VIP opening reception and auction art preview at MoCNA for the Scholarships Shape Futures—2024 IAIA Benefit & Auction.

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) held its annual VIP opening reception and auction art preview for the Scholarships Shape Futures—2024 IAIA Benefit & Auction, on Wednesday, July 24, at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA).

The exclusive wine-and-cheese reception was attended by event sponsors and supporters, members of the IAIA President’s Circle, contributing artists, and other guests.

As IAIA’s premier fundraiser, the Scholarships Shape Futures—2024 IAIA Benefit & Auction supports student scholarships and IAIA’s mission “to empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning, and community engagement.”

Online bidding is currently underway for more than 60 items. The items, donated by galleries, artists, collectors, businesses, organizations, and individuals, include jewelry, pottery, sculpture, textiles, glass, literature, and other two- and three-dimensional art by well-known Indigenous artists, including many IAIA alums.

Auction items can be viewed at MoCNA at 108 Cathedral Pl, Santa Fe, NM 87501, through Monday, August 12, or online, and participants can register for online bidding. Online bidding ends at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, August 14, just prior to the start of the Scholarships Shape Futures—2024 IAIA Benefit & Auction. The live auction and gala will be held at La Fonda on the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe.

Indigenous artists represented in the live and online auctions include, among others, Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent), Harrison Begay (Navajo), Russell Sanchez (San Ildefonso Pueblo), Linda Tafoya-Sanchez (Santa Clara Pueblo), Teri Greeves (Kiowa) ’96, Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo) ’89, and Pat Pruitt (Pueblo of Laguna and Chiricahua Apache) IAIA Artist-in-Residence (A-i-R) ’22.

The live auction includes a piece by world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly, a former IAIA faculty member, donated Periwinkle Persian, a 2019 creation from his Studio Editions series. Chihuly was instrumental in founding IAIA’s first glass program in the 1970s, and in 2023, he and his wife created a four-year, full-ride scholarship for IAIA students through the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation.

IAIA supporters also may bid in the live auction on work by Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo) ’14. Wall, acclaimed for her ceramic storytellers, was declared a “Living Treasure” by Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in 2020. She earned her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees at IAIA and is currently enrolled in IAIA’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts (MFASA).

At the opening reception, Wall spoke about her experiences at IAIA and why she gives back to her alma mater. “My very first time stepping foot on the campus, I was 19-years-old, straight out of high school, and it was probably the most amazing time of my life,” she said.

Wall said there was a time when she didn’t believe higher education was “financially feasible” for her, which is why she donates to IAIA—to make sure other Indigenous children know that it’s an option for their future.

“I feel as though it can be, and I want to do everything I can in my power to make sure that these [students] have scholarships available to them.”

Shane Hendren (Navajo) ’91, an award-winning metalsmith and a MFASA graduate, agreed, crediting his successful, 30-plus-year art career to his IAIA experience. He encouraged IAIA supporters to invest in “hopes and dreams that will change the future of our universe, because every artist that comes out of this institution is a ripple effect that affects the entire world.”

He added that IAIA students and alums put “their heart, their soul” into work that reflects “eons of tradition before them—ultimately, what we’re doing is we’re manifesting the realities of the prayers of our ancestors.”

For questions about the auction or make a donation to IAIA, contact Associate Director of Advancement Ann Ezell at (505) 428-5931 or ann.ezell@iaia.edu.