most of our artist talks are livestreamed? Sign up for our weekly email newsletter (SAR Connects) through the link in our bio and be the first to know about upcoming talks.

Explore the full talk online at: https://pulse.ly/jfseqkhfae

08/19/2026

RECAP | Summer Scholar Talk: Off Res: Fonseca's Coyote as Trickster in Transit

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Summer Scholar Talk with Amy Scott, Executive Vice President of Research and Interpretation and the Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Visual Arts at The Autry.

Drawing on the work of artist Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, Portuguese), Scott explored how Fonseca's iconic Coyote figure challenged conventional expectations of Indigenous art. Through humor, storytelling, and contemporary imagery, Coyote became a vehicle for examining identity, culture, stereotypes, and social change while moving fluidly between Indigenous and Western artistic traditions.

The afternoon sparked thoughtful conversation about the enduring power of Indigenous artists to reshape narratives, question assumptions, and expand our understanding of contemporary art.

Thank you to Amy Scott for sharing her expertise and to everyone who participated, both in person and online.

Learn more about upcoming SAR events: https://pulse.ly/f2enoo24m3

08/13/2026

RECAP | Music at Dusk: Lara Manzanares Trio

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a beautiful evening of music, storytelling, and community at SAR's July Music at Dusk.

Lara Manzanares, joined by Jordan Wax and Tanya Nuñez, took audiences on a musical journey through the historical back roads of Northern New Mexico. Blending traditional songs with original compositions in English and Spanish, the trio explored the rich cultural intersections that continue to shape the region's identity.

Set against the backdrop of SAR's historic campus, the evening invited guests to slow down, gather outdoors, and experience the living traditions, stories, and melodies that connect past and present.

Thank you to the Lara Manzanares Trio for an unforgettable performance, and to everyone who spent the evening with us.

Learn more about SAR programs and events: https://pulse.ly/p0x0ns7f3z

08/06/2026

5 Questions with Mary Madigan | Director of Public Programs

What makes a public program more than just an event?

As SAR's Director of Public Programs, Mary Madigan has spent years bringing together scholars, artists, and curious minds through conversations that connect history, culture, and contemporary life. We asked her to reflect on what makes SAR unique, what continues to inspire her, and why curiosity is at the heart of everything we do.

One moment that has stayed with her was a lecture by anthropologist Angela Garcia addressing addiction and family care cultures in Mexico City and New Mexico's Española area. Members of the local community, including people in recovery, social workers, and caregivers, felt comfortable sharing their own experiences during the discussion.

"It was a deeply meaningful gathering," Mary says.

She believes that's what makes SAR different. Programs don't simply present ideas. They place them in historical and cultural context, invite multiple perspectives, and create space for genuine conversation. Whether you're attending an archaeology lecture, listening to a Diné jazz performance, touring the Indian Arts Research Center collections, or joining a workshop at SAR's Humanities Festival, every experience is designed to spark curiosity and connection.

For first-time visitors, Mary's hope is simple:

"I hope that their mind is engaged, their curiosity piqued, and that they feel they've found their new community."

SWIPE to read Mary's full reflections.

08/05/2026

EMERGING VOICES | Lehuauakea

Congratulations to former SAR Native Artist Fellow Lehuauakea on the recent presentation of KILIWEHI with the Walker Youngbird Foundation at Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York.

During their 2021 fellowship at the Indian Arts Research Center, Lehuauakea explored the cultural practice of kapa, the traditional Hawaiian art of making cloth from wauke (paper mulberry). Their work reflects a deep commitment to Indigenous knowledge, ancestral relationships, and the ways cultural practices continue to evolve through contemporary art.

As Lehuauakea has shared, kapa making is more than an artistic process. It is "a way of being," connecting material, land, genealogy, and community through each stage of creation.

Congratulations, Lehuauakea!

Learn more about Lehuauakea's work as a former SAR Native Artist Fellow and read about their artistic practice:

https://pulse.ly/m1txx77caq
https://pulse.ly/nqse9f6hgb

Address

660 Garcia Street
Santa Fe, NM
87505

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15059547200

Website

http://www.sarweb.org/

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