To celebrate the closing of Collecting Jewelry: H. P. Mera’s Trip to Navajo Country in 1932, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture are pleased to host three contemporary Navajo/Diné jewelers,Cody Sanderson (Navajo), Connie Tsosie Gaussoin (Picuris Pueblo/Navajo) & Liz Wallace (Maidu/Washoe/Navajo), in conversation with exhibition curator Ross Altshuler and MIAC assistant curator, Lillia McEnaney. Together, these artists will tell their memories of learning how to make jewelry, share stories about their own artistic inspirations and innovations, and reflect on the larger current moment in the Native art world.
Collecting Jewelry showcases 160 pieces of jewelry made between 1880-1930 that Dr. Mera gathered. These pieces were made with rudimentary tools and without available references for style and technique, formed the basis of Navajo/Diné silversmithing, and inspired the generations that followed.