News from MIAC/Lab

APRIL 16, 2025

Santa Fe, NM – The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture is proud to announce Makowa: The Worlds Above Us, an immersive exhibition exploring Indigenous relationships with the sky, on view from June 2, 2025, through September 2026. 

“This exhibition is about observation and connection,” said Marlon Magdalena (Jemez Pueblo), co-curator. “It’s a chance to see the sky through Indigenous eyes and recognize how our stories and sciences speak to one another.” 

From radio astronomy to solstice calendars, Indigenous peoples have long looked to the sky for timing, meaning, and beauty. Makowa: The Worlds Above Us invites visitors to explore the sky through multiple lenses, blending scientific discovery with cultural storytelling.  

 The exhibition takes an expansive view of the sky, encompassing constellations, birds, eclipses, clouds, astronauts, and more. By juxtaposing artistic renderings of celestial events with cutting-edge telescopic imaging, Makowa connects the ancient and the modern. 

"For Indigenous peoples of the Southwest, observing the sky brings joy, information, and a sense of connection," said Elisabeth Stone, co-curator of the exhibition. "This exhibition invites everyone to participate in a long lineage of observers who have made sense of the worlds above us." 

Throughout the exhibit, visitors are asked to look closely and to think about how deep observation shapes the knowledge held by religious practitioners, scientists, farmers, artists, and community members.  

Night photography, pottery, textiles, interviews, and hands-on activities are among the exhibit components. A small planetarium experience will allow visitors to immerse themselves in a changing sky during programs. Interviews will highlight a range of Indigenous astrophysicists, skywatchers, and artists.   

Throughout the exhibition, we ask the questions: What do you see? What are the stories? What are the sciences? Through these lenses, traditional ecological knowledge, storytelling, art, physics, and meaning come into conversation. Join us to find your own answers in the worlds above us.  

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.