IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) — Attraction in Santa Fe

A nice art gallery/museum with very interesting art. It’s right in the center and easy to walk to.

They had three different exhibits. Four if you count the art garden.

Rick Rivet: Journeys, Mounds and the Metaphysical is an interesting art collection mixing scenes from life in the Arctic, scenes from the times when the natives were conquered and a flare of mystery surrounding the journeys by sea.

Inherent Memory was a multi-media/mixed media exhibition with bright colors, basketry and a a poem I feel in love with (see photo).

Last but not least, on the second floor was The Stories We Carry dedicated to storytelling via jewelry. Some of the pieces were just gorgeous! Mixed metals, precious stones, glass beads and furs. A joy for the eyes and engagement for the mind!

The gallery store had interesting pieces as well from books to prints! There was also a mini-exhibition of a designer who mixes the concepts of medicine and fashion in a curious way. The clothing...

The exhibits were amazing, and the pacing was just right. There weren't many others there when I was there, so was able to move at my own pace and really take my time. The biggest issue was the sound. This is possibly the loudest art museum I have ever been in. Two pieces in the first exhibit had sound scape elements and I could not hear any of it over the talking in the lobby, doors opening down the hall, etc. Further down the exhibit, there were another two pieces with sound, but they were so close to each other, they overlapped and it became discombobulated. A real shame because I think the visual elements of all of these were outstanding and I'm sure the sounds would have only enhanced the experience...overall, will definitely be back, but hope some sound...

When we went it had an exhibit of Jean LaMarr who is a Native activist. They had several large paintings, and some mixed media items. The paintings had really bold colors that harmonized in places and argued in others. I liked the layering. They also had a couple of small etchings that I kept coming back to. Bold black shapes with very fine, dense lines in a pattern behind them. Lots to see if you just kept looking. I'd love to own one of those. Also had another gallery with jewelry, textiles, sculpture and other items, many from artists in residence. Very nice collection there. It's not huge, but you could easily spend an hour or two if you like that...