Left: Detail from Kriah and the Hungry Ghost, 2023 by Nika Feldman, Center: Still from Grandma Said, 2022, video by Shane Hendren (Navajo), Right: Still from Simulation: Voladores, 2021, 3-D animation by Dominick Porras.

Join the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Friday, May 12, 2023, at the opening receptions for the 2023 IAIA MFA in Studio Arts Thesis Exhibition, Beyond Mastery. The receptions will be held in two locations—the Coe Center from 4–6 pm, and Container Art Gallery from 6–8 pm—and both exhibitions will run through June 30, 2023.

Beyond Mastery features work by the first graduating cohort of the new Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts (MFASA) program at IAIA. The program focuses on exploring art production from an Indigenous perspective. This unique approach explicitly aims at Indigenizing graduate arts pedagogy. One aspect of these efforts has been to undo the hierarchical structures that have been established within Western academia. While gaining “mastery” is fundamental to the process of attaining this terminal degree, this notion has also been questioned from an Indigenous perspective. The work featured in this exhibition is the result of this kind of inquiry.

Opening Reception Times and Locations:

• 4–6 pm at Coe Center, 1590 B, Pacheco St, Santa Fe, NM 87505
• 6–8 pm at Container, 1226 Flagman Way, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Participating Artists:

• Madelynn Boyiddle-Schoel (Wichita and Kiowa)
• Nika Feldman
• Angélica M. García
• Shane Hendren (Navajo)
• Susanna Mireles-Mankus
• Margarita Paz-Pedro (Mexican-American, Laguna Pueblo, and Santa Clara Pueblo)
• Dominick Porras
• Carmen Selam (Yakama and Comanche)
• Joseph Seymour, Jr. (Squaxin Island and Acama Pueblo)