Back to the Future MIAC Living Treasure Virgil Ortiz
Friends of Indian Art Preserving and Promoting Native Art Friends of Indian Art is the member support group for the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Members forge deeper connections with Native art, culture and history, and gain a greater appreciation for the museum’s collection through a dynamic annual calendar of museum events. Special visits to local galleries, collector’s homes and artist studios are also featured.
When Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti) was named the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture’s 2022 recipient of the MIAC Living Treasure award, he had an unconventional reaction. “I had to take a step back,” Ortiz says quietly over the phone, “and see what it could be used for.” His approach toward the designation is reflective of the community of ancestral potters who shaped him. “When I was 17, I realized it wasn’t about me, and how lucky I was to be born into a family of potters,” he says. Thus, Ortiz says he plans to turn the spotlight toward other Indigenous artists in his cohort, “to let everybody know it is fine arts we are creating, not just arts and crafts.” He’s also preparing to launch a podcast that will bring attention to a new group of Indigenous artists. In a year that will see the museum making bold strides into the future by reopening its permanent exhibition Here, Now and Always, Ortiz signifies the propulsive force of Native American art-making in a new era.
Annual dues are $100 for an individual and $150 for two people. A Museum of New Mexico Foundation membership is required to join. To join or learn more: Call 505.982.6366 ext. 100 or visit museumfoundation.org/FIA
Virgil Ortiz, Modern Monos, 2010. Photo courtesy of the artist.
8 museumfoundation.org
