The Andrew W. Mellon Fellows and the Making of All at Once
In 2017, the Heard Museum received a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a curatorial fellowship program centered on Navajo textiles. This grant was renewed in 2020, allowing the Heard Museum to continue and expand the fellowship for four more years. This year, the museum brought on two new Andrew W. Mellon fellows, César Bernal (Chicanx) and Roshii Montano (Diné), and the museum welcomed back Ninabah Winton (Diné) for her third year.
The Mellon Fellows began the 2021-2022 fellowship term in October and dove immediately into work on the Heard’s original exhibition All at Once: The Gift of Navajo Weaving. They serve as co-curators alongside Dr. Ann Marshall, the Heard’s director of curation and research, and Velma Kee Craig (Diné), assistant curator at the Heard. The Fellows have been involved in all phases of the exhibition: concept development, object selection, textile preparation, research, label writing and installation. They have even taken on the added responsibility of documenting the process of exhibit development through the production of a series of short videos for the museum’s Las Guias docents, membership and visitors, which can be accessed on the Heard Museum website and at the
Heard@Home app.
++++++++++++++++
Student Art Programs Thrive at the Heard
The Heard Museum Guild’s Student Art programs continue to meet the challenges of life in this new age. Watch for increased programming featuring virtual art-making workshops for educators and students, with opportunities to purchase new artwork. In addition, the Guild continues to sell notecards and new products including a sunscreen, notecard cube and phone bag, all featuring the unique images created by American Indian student artists.
Purchases provide support for the Heard Museum Internship Program as well as resources for educators whose grade 7 through grade 12 classroom populations include American Indian students. To purchase new Student Art products and notecards go to, heardguild.org/studentart.
++++++++++++++++
Announcing the Indian Arts & Crafts Association Commemorative Award
The Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market announces the first annual Indian Arts & Crafts Association (IACA) Commemorative Award. After 40-plus years, the IACA has been dissolved, and the Board of Directors gifted the Heard Museum Guild the balance of cash funds to provide an annual award of $1,500 for at least 10 years.
The IACA’s mission was to promote, preserve and protect authentic American Indian art. In pursuing its mission, the Indian Arts and Crafts Association (IACA) has had three main facets: defining, authenticating and educating consumers and others about American Indian art; Native identity and deciding what criteria defines who is an Indian and how it is determined; and cultural appropriation, including fraudulent American Indian art. The purpose of this award is to continue the work of the IACA and to honor those artists who seek to carry on its mission. The recipient should be the artist or artists who have created an artwork which best exemplifies its three main facets.
++++++++++++++++
Moontee Sinquah (Hopi/Tewa/Choctaw), 2020 Senior World Champion.
Heard Museum’s Annual Hoop Dance Contest Goes Virtual
The Heard Museum Virtual Hoop Dance Contest will be presented as a prerecorded online event Saturday, February 13. Anyone who watches online will experience a celebration of artistry, sheer athleticism and cultural traditions as the dancers compete for $11,000 in prize money.
“Considering the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having around the world, most especially the devastating toll it is taking on many American Indian and First Nations communities, we felt it was important to transition our Hoop Dance Contest to a virtual platform for 2021,” says Dan Hagerty, director of strategic programming at the Heard Museum. “In partnership with our strategic advisors, we are excited to invite competitors from around the U.S. and Canada to participate this year in a safe manner. We look forward to welcoming the hoop community and spectators back to the Heard Museum’s campus in 2022.”
Dennis Bowen Sr. (Seneca), Steve LaRance (Hopi/Assiniboine), Sue Pappas, Moontee Sinquah (Hopi/Tewa/Choctaw) and Ginger Sykes Torres (Diné) have joined the Virtual Hoop Dance team as advisors. The virtual program will be produced by Native American filmmaker Eric Hernandez (Lumbee), who is known for his viral videos on his YouTube channel cirqueLIFE, has competed in the Hoop Dance six times and most recently was on tour as the lead Hoop Dancer with Cirque du Soleil’s TOTEM.
To view the show and for updates, visit heard.org/event/hoop or the museum’s social media pages.
++++++++++++++++
Mary Lee Madison, Jim Szabo and Shelley Mowry at the Las Guias table at the 2020 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market
About the Guild
In 1956, 30 women formed an Auxiliary to the Heard Museum with the goals of supporting the mission of the Museum, providing financial assistance, and conducting guided tours of the Museum’s collection. Founding president Helen Shackelford said, “Much needed doing, and we did it.” In 1958, volunteers opened a Gift Shop “pledging to sell only the good, the authentic.” In 1959, the first Indian Fair was held and in 1968 the Heard Guild Arts & Crafts Exhibit was created as a juried competition. These two events were the basis of the current Indian Fair & Market, the Guild’s main fundraising event and the largest annual public event held at the Heard. Men, including Sen. Barry Goldwater, joined in 1972. Over the years, programs including Speakers Bureau, Information Desk, Student Art Sale, Library Book Sale, Scholarships and Grants, Trips, Lecture Series, and more were conceived, planned and implemented by the talented Guild volunteers.
Today the Guild supports the mission and goals of the Heard Museum through volunteerism in education, support of American Indian artists and their communities, enhancement of the visitor experience, public outreach and fundraising. Coming from diverse work, education, cultural and geographical backgrounds, members are passionate about the Heard and dedicated to lifelong learning about the arts, heritage and life ways of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Collectively, our 450 Guild members have contributed well over
1 million volunteer hours. Additionally, our fundraising efforts provide $130,000 to $150,000 annually to support Museum operations and activities. After more than 60 years, the Guild continues its original goals of supporting the mission and programs of Heard Museum.
Powered by Froala Editor
