| Message from Mary –
The Museum of Northern Arizona turned 95 last week, but we’re not stopping to reminisce about the past. There is too much to look forward to this month, with a new exhibition opening, a harvest festival and market in the garden, the launching of a new series of talks on cultural appropriation, and a free day at the museum as part of the Festival of Science.
So many of the events this month reflect MNA’s many community collaborations. For the exhibition Seeing People Through Trees: A Human History of the Forest we worked with Coconino National Forest, NAU School of Forestry, Fort Valley Experimental Forest, and Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. For a third year, Flagstaff Foodlink organized the Harvest Festival and Indigenous Farmers Market at the Colton Garden. We’re partnering closely with the Sedona Arts Center to put together the series of panels on appropriation. And of course Flagstaff Festival of Science is a longstanding community event.
When MNA opened 95 years ago, many of those other organizations didn’t exist. It’s wonderful to be part of an institution that has been a foundation of the cultural life of Flagstaff for so long, and continues to be integral to the community.
Mary Kershaw
Executive Director & CEO
Museum of Northern Arizona |
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Mark your calendar
Final Garden Tour of the season………………………………Sept. 16
Appropriation in the Arts series………. Sept. 17, Nov. 5, Jan. 21
Final Thirsty Thursday……………………………………………..Sept. 21
Indigenous Farmer’s Market and Harvest Festival……..Sept. 23
Paleontology open house and dinosaur talk………………Sept. 26
Science Day at MNA………………………………………………….Sept. 30
Easton Collection Center Tours……..Oct. 13, Nov. 10, March 8, April 12, May 10
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Collection Center tours resume
October 13, November 10, March 8, April 12, May 10
3 pm – 4 pm, registration required
$15 Non-members/$10 MNA Members
Free for Native Americans
After a summer break, the behind-the-scenes tours of the Easton Collection Center resume on the second Friday of the month. Docents lead these tours of the ECC, where MNA cares for more than 800,000 objects. |
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Moore Medicinal Garden tour
Sept. 16 at 10 am
Frosty nights will soon be putting an end to the growing season. Come enjoy the gardens and grounds while they are in their glory. To learn more about the plants, their history, and their many uses, come for the final free docent-led tour of the season. To find the Moore Medicinal Garden, turn at the sign for the Harold Colton Research Center. |
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Moving from Appropriation to Authenticity; September 17, 2023 at MNA 2 pm
More Than a Meal; November 5, 2023 at MNA 2 pm
Drawing Cultural Inspiration: January 21, 2024 at Sedona Arts Center 2 pm
Expert panelists will lead the audience in an exploration of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, what appropriation in art looks like, what authentic Native art is, and how to appropriately appreciate Native art forms and culture. This series is a collaboration between MNA and the Sedona Arts Center, funded by the Arizona Humanities. |
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Thirsty Thursday – NAU Jazz ensemble
September 21, 5 pm – 8 pm
Welcomed for the first time at MNA’s Thirsty Thursday, the NAU Jazz Faculty and Friends ensemble will fill the historic courtyard with rhythm on this final event of the 2023 summer series.
Admission is $15 non-members/ $8 MNA members. The MNA beer and wine bar will be open, and food will be available from the Baja Mar food truck. |
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Farmers Market & Harvest Festival
September 23, 2023 at the Colton Garden, 10 am – 2 pm
Celebrate the arrival of fall and the bounty of the growing season. Indigenous growers will be onsite selling their produce. There will be food to sample from the pueblo oven, tea from the garden to taste, and free activities for kids. This is a chance to celebrate and support Native American farmers. |
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Designed to Move Curator Talk
September 23 at 2 pm in Pearson Hall across the street from the museum
Curator Heidi Fisher will talk about the Designed to Move exhibition and her biomimicry work at Arizona State University. She introduced students to the use of biology as a means of sustainable innovation in design, business, and engineering. This talk is held in conjunction with the Flagstaff Festival of Science and MNA’s 3rd annual Native American Farmers Market and Harvest Festival being held at the Colton Garden from 10am – 2pm. |
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Paleontology open house
September 26, 3 pm – 4 pm
Brady Building, across the street from the museum
The Brady Building, which houses MNA’s Paleontology collection, will host an Open House where visitors will be able to view artifacts from the paleontology collection. Led by Adam Marsh, MNA Research Associate and Paleontologist at Petrified Forest National Park. This event is free. After the open house, stay for a talk on The Dinosaurs of Navajo Nation. |
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The Dinosaurs of Navajo Nation
September 26, 4 pm – 5 pm
Pearson Hall, across the street from the museum
Dinosaurs left footprints, as well as bones and fossils, across what is now the Navajo Nation. Learn more from Dr. Adam Marsh, an MNA Research Associate and Paleontologist at Petrified Forest National Park. Many of the bones and fossils are kept at MNA and if you come early you can see them during a special open house of the Brady Building, where they are stored. This is free as part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science. |
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Science Day at MNA
September 30, 10 pm – 5 pm
This free museum day is part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science and is sponsored by APS.
- 11 am – 2 pm Science Stations for all ages with dendrochronology, seed growing, and other hands-on activities.
- 2 pm talk on The Last of the Ice Age Mammoths on the Colorado Plateau, by Dave Gillette
- 3:30 pm Flagshakes presents a skit and talk about medicine in the time of Shakespeare.
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The Last of the Ice Age Mammoths
September 30, 2 pm – 3 pm
Learn about the last mammoths that lived on what is now the Colorado Plateau and see their dung and other artifacts from the MNA collection. Paleontologist Dave Gillette is best known for his discovery of the dinosaur Diplodocus hallorum in 1985. This is part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science. |
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September 30, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Guide: David Purcell, MNA Archaeologist & Historian
Wupatki National Monument contains more than 2,700 historic places and stunning views of the San Francisco Peaks and Painted Desert. We will visit several, including Wupatki Pueblo, the largest village in the region and part of widespread ceremonial networks. Learn more and sign up here, or contact development@musnaz.org or 928-774-5211, ext. 227. |
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Meteor Crater
October 7, 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Guide: Dr. David Kring
Get an up-close introduction to the Meteor Crater impact site with one of its leading geologists and learn about early exploration efforts, the evidence that proves the crater was produced by a near-Earth asteroid impact, the explosive energy of the impact and how the blast excavated the extraordinary geological site. Learn more and sign up here, or contact development@musnaz.org or 928-774-5211, ext. 227. |
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Landscape Painting
Tuesdays from 9am-12pm
Landscape painter Deborah Mechigian teaches fundamentals of composition, perspective, and color mixing in this weekly class in the Guernsey Building. Registration for these classes is directly through the instructor. Email rockhunterdeb@gmail.com for details, prices, and to sign up. |
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Ceramics Classes
New beginner sessions start Oct. 9 on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, from 12 pm – 2:30 pm or 5:55 pm – 8:25 pm
Intermediate/advanced sessions start Oct. 12 on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 5:55 pm – 8:25 pm
Potter Chas Frisco teaches wheel throwing and hand building in the Newberry Building. Registration for these classes is directly through the instructor. Email chasarts101@gmail.com for details, prices, and to sign up. |
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Drawing and Watercolor Classes
Beginner drawing sessions on Thursdays from 1 pm – 4 pm
Watercolor sessions on Thursdays from 9 am – 4 pm or Saturdays from 1 pm – 4 pm
Holiday Card Workshop on Nov. 11, 10 am to 2pm
Artist Lisa Lee Pearce teaches fundamental skills and techniques for drawing and watercolor painting in the Guernsey Building. Registration for these classes is directly through the instructor. Email Lleearrist@gmail.com for details, prices, and to sign up. |
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Vast Lands, Inner Visions
The Art of Joella Jean Mahoney
This exhibition presents key paintings by one of the most important female artists of the Southwest. Mahoney’s art career spanned sixty-six years, from her roots in the abstract expressionism of the 1950s to her role as a mentor and master artist with a distinctive style that bridges realism and abstraction. |
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Seeing People Through Trees
Member preview Sept. 15, 5:30-7:00 pm
Exhibit opens Sept. 16
People need trees and have related to them in varied ways through the decades, as revealed by what we’ve left in the forest. From stone axes to cross cut 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, which was growing on the west side of the San Francisco Peaks since 1730. This exhibition was created in collaboration with Coconino National Forest, NAU School of Forestry, Riordan State Historic Park, and the Fort Valley Experimental Forest. |
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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. |
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Wedded to beauty
This vase by potter Juanita Fragua is not just beautiful. It is a symbol of love and unity. The two spouts of this wedding vase represent the two people being married with the handle unifying them. In Jemez Pueblo, where the potter Juanita Fragua created this vase, the groom’s family would traditionally provide the vase, which would be filled with water and given to the bride. The bride and groom would both drink from the vase during the ceremony. Symbolism is found throughout much of the art and jewelry available at the Museum Gift Shop, where every purchase supports MNA and the artists. |
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