Thunderbird Rising: A group exhibition, curated by George Alexander

ARTIST RECEPTION FRIDAY, July 31, 2026 | 5-7 PM | EXHIBITION IS ON VIEW THROUGH SATURDAY, August 22, 2026
AT HSFF’S EL ZAGUÁN, 545 CANYON ROAD, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

Historic Santa Fe Foundation presents Thunderbird Rising, a group exhibition of artists from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) co-curated by artist George Alexander. The exhibition will be on view at the Gallery at El Zaguán on Canyon Road, July 31 through August 22, 2026.

The selected works ground contemporary concepts in a range of physical materials, creative processes, and artistic disciplines. The collection spans traditional and modern mediums, balancing painting, drawing, textiles and illustration alongside sculpture and installation.

Through these diverse forms, the makers look closely at complex modern realities, cultural identities, memories and ancestral knowledge. The conceptual depth of the exhibition focuses on storytelling, cultural memory, and varying approaches to intergenerational connection and healing. Other works confront modern challenges—such as global light pollution and the consequences of colonialism—while others honor contemporary design and tradition, spirituality, and philosophy. A full description of each project can be found in the artist section below.

Join us for the opening reception on Friday, July 31, from 5-7 pm.

In celebration of the exhibition, HSFF will host our 2nd Annual Garden To Table Dinner on Thursday, August 6. This ticketed fundraising dinner benefits the Historic Santa Fe Foundation and honors the featured artists. Guests will enjoy a private tour of the exhibition led by co-curated artist George Alexander. Read more here.

Contact: Anne Kelly at anne@historicsantafe.org or call 505.983.2567 for more information.

2026 IAIA MFA in Studio Arts Thesis Exhibition Be Held 
Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505 

May 15–June 7, 2026 

Opening reception on May 15, 5–9 pm 

SANTA FE, NM—April 15, 2026—The Institute of American Indian Arts announces Be Held, a new exhibition featuring work by ten artists from its Studio Arts graduate program. The 2026 IAIA MFA in Studio Arts exhibition will take place at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, where the work will be on view from May 15 through June 7. Be Held is curated by Taylor Rose Payer (Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe), an adjunct professor of art history in the MFA program. The opening reception is on May 15, 5–9 pm.  

The exhibition features a breadth of media includingpainting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, and textiles. Artists include Matthew Bahe (Diné), Amanda Raquel Dorval (Nuyorican-Dominican), Ash Frantz(Makah), Chanelle Gallagher (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), Victoria Hubbard (Mescalero Apache), SayoklaKindness-Williams (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), Viola LeBeau (Pit River), Jimmy Lízarde Ramírez (Xicanx Two Spirit), Cedar Rose Silverado (Dene and Diné), and Ryle Yazzie (Diné). 

The artists present works developed over the past two years, created at the intersections of the ancestral, the global, and the personal. The projects engage with the title Be Held through the form of containers, archives, bodies, and that which may hold, both as useful objects and powerful metaphors. This exhibition attends to the roots and routes of these vessels through place-based materiality and their movements across constellations of culture, power, and kinship. They carry across time and space the interplay of memory, belonging, and presence. Be Held refuses individual spectacle and invites collective interdependence. “We are shaped through connection, and our shared future depends on the ways we hold one another.” 

Artists in this exhibition are candidates in the low-residency MFA in Studio Arts Class of 2026 at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Be Held presents work shaped by two years of intensive, practice-based inquiry guided by artist mentors and grounded in art historical study. Each artist enters with a lifetime of experience and brings that depth into their work while expanding and challenging their practices. 

For more information, please contact mfasa@iaia.edu 

I am excited and honored to be a participating artist in Disturbance: The Art & Ecology of Change, a public art and science initiative exploring wildfire, forest health, and ecological transformation through collaboration between artists, scientists, and land stewards.

Developed by Del Fuego and The Paseo Project in Taos, New Mexico, the project brings together creative and scientific perspectives to explore how disturbance—particularly wildfire—shapes landscapes, ecosystems, and communities across the Southwest.

Through exhibitions, field-based learning, public talks, and workshops, Disturbance invites audiences to engage with the changing ecology of the region while fostering dialogue between art, science, and community knowledge.

Disturbance unfolds through several connected phases of programming.

Disturbance Bootcamp:  April 2026
A collaborative field-based program bringing artists and scientists together to explore wildfire ecology, forest management, and environmental change across Northern New Mexico.

Exhibition: August 28, 2026 – January 2027
A multi-month public exhibition presenting new a new works 

Public Programs: August 28, 2026 – January 2027
Talks, workshops, and field experiences designed to engage audiences with ecological research and artistic interpretation.