Creative Collaborations: New Balzer Gallery Celebrates Indigenous Diversity and Innovation

The August opening of the new JoAnn and Bob Balzer Native Market and Contemporary Art Gallery at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture was a highlight of this year’s Indian Market week in Santa Fe. It was a fitting marriage of events, as few know Indian Market as well as the Balzers. In addition to being longtime supporters of the museum, the couple says they “have attended Santa Fe Indian Market for more than 50 years straight, and we always gravitate toward collecting contemporary art.”

A major $500,000 gift from the Balzers via the Museum of New Mexico Foundation spurred the creation of the much-anticipated new gallery. The couple explained their motivation behind the gift, saying, “We wanted to cultivate a deeper appreciation for contemporary Native American art and established this dedicated gallery for showcasing the remarkable diversity and innovation found at the Santa Fe Indian Market and other Indigenous markets.”

The inaugural exhibition, now on view, underscores that desire. Driving the Market: Award-Winning Native Contemporary Art celebrates the artists who are central to Indigenous markets. From pottery and textiles to cutting edge digital art, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at a vibrant range of creativity, with half of the works coming from the museum’s collection and the other half on loan. A video installation highlights artist and stakeholder perspectives on the role that markets play in supporting contemporary Native art.

“At the markets, there’s a cross-pollination of ideas and techniques between hundreds of artists, inspiring experimentation and new creative
directions,” says Danyelle Means, the museum’s interim executive director. Means co-curated Driving the Market with the museum’s head of curatorial affairs, Elisa Phelps, who adds that today’s contemporary artists “incorporate elements from their culture into contemporary mediums. This fusion extends to subjects like social justice, environmental concerns and Indigenous identity.”

Driving the Market demonstrates how contemporary Native artists are defining themselves on their own terms, using their art to challenge
stereotypes and reclaim Indigenous narratives. A powerful example is photographer Cara Romero (Chemehuevi Indian Tribe), whose work is in the show. "I want to be seen as a contemporary artist who happens to be Native American," Romero says. UNUM Magazine, a publication focused on celebrating women of diverse backgrounds, says: “Her fine art photography shows us the truth of how things are right now.”

Means has also observed a trend toward increased collaboration among artists. One work on view is a 1974 Triumph TR6 automobile transformed into a stunning collaborative artwork by 10 Native artists. They include Jeanette Ferrara (Isleta), Dan Namingha (Hopi), Marcus
Amerman (Choctaw), Teri Greeves (Kiowa), Upton Ethelbah Jr. (Santa Clara/White Mountain Apache), Jamie Okuma (Luisen/Shoshone/Bannock), Laura Fragua-Cota (Jemez), Wayne Nez Gaussoin (Picuris/Navajo), David Gaussoin (Picuris/Navajo) and Connie Gaussoin (Picuris/Navajo). The car was donated to the museum in 2013.

In addition to the Balzer’s foundational gift for the gallery, the Friends of MIAC Exhibition Endowment Fund established by Uschi and Bill Butler ensures long-term support for gallery exhibitions. The Butlers will contribute $25,000 a year to the museum over the next decade. Every year, $15,000 of that will go into the endowment fund. The remaining $10,000 will directly support exhibitions in the new Balzer gallery.

An honorary trustee of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, Bill Butler knows well the vital need for private support of museum exhibitions, which are not funded by the State of New Mexico. “The genesis of this gift was principally to support the Balzers. They’re making that contemporary exhibition space a reality,” he says. “We wanted to enhance what the Balzers were doing by supporting exhibitions in this new space.”

“The JoAnn and Bob Balzer Native Market and Contemporary Art Gallery is a symbol of the important partnerships museums forge with collectors, like the Balzers and Butlers,” says Means. “We are indebted to them and their particular interest in collecting and exhibiting the art of Native people and we look forward to continuing these relations.”

This article and images are from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s Member News Magazine.