January 15–December 18, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM
Live music provided by DJ Béeso (Kino Benally) and baked goods by Sweet N Cakey!
The Center of Southwest Studies (Center) at Fort Lewis College (FLC) is pleased to present Constellations of Place, a major exhibition rooted in the landscapes and layered histories of Southwest Colorado. Guest curated by scholar, writer, and independent curator, Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute, Chicana), Constellations of Place will feature a selection of over 60 textiles, pottery, beadwork, 2D works, and mixed media pieces from the Center’s permanent collections alongside the work of 13 invited contemporary Native American, Indigenous, and Latinx artists.
This exhibition is a collaborative project between the Center of Southwest Studies, Department of Reconciliation, and Four Corners Bridging Institute at Fort Lewis College, and the result of over a year of planning, listening sessions, and research. Constellations of Place is made possible with generous support from the Belonging Colorado initiative of The Denver Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center and is in partnership with the America 250-Colorado 150 Southwest regional “Power of Place” initiative.
Loaned works will span mediums of sculpture, tapestry, screenprint, video projection, digital collage, painting, photography, beadwork, and textiles from the artists:
About the Guest Curator
Dr. Meranda Roberts, a citizen of the Yerington Paiute Tribe of Nevada and Chicana, is a scholar, a writer, an educator, and an independent curator whose work sits at the intersection of Indigenous history, museum studies, and visual culture. Guided by Indigenous methodologies and anti-colonial pedagogy, Dr. Roberts is committed to reconnecting museum collections with descendant communities and reshaping the way institutions engage with Indigenous histories and futures.
Prior curatorial projects include serving as co-curator and guest curator for such major institutions as the Field Museum of Natural History (co-curator, Native Truths: Our Stories. Our Voices.); Idyllwild Arts’ Native American Arts Festival (guest curator, Still We Smile: Humor as Correction and Joy); the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College (guest curator Continuity: Cahuilla Basket Weavers and their Legacies); and The Church (Eternal Testament, co-curated with Shinnecock artist, Jeremy Dennis).
Dr. Roberts holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in Public History from the University of California, Riverside, and she serves on the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum.
Learn more: https://merandawriteshistory.com/
image slider caption: Kachina Song Blessings, Michael Kabotie (Lomawywesa -"Walking in Harmony"), Hopi Pueblo, Center of Southwest Studies collection 1994:04010