As we all enter a new year and recover from the holidays, remember that a visit to the museum is a warm and welcome escape from winter. Come on a blustery day to enjoy the lush beauty of Tony Foster: Watercolour Diaries from the Green River. Visit alone when you need some calm and quiet or come with a friend for a social outing that prompts thoughtful discussion. No matter when you come or whom you visit with, museums are proven to be good for you, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress, and connecting you to the wonders of the world. A visit to MNA is a great way to start the new year!

I look forward to seeing you here.

Mary Kershaw

Executive Director & CEO

Museum of Northern Arizona

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Open 10 am – 5 pm daily, except Tuesday

Purchase admission tickets online or at the door.

Mark your calendar

Art and Science on the Green River………………………………… Jan. 7

Drawing Cultural Inspiration……………………………………….. Jan. 21

Selling the Southwest Members Preview…………………………. Jan. 27

Deadline for Junior Indigenous Art Competition………………. Jan. 31

Selling the Southwest curators talk……………………………….. Feb. 4

Easton Collection Center Tours…..Feb. 9, March 8, April 12, May 10

Archaeologists protecting sites

MNA archaeologists finished a busy field season in November working near Hite in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. They were recording archaeological sites that may be endangered by increased off-road vehicle activity after the NPS expanded access in some parts of the park. MNA archaeologists have a long history working in Glen Canyon, including extensive surveys recently to understand how sites are impacted by recreation. Read more about it in the recent Plateau Magazine Glen Canyon Then and Now.

Art and Science on the Green River

January 7 at 2 pm

As a vital pathway for early Western exploration and commerce, the Green River has been the subject of innumerable works of art and intense scientific study. From the earliest scientists, including John Wesley Powell, and artists such as Thomas Moran to the present day, the Green River has been celebrated as the heart and lifeline of the Colorado Plateau. MNA Fine Arts Curator, Alan Petersen gives this talk related to the Watercolour Diaries from the Green River exhibition.

Appropriation in the Arts: Drawing Cultural Inspiration

January 21, 2024 at Sedona Arts Center at 2 pm

Expert panelists will discuss Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists’ use of cultural symbols, the history of Indigenous representation in art, and the dynamics of the dominant culture and artists who rely on selling their art for financial success.

This is the third and final installment of the series on Appropriation in the Arts, funded by Arizona Humanities. The panelists will be Susan Kliewer Dolan, Jason Garcia, and Antonio Chavarria.

Help map our community through poetry

MNA seeks short poems to accompany pieces of art from our collection as part of Poetry Maps, our project for the 2024 ARTx Festival. We’ve selected 30 paintings from the museum collection depicting locations around the Colorado Plateau. Chosen poems will be installed with the art around town and at MNA during the ARTx Festival this spring. See the art and learn more here.

Jr. Indigenous Art Competition

Deadline Jan. 31, 2024

MNA is accepting submissions for our 2024 Junior Indigenous Art Competition. Indigenous artists 5-18 years of age are encouraged to enter. Entries are grouped in two categories: 2-D Fine Art or Cultural Art. Winners will be announced in March during Youth Art Month and will receive gift cards to purchase art supplies.

Namingha Institute accepting applications

Applications due by February 18, 2024

Early career artists can apply now for the 2024 Namingha Institute, which will be held April 28 to May 11. Throughout the two week residency, students will participate in classes with Master Artists Dan & Arlo Namingha on the Museum of Northern Arizona campus. Residents will stay in rustic cabins near the studio and be provided a $1,500 stipend. The Namingha Institute is open to all artists 18 years of age or older. For more, visit https://musnaz.org/namingha/

Tuesdays from 9am-12pm

Landscape painter Deborah Mechigian teaches fundamentals of composition, perspective, and color mixing in the Guernsey Building. Email rockhunterdeb@gmail.com for details, prices, and to sign up.

Wood-fired Ceramics Classes

Session one: January 15-March 7

Session two: March 18-May 9

The winter session of pottery classes with potter Chas Frisco begins Jan. 15, with several days and times available. Each class includes all tools, glaze materials and one 25lb bag of clay. Registration for these classes is directly through the instructor. Email chasarts101@gmail.com for details, prices, and to sign up.

Watercolour Diaries from the Green River

Last day Jan. 15, 2024

A visual journey along the Green River, from the frozen granites of the Wind River Range to the confluence with the Colorado in the red sandstones of Canyonlands. Seen through the detailed watercolor paintings of Tony Foster, we see the river as it exists and as a repository of ancient fossils.

Selling the Southwest

Jan. 27 Members Preview

Feb. 4 Curators Talk

In the early 20th century, entrepreneurs employed artists to create a sense of wonder and mystery about the American Southwest that attracted tourists and established a romanticized vision that has remained to this day. Many of the artists are now prominent names in the canon of classic Southwest art, including Thomas Moran, Louis Akin, and Gunnar Widforss.

Seeing People Through Trees

From stone axes to crosscut saws, this exhibition looks at the forest and our relationship to it through collections objects and historic photos. At the center of the exhibition is a slice from a 290-year-old ponderosa pine from the west side of the San Francisco Peaks.

Designed to Move

See Southwest seeds in a new way through macro-photography by Taylor James. This up-close look reveals the beauty and functional diversity of desert seeds that use different methods for dispersal and propagation. They can float in the air and water, fly far from their mother plant, and hitchhike on the fur of animals. The exhibition was organized by the Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University in collaboration with Desert Botanical Garden, ASU’s Herbarium and ASU’s Design School. At MNA the exhibit also features items from the museum collection highlighting the ethnobotanical uses and cultural importance of these plants.

Something shiny and bright

This Clouds and Flowers bracelet by Hopi artist Emmett Navakuku will bring a little bling to a dark winter night, or day. Navakuku combines traditional Hopi imagery into innovative designs that have won awards in competitions. Check out all the art, jewelry, and more at the Museum Gift Shop, where every purchase supports MNA and the artists.