MIAC Announces New Opening Date for the Exhibition “A Place in Clay”

April 5th, 2021

The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (MIAC) is pleased to announce the opening of “A Place in Clay.” Available for viewing from May 16, 2021, to March 6, 2022, this new exhibition will feature the artwork of Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo), the museum’s 2020-2021 Native Treasures Living Treasure.

“A Place in Clay” moves seamlessly between clay sculptures and acrylic paintings, in which Wall engages with and explores her high desert surroundings. Finding inspiration from both her family’s artistic practices and the environment of Jemez Pueblo, Wall asks questions surrounding food sovereignty, language, and connection to place.

"I have always considered Pueblo pottery to be an essential ingredient in my life," said Wall. "Over the last 30 years, I have begun my creative process with the same actions as my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother before her. I dig clay and volcanic ash in the same places that my mother showed me as a young girl. I have created most of my clay figures using traditionally processed clay from here in Jemez Pueblo, where I began."

Curated by Lillia McEnaney, “A Place in Clay” includes several pieces created specifically for the exhibition, providing visitors a new look into Wall’s ever-evolving artistic practice.

“A Place in Clay” was originally scheduled to open at MIAC in April 2020. Wall’s Living Treasure award has been extended through 2021 due to the pandemic.

About the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and our donors. The mission of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology is to serve as a center of stewardship, knowledge, and understanding of the artistic, cultural, and intellectual achievements of the diverse peoples of the Native Southwest.    

###