Collection Info
Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery
Originating in the cradle of the Indigenous Southwest, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery is a rare exhibition curated by the Native American communities it represents. The project gives authority and voice to the Pueblo Pottery Collective, a group of over 60 individual members of 21 tribal communities who selected and wrote about artistically or culturally distinctive pots from two significant Pueblo pottery collections—the Indian Arts Research Center of the School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe and the Vilcek Foundation of New York. Here, you can explore all 93 of the Indian Arts Research Center pieces that appear in this groundbreaking exhibition.
Organized by SAR and the Vilcek Foundation, Grounded in Clay debuted July 31, 2022, on unceded Tewa Indian lands at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe before traveling nationally in 2023. The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the creation of SAR’s Indian Arts Research Center’s pottery collection in 1922. As SAR’s first-ever exhibition, it also marks the institution’s 13-year efforts to bridge the cultural needs and knowledge of Native communities with its public education mission.
Following nine months of exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts and culture, Grounded in Clay will travel to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Vilcek Foundation in New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Saint Louis Art Museum.
The schedule of presenting partners for this exhibit is:
• July 31, 2022–May 29, 2023, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Santa Fe
• July 13, 2023–June 4, 2024, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Vilcek Foundation, New York
• October 27, 2024–January 19, 2025, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• March 9–June 1, 2025, Saint Louis Art Museum
To read more about Grounded in Clay, please visit the website Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, at https://groundedinclay.org/.
