June at the Museum of Northern Arizona

I am thrilled to invite you, your family, and friends to our highlight event of the year – the Heritage Festival of Arts and Culture – June 22 & 23 at the Museum. The festival promises an immersive experience, connecting you with the rich and diverse traditions of the Indigenous peoples of the Colorado Plateau. Dozens of Native American artists will showcase their work, interspersed with dancers, musicians, demonstrators, and cultural experts sharing their knowledge and insights. My favorite part of this MNA annual festival is the opportunity to talk with artists directly and purchase unique handmade pieces reflecting the beauty and spirit of the Plateau. The painting above by Venaya Yazzie (Diné) gives you an idea of the talented artists who will be on hand. There will be something for everyone to enjoy, including activities for children, energizing music from Tha ‘Yoties, and tasty regional foods like frybread from Sacred Hogan.

The anticipation for summer is building! I can’t wait to see you at the Museum.

Executive Director & CEO

Museum of Northern Arizona

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Open 10 am to 5 pm Daily

Purchase admission tickets online or at the door.

Mark Your Calendar

Heritage Festival of Arts and Culture

Connect with the people of the Colorado Plateau at this vibrant gathering held on the forested grounds of the Museum. Dozens of Native American artists, dancers, musicians, demonstrators, and cultural experts will be on hand. Buy direct from artists while enjoying the sounds and traditions of the region. Adults and children alike will delight in activities and experiences. Your festival ticket also grants entrance to the Museum, a celebrated gateway to understanding the Colorado Plateau.

Thank You, Festival Sponsors

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the generous sponsors of the 2024 Heritage Festival of Arts and Culture.

Event Underwriter: Coconino County

Main Stage Sponsor: Babbitt Brothers Foundation

Artist Award Benefactor: Findlay Toyota

Your contributions have been essential in making this event a grand success. Thank you for your commitment to our community and the arts.

Thirsty Thursdays Are Back

Quench your thirst for good times! Join us in the Museum Courtyard for Thirsty Thursdays. Mother Road Trio will be on hand June 13, 5-7:30 p.m., with its diverse blend of rhythm and blues, original ballads, swing, jazz, and rock n’ roll. Enjoy a selection of beer, wine, and Pizzicletta fare for purchase. Thirsty Thursdays repeats July 11 with Colton House Sessions and August 8 with Black Lemon. Entrance to Museum exhibits is included with your Thirsty Thursday ticket: $8 for MNA members; $15 for non-members.

Become an Museum Member

Membership with the Museum of Northern Arizona offers unique opportunities and value year-round. Benefits include free admission to the Museum, invitations to special member-only exhibit previews and events, discounted tickets for Museum festivals and tours, a discount on select Museum Gift Shop items, and more. Take 10% off the full price of any membership through July 31. Offer is for new members only. Use code SUMMER2024 at checkout. Join online or call us at (928) 774-5211 x285.

Gardens for Visitation & Learning

Did you know that the Museum hosts five gardens on its campus? Three of them you can visit from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, or join a guided tour. Moore Medicinal Garden is an ethnobotanical garden featuring Colorado Plateau native plants. Colton Garden has veggie plots, a passive solar greenhouse, and horticultural research beds. Life Zones is a living exhibition of the four main life zones of the Colorado Plateau and is located in the Museum’s Jaime Major Golightly Courtyard.

Open House to Spotlight Fine Art

We’re opening the Easton Collection Center to the public August 24 for a unique opportunity to see art normally kept in protective spaces. MNA collections staff and curators will be on hand for discussions and to answer your questions. The MNA fine art collection contains more than 2,000 works with a focus on Indigenous artists and Anglo-American artists who were among the first to visit and record the landscapes and people of the Colorado Plateau.

Apply by June 21 for the August 23-24 workshop

Open to Native students who are high school juniors or seniors or currently enrolled in a community college, the Hozho Academy is led by artists affiliated with Art of the People and funded through the Buddy Whitethorne Foundation and the Museum of Northern Arizona. Learn more and apply by June 21 for the August 23-25 workshop.

The Grand Canyon Dragon Map

This highly anticipated exhibition explores the origins, heritage, and ongoing use of an iconic geology map first published by MNA in 1976. Alongside a display of the original map are rocks from the Grand Canyon formations, descriptions of the geologic layers, and bygone map-making instruments. Copies of the map and other related collectibles are for sale in the Museum Gift Shop.

Horse & Rider: A Southwest Story

The history of horses in North America is being rewritten as radiocarbon dating reveals that Indigenous people had ridden and cared for horses earlier than previously thought. The new research was the impetus for this exhibition that combines fine art and artifacts from the Museum’s collections with first-person accounts of the cultural and spiritual importance of horses in Diné, Hopi, and Zuni culture.

Selling the Southwest

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.

This Royston Turquoise and Sterling Silver Melon Bead Necklace was handmade by Diné jewelry artists and silversmiths Mary and Everett Teller. See this piece and other unique items in the Museum Shop, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or browse our Online Shop. Every shop purchase helps support the Museum of Northern Arizona and the artists.