NMDCA News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Museum of Art presents Rooted Strong: Visions of America from New Mexico, on view April 4 through September 7, 2026. Drawn from the museum’s collection, the exhibition explores the layered histories of New Mexico’s lands and peoples, highlighting the communities, traditions, and artistic voices that continue to shape the state and its place within the American story.
Featuring works by artists including Fritz Scholder, Emmi Whitehorse, Miguel Gandert, Janet Lippencott, and Luis Jiménez, the exhibition reflects both intimate moments of daily life and larger celebrations, histories, and landscapes that define the region.
Organized around themes of community, land, domestic life, and celebration, Rooted Strong highlights the enduring artistic traditions that have shaped New Mexico for centuries. Indigenous artists have long sustained creative practices rooted in land, story, and heritage. The celebrated black-on-black pottery of Maria Martinez transformed Pueblo ceramics in the twentieth century, while artists such as Diego Romero continue to blend traditional forms with contemporary imagery to engage history and identity.
While New Mexico became widely recognized as a center for American art in the twentieth century, the region’s creative life stretches far beyond that moment. Across generations, artists have used their work to explore belonging, place, and the evolving cultural landscape of the Southwest.
“Artists in New Mexico have long explored questions of identity, community, and landscape,” said Alexandra Terry, New Mexico Museum of Art’s Head of Curatorial Affairs. “Rooted Strong highlights the many ways artists have interpreted the state’s histories and everyday life, revealing how art helps shape our understanding of place.”
Through scenes of domestic life, community gatherings, ceremonies, and the vast New Mexican landscape, the exhibition underscores how art reflects the rhythms of daily experience while sustaining cultural memory across generations.
In 2026, New Mexico joins the nation in commemorating 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The New Mexico Semi-Quincentennial Commission invites all New Mexicans to reflect and participate in our shared history, celebrate our cultural diversity, and consider how the meaning of independence continues to evolve across our communities today.
About The New Mexico Museum of Art
The New Mexico Museum of Art is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Programs and exhibits are supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its donors. The mission of the Museum of Art is to create authentic experiences that foster a deeper understanding and enjoyment of art throughout our state. With a collection of more than 20,000 pieces of work, the museum brings the art of the world to New Mexico and the art of New Mexico to the world.