Not one, but two delightful museums invite you to experience an authentic array of art culture and nature both on a hill overlooking the mountains. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Museum of International Folk Art. And these are merely two of the many marvelous museums in Santa Fe, downtown sites are extremely easy to navigate on foot.

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. To walk through the doors of the Museum of Indian Arts and is to walk into the diverse worlds, sacred spaces and distinctive communities of the Pueblo, Navajo (Diné) and Apache cultures of the Southwest. My recent visit included Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles. The museum invites visitors to tap into the story, spirit and sprawling cultural landscapes of the region’s Native peoples, past and present. Exhibitions highlight Native scholarship, oral histories, song and displays of select objects from the most comprehensive archaeological collections in the United States. 

The museum’s close work with Native communities ensures that the visitor experience is authentic, culturally sensitive and inspired by the beauty and power of Native art, language, ritual and other cherished expressions of daily life.  

One of my Santa Favorite museums, since its founding in 1953, Museum of International Folk Art has been a place to connect people through creative expression and cross-cultural understanding. Remaining one of New Mexico’s most popular museums, the museum has gained national and international recognition as home to the world’s largest collection of folk art. The extraordinary collection of some 150,000 artifacts from more than 150 nations forms the basis for exhibitions in five distinct wings — Bartlett, Girard, Hispanic Heritage, Neutrogena, and the Gallery of Conscience.

The museum is also home to designer Alexander Girard’s international folk-art collection and his innovative exhibition, Multiple Visions: A Common Bond. The exhibit displays 10 percent of the Girard collection, and although it is without label text, guests may pick up a free multimedia tour on an iPod touch at the front desk or take a docent tour.Now one of the world’s largest folk art museums, Museum of International Folk Art has long utilized its collections, professional expertise, visiting artists, and other resources to further the study and understanding of evolving folk traditions. Changing exhibitions feature in-gallery art-making activities for all ages to enjoy together, as well as the “Tree of Life” children’s play area with toys, books, and a neighboring library of folk-art books for parents and care givers.

iNgqikithi yokuPhica / Weaving Meanings: Telephone Wire Art from South Africa. November 17, 2024 – March 29, 2026. The spectacular art of telephone wire weaving is the subject of iNgqikithi yokuPhica / Weaving Meanings: Telephone Wire Art from South Africa at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Foregrounding artists’ voices, Weaving Meanings shares histories of the wire medium in South Africa, from the 16th century uses as currency to the dazzling artworks wire weavers create today. From beer pot lids (izimbenge) to platters and plates, from vessels to sculptural assemblages, works in the exhibition speak to the continued development and significance of this artistic tradition, both locally in KwaZulu-Natal and to global markets and audiences.

Weaving Meanings features historical items alongside contemporary works of art, demonstrating individual and community-based ways of making and knowing. Curated in consultation with Indigenous Knowledge experts in broader Nguni and specific Zulu cultures, this exhibition sheds new light on this artistic medium, highlighting the experiences of the artists themselves through videos featuring interviews and the process of creating wirework.

Begin with a yummy lunch at the Museum Cafe. Highly recommend the generous shrimp tacos, easily shared with a friend.