Look up. What do you see? From radio astronomy to solstice calendars, Indigenous peoples look to the sky for timing, meaning, and beauty. Makowa: The Worlds Above Us juxtaposes ways of seeing, noticing, and understanding the skies and the beings in them. Told through stories of an ever-changing world, the exhibition connects science, stories, and observations.
For Indigenous peoples of the Southwest, observing the sky brings joy, information, and a connection to the worlds above us.
Photographer and filmmaker Duwawisioma (Victor Masayesva Jr.) has been on a lifelong quest to understand the ideas of “existence” and “being” in terms of Hopi ancestral traditions in the modern world. Màatakuyma, meaning “now it is becoming clearer to me” in the Hopi language, represents this continuing quest. Featuring images created throughout Duwawisioma’s long career, Màatakuyma highlights aspects of Hopi culture, history, language, metaphysics, and agricultural practices through complex, layered compositions and juxtapositions of color.
Image: Ninma, © 2025 Duwawisioma (Victor Masayesva Jr.) All rights reserved by copyright holder.
Using the lens of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, this exhibtion explores the impact of climate change and environmental destruction on Native homelands and how artists are sounding the alarm and advocating for action. From the devastation of wildfires and drought to the contamination of ecosystems from uranium mining and other extractive industries, art offers a means to explore human connections to our planet and its precious resources. Traditional Ecological Knowledge, developed and refined over generations, can inform strategies for adaptation to a changing environment and building a sustainable future---but only if we listen. On view in the JoAnn and Bob Balzer Native Market and Contemporary Art Gallery.
Image: Mallery Quetawki (Zuni Pueblo), We Will Continue to Fight, 2019, Courtesy of the artist and the Community Environmental Health Program at UNM-CO
The Museum is located at 710 Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| SUN | 10-5 |
| MON | CLOSED |
| TUE | 10-5 |
| WED | 10-5 |
| THU | 10-5 |
| FRI | 10-5 |
| SAT | 10-5 |
From November through April, the museum is closed on Mondays.
| Type | New Mexico Resident* | Non Resident |
|---|---|---|
| Adult |
$7
Free on First Sundays*
|
$12 |
| Seniors 60 & up |
$7
NM residents Free on Wednesdays
|
$12 |
| Students |
$7
|
$12 |
| Kids 16 and under |
Free
|
Free |
| Members |
Free
|
Free |