The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) is honored to announce the Pueblo Pottery Arts Celebration & Gathering Weekend, dedicated to the IPCC Pueblo Pottery Community Project, a new initiative that brings together the IPCC Collections and Pueblo communities. The weekend consists of a Pottery Artists' Keynote and Fashion Show on July 11, Artist Panel Talks on July 12, and Artist Demonstrations on July 13. These events offer critical opportunities for connections and conversations within the shared space of the IPCC, a gathering place where Pueblo Culture is celebrated through creative and cultural experiences.
As the IPCC nears our 50th anniversary in 2026, we are ushering new rotations of our Pueblo pottery collection and community narratives in the museum's permanent exhibition, We Are of This Place: The Pueblo Story, beginning in late summer 2025. The Pueblo Pottery Community Project unites Pueblo community outreach and stories with the IPCC pottery collection through a marriage of community dialogue and interactive technology. From the conversations shared in this project, the IPCC museum presents new narrative and imagery to museum visitors through first-person Pueblo voices and meaningful engagement. This year, we are collaborating with nine Pueblo community members.
- The July 11 Evening Kickoff, from 6:30-9:00pm, features a Keynote Talk with mother-and-sonPueblo pottery artists Barbara Gonzales and Cavan Gonzales, descendants of famed pottersMaria and Julian Martinez, and a Fashion Show by Sage Mountainflower.
- oBarbara Gonzales, Tahn-Moo-Whe – Sun Beam of San Ildefonso Pueblo, personalizesher blackware pottery with stone inlay and spider designs. As Maria and JulianMartinez’s great-granddaughter and Anita Martinez’s daughter, she also carries onthe family’s signature black-on-black pottery style.
- oCavan Gonzales, Tse-whang - Eagle Tail of San Ildefonso Pueblo and Barbara Gonzales’ son, grew up around pottery and is best known for pottery in black-on-black and polychrome styles. He has produced paintings, intaglio etchings, anddrawings and received formal art training at the prestigious Alfred University.
- oSage Mountainflower (Ohkay Owingeh, Taos Pueblo, and Diné) participated as afeatured designer in the 2025 Native Fashion Week, put on by the SouthwesternAssociation for Indian Arts. Shown locally and abroad, her fashion reflects herbackground as an environmental scientist and attunement to the natural world.
- The July 12 Artist Panel Talks feature Session 1 (10am-12pm) with Lorraine Gala Lewis, Leah “Povi” Lewis, and Jonathan Loretto and Session 2 (2-4pm) with Sonny Ray Olguin and Kathleen Wall.
- oLorraine Gala Lewis (Laguna & Taos Pueblos/Hopi) grew up taking part in dances and ceremonies at Nambé Pueblo, and is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). A longtime pottery maker, she blends influences from ancestral black-and-white pottery with contemporary techniques.
- oLeah “Povi” Lewis (Laguna, Taos, Zuni Pueblos/Hopi/Diné), daughter of Lorraine Gala Lewis, was raised in Tiwa territory. She is an active member of the NSRGNTS artist collective and is deeply inspired by pottery, an art that she grew up making. She creates Indigenous curriculum for children’s education.
- oJonathan Loretto (Cochiti/Jemez Pueblos) is a lifelong pottery artist known for his bobblehead figures. He graduated from IAIA and works in clay, sculpture, and photography. Jonathan is the son of Snowflake Flower (Stephanie Rhoades) and the nephew of Ada Cordero Suina, both of Cochiti Pueblo.oSonny Ray Olguin (Pueblo of Isleta) experiments with a variety of techniques in Pueblo pottery. He is the grandson of Verna Teller, the first female governor of the Pueblo of Isleta. He is completing the Museum Studies master’s degree program at The University of New Mexico and is the IPCC Curatorial Assistant.
- oKathleen Wall (Pueblo of Jemez) created her first storyteller when she was eight. Learning from her grandmother, Cari Loretto, who taught six daughters, and her mother Fannie, who taught her in turn, Kathleen supports herself as a working artist. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from IAIA.
- •The July 13 Artist Demonstrations (11am-1pm) feature Marita Hinds and Clarence Cruz.
- oMarita Hinds (Pueblo of Tesuque) has always been surrounded by art; her father Patrick Swazo Hinds was a renowned painter. Director of Education at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, she has an associate’s degree in Museum Studies from IAIA and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the College of Santa Fe.
- oClarence Cruz (Ohkay Owingeh/Tewa) carries the name Khaayay. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in studio arts from UNM. He was a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow and, as a longtime mentor, teaches students Pueblo pottery. He is an Associate Professor in the UNM Art Department.
The Pueblo Pottery Arts Celebration & Gathering Weekend events are sponsored by the SanManuel Band of Mission Indians, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the First Nations Development Institute. Single-day, two-day, and three-day passes are available with an Early Bird Special through June 15, 2025 on the IPCC website. Please call the IPCC guest experience desk at 505.843.7270 with questions.