Exhibits | Center of Southwest Studies

Guest curated by Venancio Aragón

Reception: Thursday, May 29, 4:30 - 6:30 PM

From the Fringes: Diné Textiles that Disrupt features a selection from the Center’s collections, as well as contemporary Diné weavings from Venancio Aragón, his mother Irveta Aragón, and Aragón’s students from Diné College’s Navajo Cultural Arts Program. The exhibition highlights a range of technical and aesthetic oddities that disrupt and complicate regional typology. By showcasing historical alongside contemporary pieces, From the Fringes seeks to celebrate those techniques within the Diné textile repertoire that have been understudied and emphasize artistic innovation, experimentation, and the cultural, personal, and intergenerational significance of weaving within Diné communities—past, present, and future.

Location: Main Gallery

The Center of Southwest Studies is pleased to present A Legacy of Gifts: 60 Years of the Center of Southwest Studies, an exhibition highlighting over 60 cultural and historical objects, artwork, and ephemera that have been donated to the museum, archives, and research library over the past six decades (1964-2014). This special anniversary exhibition marks an important milestone for the organization, highlighting the enduring relationship between the Center and regional partners that have supported its growth as a steward of collections related to the many histories, communities, and environments of the greater Southwest.

Location: Robert Delaney Southwest Research Library and Archives

Reception: Thursday, April 24 at 12:00 - 2:00 PM

The Center of Southwest Studies is excited to present two unique student-curated installations featuring work from the museum collections. These exhibitions, on display in the Robert Delaney Southwest Research Library and Archives, are final projects developed in conjunction with the Department of Art & Design's Gallery Management course. 

Curated by Malorie King (Mescalero Apache/Diné)

Location: CSWS Foyer

Center of Southwest Studies Fellow and recent Fort Lewis College graduate Malorie King (Mescalero Apache/Diné) has curated a selection of artwork from the Center’s Museum collections as a culmination of a year of research and inquiry into creative expression of traditional knowledge sharing and intertribal values.

Location: CSWS Stairwell

In May 2023, curatorial fellow Elise Boulanger (Osage Nation) co-taught a Maymester EXCEL course with internationally renowned artist Nanibah Chacon (Diné, Chicana) at the Center of Southwest Studies. Students participating in this Maymester course designed and painted a mural informed by research conducted in the Center’s museum collections and conversations about cultural celebration and belonging, thoughtful representations of non-dominant cultural values and worldviews, and connection to land. The mural, which embraces Traditional Cultural Knowledge, references a Navajo sampler-style textile and incorporates historical and contemporary weavings from the Center of Southwest Studies’ Durango Collection® of Southwest textiles, sash belts from the collaborating artists’ communities, and other Center collections items.