(Flagstaff, Ariz.)—Echoes of the past will reverberate through the Museum of Northern Arizona when the annual sales exhibit, Enduring Creations—Generations, returns May 29 through September 26. Traditional canons of tribal pasts are reflected in art forms as techniques move forward through time and through generations. This exhibit focuses on the highest quality historic and contemporary artwork by internationally celebrated Southwestern Native American artists. Of interest to both novice and seasoned collectors, the gallery is filled with works—paintings, katsinas, pottery, basketry, fetishes, and a large number of Navajo weavings—representing lasting regional styles and traditions. The exhibit is refreshed throughout the season.
Also of note this year, a highly-regarded collection of original David Paladin paintings is available. This artist’s multicultural education, iron individualism, his relationship to the earth, and his Navajo traditions are all evident in his work, which records his lifelong search for the divine.
During the Museum’s Heritage Program marketplace weekends from July through October, four featured artists recognized for excellence within their fields will be highlighted in the Enduring Creations gallery where they will meet the public, talk about the generational ties in their art, and present choice pieces they have created especially for this occasion.
At the 71st Annual Hopi Marketplace on July 3 and 4, jeweler Verma Nequatewa, or Sonwai, will display her contemporary silver and stone art pieces, crafted in a style that is reminiscent of internationally-recognized jeweler Charles Laloma, her mentor.
The 55th Annual Navajo Marketplace on August 7 and 8 showcases Shonto Begay, a prolific painter whose impressionistic images honor his memories and state his concerns about modern life on the reservation.
MNA’s first Native Artists Marketplace on September 4 and 5 highlights basket maker Everett Pikyavit from the Moapa Band of Paiutes. Pikyavit is inspired by many of the weavers of the past and includes all traditional Southern Paiute and Goshute basketry styles from the Great Basin Desert regions in his work.
Mask maker Zarco Guerrero brings his striking masks to MNA’s new event, Celebraciónes de la Gente for El Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead on October 30 and 31. Enamored with the transformational power of masks, Guerrero’s mask making has been his passion for the last three decades.
The Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona. It is located on scenic Highway 180, three miles north of the town’s historic downtown. As a gateway to understanding the Colorado Plateau, the Museum provides changing exhibits that reveal the artistic traditions, Native cultures, and natural sciences of the region. It is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission is $5/adult, $4/senior, $3/student, $2/child (7–17), and always free to members.