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IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA)

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is the country’s only museum for exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting the most progressive work of contemporary Native artists. MoCNA is dedicated solely to advancing the scholarship, discourse, and interpretation of contemporary Native art for regional, national, and international audiences—as such, it stewards over 9,500 Contemporary Indigenous artworks (created 1962 to present). MoCNA is at the forefront of contemporary Native art presentation and strives to be flexible, foresighted, and risk-taking in its exhibitions and programs. MoCNA is located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Latest News

The most recent news, press releases, and updates from the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA).

Exhibitions

Upcoming, current, and past exhibitions at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). View current and past Exhibitions.

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.

Our Stories

Mon, January 1, 2024Mon, September 29, 2025

Our Stories is a companion to The Stories We Carry exhibition, located adjacent to the Kieve Family Gallery.

Inuk Silis Høegh: Arctic Vertigo

Fri, February 2Sun, July 14

Inuk Silis Høegh: Arctic Vertigo analyzes the Inuit artist’s experimental and interdisciplinary art practices, while challenging stereotypes and addressing environmental issues.

Happenings

View happenings from the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). View current and past Happenings.

List of Events

2023–2024 IAIA BFA Exhibition: Indigenous Presence, Indigenous Futures—Reception

Fri, May 10, 5:00 pm7:00 pm

Join MoCNA for a reception on May 10 from 5–7 pm, for the 2023–2024 IAIA BFA Exhibition: Indigenous Presence, Indigenous Futures.

About

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is the country’s only museum for exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting the most progressive work of contemporary Native artists. MoCNA is dedicated solely to advancing the scholarship, discourse, and interpretation of contemporary Native art for regional, national, and international audiences—as such, it stewards over 9,500 Contemporary Indigenous artworks (created 1962 to present). MoCNA is at the forefront of contemporary Native art presentation and strives to be flexible, foresighted, and risk-taking in its exhibitions and programs. MoCNA is located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Vision

To position the MoCNA as the founding institution and the premiere destination to experience contemporary Native arts. MoCNA is the country’s leading museum for exhibiting, collecting and interpreting the most progressive work of contemporary Native artists for local, national and international audiences. MoCNA is a venue for exhibitions of artists who merit, local, national and international recognition. The Museum belongs at the forefront of contemporary Native art presentation and strives to be flexible, foresighted and risk-taking in its exhibitions and programs.

Mission

MoCNA’s mission is to advance contemporary Native art through exhibitions, collections, public programs, and scholarship.

History

The Institute of American Indian Arts’ (IAIA) art collection grew out of a student honors program. With the help of donations from outside artists and private collectors, the collection provided a catalyst for the formation of a museum in 1972. Until IAIA acquired the Federal Building in Santa Fe in January 1990, however, exhibits were confined to borrowed quarters at the Santa Fe Indian School campus, and most holdings remained in storage.

Turning the Federal Building into a major American Indian art museum meant rescuing it from years of neglect and stylistic atrophy. Architects restored the exterior of the 1922 Pueblo Revival-style building and completely remodeled its interiors. Beyond the intimate transitional galleries and classrooms for museum studies, a series of galleries that housed the Institute’s remarkable National Collection of Contemporary Native Art were also built into the space.

In 1992, IAIA relocated its museum to downtown Santa Fe. The space underwent an extensive renovation in 2004 and reopened in mid-2005 as a newly dynamic setting for exhibitions, educational programs and cross-cultural dialogue.

For years the museum had only 4,000 square feet of exhibition space on the ground floor, as its second floor was devoted to staff offices and collection storage. In 2010, that situation was remedied when the permanent collection moved to a new facility on the IAIA campus (12 miles south of its current location) freeing up an additional 3,600 square feet for programming.

The new collection storage facility, which occupies 7,000 square feet of the new science and technology building on IAIA’s campus, will promote best practices in collections care and adjoin conservation labs where IAIA museum studies students, faculty and visiting scholars may receive hands-on experience working with professional staff and instructors to care for the collection.