In 1977 Doug Schwartz, who was then the president of SAR, hired Art Wolf to be the curator of collections. Wolf’s task was to oversee the building of the facility that would become the IARC, which now stewards a collection of nearly 12,000 artworks.
For Felicia Garcia, SAR’s new curator of education at the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC), one of the most exciting reasons to be at SAR is a proven dedication to community that drives much of the work at the IARC. We spoke with Felicia about what makes the IARC unique, the importance of land acknowledgement practices, and how the education department fits within the organization. Listen to the full interview and explore highlighted excerpts.
The School for Advanced Research (SAR) is pleased to announce the publication of the Guidelines for Collaboration, theoretical and practical guides to building successful collaborations between Indigenous communities, museums, and other collecting institutions. The Guidelines are the product of several years of critical discourse between over sixty Native and non-Native museum professionals, cultural leaders, artists, and scholars experienced in collaborative work in various institutions in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Available only in limited release until now, the Guidelines are already being used by internationally recognized institutions including Chicago’s Field Museum and University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute.
Sophie Hunter, the former Samuel H. Kress fellow with the Museums of New Mexico conservation unit, shares how the IARC Guidelines for Collaboration helped develop a conservation plan for a large collection of Jicarilla Apache pitch-coated baskets at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
See how the internationally-recognized Field Museum is implementing the Guidelines for Collaboration in their work. Guest post by Jamie Kelly, Head of Anthropology Collections & Collections Manager at the Field Museum’s Gantz Family Collections Center and Jamie Lewis, Anthropology Collections Manager at the Field Museum’s Gantz Family Collections Center.
Ellen Pearlstein, Professor of Information Studies at the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials shares how the IARC Guidelines for Collaboration is helping shape her students’ understanding of working with source communities and Native American collections.
Brian Vallo, four-year director of the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at the School for Advanced Research resigned on Friday January 4, 2019. Starting immediately, Vallo will assume the role of Acoma Pueblo’s governor.
Nearly two months after the much anticipated opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Art of Native America, the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection, the exhibit continues to welcome new visitors and receive national and international media attention. The first exhibit of Native American works in the museum’s American Wing is pushing the dialog around collecting institutions and cultural heritage into new areas of inquiry. IARC director Brian Vallo and curator Gaylord Torrence share reflections on several works in the exhibit in this video tour.
SAR is honored to announce that its Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) director Brian Vallo will play an integral role as a community partner in plans to renovate and reimagine the Native North American Hall at the iconic Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Alaka Wali, the museum’s curator of North American anthropology explains in a recent announcement, “It’s not just a new exhibition—it represents a whole new way of thinking.” The revised approach involves working with community partners who will be advisors in the development of the exhibit.
On a recent Sunday afternoon at the Indian Arts Research Center, Pueblo weavers Aric Chopito (Zuni Pueblo) and Louie Garcia (Prio Manso Tiwa tribe of Guadalupe Pueblo) and embroiderer Isabel Gonzales (Jemez Pueblo) came together with director Brian Vallo for a guided tour of the collections. The tour followed a panel discussion with the participants for SAR members and the public about the history and revitalization of the Pueblo weaving tradition, as well as the physical, financial, and cultural struggles that these artists continue to face.
