10/13/2026
This Indigenous People’s Day, Museum of Glass is excited to announce that “Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass” will be on view in our renovated galleries beginning February 6, 2027.
This first-of-its-kind, groundbreaking exhibition gives broader and overdue recognition to a wide range of contemporary Native American and indigenous artists working in glass. “Clearly Indigenous" features over 115 glass art objects created by over 30 indigenous artists and Dale Chihuly, who established the first glass program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM.
One of these artists is legendary Inupiaq carver, artist, and educator Larry Ahavakana, whose piece “Scorpion”, can be seen here. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, IAIA, and Cooper Union School of Art in New York, Ahvakana taught glassblowing at IAIA from 1977–80 and was an Artist in Residence at Pilchuck Glass School in 1985.
Ahvakana is best known for his Inuit or Inupiaq figures and animals, which are represented by “Scorpion” in “Clearly Indigenous”. The images with their pristine, clean-lined form and an almost reverent presence capture the spirit of the Inuit.
“The dances and songs of the Inupiaq tradition is the oral history of my people. It is the emotional interpretation of our respect and involvement within the environment of the North Slope of Alaska,” Ahvakana shares. “Within my designs, I incorporate the sense of my cultural design, but the interpretation is very personal and the conceptual format, I hope, will give the viewer an idea of the Inupiaq tradition."
Credits:
Larry Ahvakana. “Scorpion”, 1978. Blown glass, ivory, metal, 5 x 8 x 3 in. Image courtesy of Tony Jojola. Photograph by Kitty Leaken. © Larry Ahvakana.
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass was originated by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico, where it was curated by Dr. Letitia Chambers and Cathy Short (Potawatomi). The traveling exhibit was curated by Dr. Chambers and is toured by International Arts & Artists ().
