Community-Curated Acoma Pottery Exhibition Opens at Museum of International Folk Art

SANTA FE — A new exhibition celebrating generations of Acoma Pueblo pottery artists opens this week at the Museum of International Folk Art, highlighting the enduring tradition of figurative pottery through the work of the community that created it.

“I Am Clay: Acoma Life in Figures” brings together approximately 120 works of figurative pottery created by Acoma artists, with a particular focus on the women who have shaped and sustained the tradition across generations. The community-curated exhibition traces the evolution of figurative pottery from its ancestral Puebloan roots through the emergence of tourism and the growing market for Pueblo pottery during the early 20th century, presenting clay as both an artistic medium and a reflection of culture, memory and lived experience.

Anita Lowden (Acoma Pueblo), Lamb, ca. 1960, handbuilt Acoma clay with mineral paints. Museum of International Folk Art, gift of the Girard Foundation Collection, A.1980.2.926. Photo by Addison Doty

The exhibition opened to the public Sunday, June 7, with a community celebration from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the Museum of International Folk Art. Admission is free for New Mexico residents.

A panel discussion featured guest curator Brian Vallo, Acoma potters Prudy Correa, Claudia Mitchell, Marilyn Ray and Maria “Lilly” Salvador, along with Museum of International Folk Art curator Laura Addison. Organizers say the conversation will provide visitors with firsthand perspectives on the tradition of Acoma figurative pottery and the significance of presenting the work within a museum setting through a community-curated approach.

Marilyn Ray (Acoma Pueblo), Storyteller, ca. 1980-1988, handbuilt Acoma clay with mineral paints. Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, bequest of Sarah Crane, 58158/12. Photo by Addison Doty

The exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to explore one of New Mexico’s enduring artistic traditions while hearing directly from the artists and cultural leaders whose work continues to preserve and expand that legacy.

(Left) Lucy M. Lewis (Acoma Pueblo), Snakes, ca. 1960s, hand-built Acoma clay with mineral paints. Museum of International Folk Art, gift of the Girard Foundation Collection, A.1988.18.234x; (Right) Rebecca Lucario (Acoma Pueblo), Canteen, 1982, hand-built Acoma clay with mineral paints. Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, gift of Sanford M. and Diane P. Besser, 54734/12. Photos by Addison Doty

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