First Friday: Celebrating the Voices and Movements of Indigenous Creativity

Events & Classes
First Friday: Celebrating the Voices and Movements of Indigenous Creativity

Join us for an exciting partnership with IAIA, the Institute for American Indian Arts as we highlight contemporary Indigenous authors and IAIA alumni. The Coffee Cantina and Cafe will be open late with a delicious selection of food and drinks, and, as always, admission to the Heard will be FREE.

Schedule of Activities

Enjoy FREE admission to all the museum exhibitions while you connect and socialize with our honored guests, IAIA alumni, and other creative minds! Bring a friend and visit the Courtyard Café, grab book copies in Books & More, and enjoy the evening amongst the community.

Who says authors are introverts?! 2024 National Book Award nominee Deborah Taffa (Kwatsaán/Laguna Pueblo) showcases her dynamic “performance autobiography”, and rising author Brendan Shay Basham (Diné) talks all things fiction, food, and the future of Native literature.

Follow actor, producer and writer, Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/Ojibwe), around the museum as he offers personal responses to works from the collection.

Join local phenom, fashionista, and IAIA alumnus, IIWAA (Piipaash, Quechuan, GRIC), through on a journey of heavy rhythms, smooth melodies, and a special blend of singing & songwriting.

Writer and Actor, DezBaa’ (Diné, Basque, Spanish, & Mexican descent), known recently for her work in AMC’s Dark Winds, will share about her journey as an Indigenous creative navigating the tempests of mainstream screenwriting and offer a writing prompt that invites audience members to reflect on their unique voices and the importance of being heard.

Close out the night with Migizi as he talks about his creative process, character Willie Jack from Rez Dogs, and fields questions from the audience about his life and career. You won’t want to miss this discussion from a founding member of the sketch comedy group The 1491s and part of the team for Reservation Dogs, the flagstone for Indigenous storytelling on TV!

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe was founded in 1962 as the only fine arts school in the U.S. for contemporary Native American art.