Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture Exhibition at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

March 25th – December 7th 2025

Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture – A Landmark Exhibition at IPCC

The University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture + Planning (SA+P) Indigenous Design + Planning Institute (iD+Pi) is proud to announce an exciting new collaboration with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) for a groundbreaking museum exhibition. Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture will be on display in the IPCC Museum’s newly renovated South Gallery from March 25 to December 7, 2025.

Curated by distinguished scholars Dr. Theodore (Ted) Jojola (Isleta Pueblo) and Dr. Lynn Paxson, the exhibition will highlight the evolution of Pueblo architecture, focusing on its revival and transformation following the 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act. By showcasing the work of traditional and professional Pueblo architects and designers, the exhibition emphasizes how ancestral influences continue to shape 20th and 21st-century Pueblo architecture.

A Journey Through Architectural Sovereignty

The exhibition is structured around key U.S. government policies that have impacted Pueblo communities, placing a special focus on the importance of land and space. It begins with Pueblo origin stories, particularly the significance of the “HeartPlace,” a term reclaimed from the Spanish “Plaza” post-colonization, and takes visitors through a compelling narrative of Indigenous placemaking.

Rather than simply displaying finished structures, Restorying Our HeartPlaces tells the stories behind these spaces—how and why they came to be, and their cultural significance in Pueblo life. Visitors will hear firsthand accounts from Pueblo architects and elders, as well as experience an immersive digital tour of the stunning Acoma Pueblo Sky City Cultural Center. The exhibit will also feature an animated story illustrating how Pueblo ancestors harmonized their architectural designs with the natural environment—relationships that continue to influence modern Indigenous architecture.

A Collective Effort: Funding & Contributors

This important exhibition is supported by grants from multiple organizations:

• iD+Pi Funding: Chamisa Foundation, iD+Pi’s Frontier Endowment, UNM School of Architecture + Planning
• IPCC Funding: New Mexico Humanities Council, Noon Whistle Fund, First Nations Development Institute

Additionally, a team of Indigenous architects, designers, and interns has been assembled as the advisory body for the exhibit. Contributors include:

• Charelle Brown (Santo Domingo Pueblo)
• Janet Carpio (Laguna/Isleta Pueblo)
• Beverly Diddy (Diné/Hopi)
• Miriam Diddy (Diné/Hopi)
• Theodore (Theo) Edaakie (Isleta Pueblo)
• Cynthia Figueroa-McInteer (Laguna Pueblo)
• Anjelica S. Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache/Santa Ana Pueblo)
• Brandon Adriano Ortiz (Taos Pueblo)
• Halle Sago (Zuni Pueblo/Mescalero Apache)
• Elizabeth Suina (Cochiti Pueblo)
• Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo)
• Garron Yepa (Diné/Jemez Pueblo)

Meet the Architects & Designers: Pueblo Architecture Today

Accompanying the exhibition is a speaker series titled Meet the Architects & Designers: Pueblo Architecture Today, supported by the New Mexico Humanities Council. This engaging series will provide audiences the opportunity to hear directly from the architects and designers shaping Pueblo architecture today.

Speaker Schedule:

• April 12 | 5-8 PM – Grand Opening Reception with co-curators Dr. Ted Jojola & Dr. Lynn Paxson, featuring Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo/Hopi/Tewa/Diné) and Duane Blue Spruce (Laguna Pueblo/Ohkay Owingeh)
• April 13 | 11 AM-1 PM – Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar & Duane Blue Spruce
• April 26 | 11 AM-1 PM – Cynthia Figueroa-McInteer (Laguna Pueblo) & Anjelica S. Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache/Santa Ana Pueblo)
• May 10 | 11 AM-1 PM – Garron Yepa (Diné/Jemez Pueblo) & Miriam Diddy (Diné/Hopi)
• June 28 | 11 AM-1 PM – Theodore Edaakie (Isleta Pueblo) & Juliet Pino (Zia Pueblo)
• August 2 | 11 AM-1 PM – Beverly Diddy (Diné/Hopi) & Brandon Adriano Ortiz (Taos Pueblo)

Why This Exhibition Matters

According to co-curators Dr. Jojola and Dr. Paxson, Restorying Our HeartPlaces is about more than just buildings—it is about honoring Indigenous sovereignty and ensuring that Pueblo design continues to flourish. “Rather than an exhibit of simply images of finished buildings as objects, we seek to go deeper, telling the stories of the places and how and why they came to be and their use in Pueblo communities. This exhibit seeks to increase the awareness of Indigenous design, highlighting Pueblo practitioners so that people can see the high quality of their design work and its relationship to ancestral practices. It is important for upcoming young Indigenous people to see this work as necessary for exercising the sovereignty of their communities.”

The IPCC Museum Team echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the significance of the Cultural Center’s own architectural heritage, modeled after Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon. “We are honored to partner with the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute to share these narratives of Pueblo sovereignty, ancestral to contemporary, in the context of both the built environment at large and the Cultural Center, a gathering space whose architecture is modeled after Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon. We look forward to the rich dialogue that the exhibition will offer visitors.”