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MoCNA Receives Reader’s Choice Award in USA Today 10Best

May 10, 2021

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is pleased to share that USA TODAY 10Best named the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) number three in the Readers’ Choice contest for “Best Art Museum” in the United States. A panel of relevant experts were selected by USA TODAY and partnered with 10Best editors—together they selected the top twenty nominees, and the top ten were determined by popular vote. We thank everyone who believes in MoCNA’s mission “to advance contemporary Native art through exhibitions, collections, public programs, and scholarship,” and took the time to cast a vote for us.

The top ten winners in the category “Best Art Museum” are as follows:

  • Booth Western Art Museum—Cartersville, Georgia
  • Heard Museum—Phoenix, Arizona
  • IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts—Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution—Washington, DC
  • Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art—Bentonville, Arkansas
  • Detroit Institute of Arts—Detroit, Michigan
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art—Cleveland, Ohio
  • Kimbell Art Museum—Fort Worth, Texas
  • The Art Institute of Chicago—Chicago, Illinois
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York—New York, New York

To learn more about the top ten “Best Art Museums,” visit USA Today 10Best.

“MoCNA is pleased to be selected as the number three ‘Best Art Museum’ in the United States by USA Today. As an agent of change and a place of discourse, MoCNA exemplifies the power of museums to bring awareness to issues facing Indigenous Peoples and to challenge misperceptions of contemporary Indigenous arts. To receive this recognition is particularly special, as we are a small dedicated staff working ceaselessly to advance contemporary Indigenous arts and cultures in all we do. Thank you to the committee and to USA Today.”
Patsy Phillips (Cherokee Nation)

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Director

Protocols to Ensure a Safe Visitor Experience

  • Please self-assess your health before visiting the museum. Are you exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, difficulty breathing, headache, body aches, sore throat, loss of taste and smell, fever, and chills)? Have you been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19? If you are exhibiting any of these symptoms or have been exposed, please do not visit the museum and reschedule for a later date. If you purchased a ticket online, we will work with you on transferring that ticket to another date or providing you with a refund.
  • Respect social distancing and ensure everyone’s safety by following all signage and directional arrows within each of our gallery spaces. Please respect our max occupancy signs for each gallery space and maintain 6 foot distance or more from other museum guests and staff.
  • Following New Mexico’s public health order and IAIA’s guiding principles, all visitors will be required to wear a face covering that covers the nose and mouth while in the museum.
  • Hand sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the museum for your convenience.
  • At the moment, no docent-led group tours or school tours will be provided.
  • Please be respectful of our staff and each other. We are here to ensure a safe space for everyone.

If you have questions, please call (505) 428-5912 or email store@iaia.edu.

Hours

Tours
(closed on Tues.)

Mon, Wed–Sat
10 am–5 pm
4:15 pm (last admittance)

Sunday
11 am–4 pm
3:15 pm (last admittance)

Current and Upcoming MoCNA Exhibitions

A listing of current and upcoming exhibitions at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA).

List of Events

The Stories We Carry

Fri, September 30, 2022Mon, September 29, 2025

The Stories We Carry features contemporary jewelry created by more than 100 Indigenous artists across decades stewarded by the MoCNA permanent collection.

The Art of Jean LaMarr

Fri, August 18, 2023Sun, January 7, 2024

The Art of Jean LaMarr features Jean LaMarr’s colorful and seductive yet hard-hitting satirical artworks challenging long-held cultural stereotypes and preconceptions about Native American people and cultures.

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts