AS THE UNITED STATES celebrates its 250th birthday, New Mexico’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) has curated special exhibitions at its museums and historic sites in honor of the semiquincentennial. While New Mexico did not achieve statehood until 136 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our diverse cultures and communities possess rich, longstanding stories worth celebrating. Here’s a peek at what these institutions offer, ranging from object-based historical exhibitions to expansive surveys of New Mexico artists across generations. 

New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe
Americana at 250: Eagles, Flags, and Uncle Sam

See it: Through January 20, 2027

The lowdown: Borrowing from other DCA collections, the museum showcases historical objects alongside works by New Mexican artists that boldly incorporate patriotic imagery, from the Stars and Stripes to the bald eagle. “Even though New Mexico was one of the last states to join the Union, our people played a vital role in shaping the nation,” says Mark Dodge, curator of Southwest Memories at the museum. “And America continues to be better for it.”

Don’t miss: La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians painter and sculptor Fritz Scholder’s impressionistic bronze work, Unfinished Liberty, made in 1986. On loan from the New Mexico Museum of Art, this piece evokes the iconic silhouette of the Statue of Liberty through a well-worn patina and abstract, distorted features.

View a beaded Lakota vest at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Photograph courtesy of Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.


Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe 
Stars, Stripes, and First Americans

See it: Through March 7, 2027

The lowdown: This collection of 10 objects depicts the American flag through an Indigenous lens, incorporating traditional beadwork and jewelry, as well as more contemporary artistic expressions. “It’s all part of an ongoing dialogue about identity, tribal sovereignty, and cultural revitalization,” says head of curatorial affairs Elisa Phelps.

Don’t miss: Kee Yazzie’s (Diné) portrait of a Navajo Code Talker, strikingly backed by the cleanly rendered and heavily saturated reds, whites, and blues of the American flag. It represents “the tradition of pride in military service,” says Phelps. 

Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
I Am Clay: Acoma Life in Figures

See it: Through November 30

The lowdown: A historic first from the folk art museum, this exhibition of more than 120 pieces marks the first publicly displayed presentation of representational clay works from Acoma Pueblo. The community-curated exhibition highlights the Acoma women who have driven this art form for centuries and includes storytelling events coinciding with the works. 

Don’t miss: A female figure created by Anita Lowden in the 1960s exemplifies the evolving hand-built style of the tradition. Curator Brian Vallo describes the work as “influenced by Ancestral Pueblo figurative and decorative pottery and the creative spirit within Mother Clay herself.”

See Cara Romero’s "Coyote Tales, No. 1" at the New Mexico Museum of Art. Courtesy of the New Mexico Museum of Art.


New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
Rooted Strong: Visions of America from New Mexico

See it: Through October 4

The lowdown: Long recognized as a vital community for artists, New Mexico has remained at the forefront of American art movements for generations. Drawing primarily from its own collection, along with collaborations from other sites, this show highlights creative traditions that blend longstanding craft practices with contemporary perspectives on the uniquely New Mexican experience of being American.

Don’t miss: A recent acquisition for the museum, Belén-based artist Paula Castillo’s Espinoza exemplifies her contemporary steel sculpture work, evoking a majestic wingspan in a striking abstract form measuring 80 inches wide. Castillo’s confident work reflects how artists in rural New Mexico communities remain at the vanguard of the contemporary art scene.

Wonders on Wheels, mobile
The Arts of Democracy in New Mexico

See it: Through December 31

The lowdown: New Mexico’s mobile museum focuses its first original exhibition on a hands-on, interactive look at the foundational communal practices that uniquely center the democratic process throughout the state. Using a mix of educational panels and activities, the exhibition illustrates how New Mexicans work together, from the mayordomo electoral process protecting our acequias to grassroots zine culture. To see where the RV-housed museum stops next, check
newmexico
culture.org. 

Don’t miss: The exhibition culminates with an educational tool that program manager Jennifer Hasty hopes will encourage active participation in democracy throughout the state. “It’s a simulator to show people how to do ranked-choice voting, which is done in Santa Fe,” Hasty says. “People throughout the state are campaigning to see if it might be appropriate for their communities.”

New Mexico Historic Sites
250th Banners

See it: Through July 4, 2027

The lowdown: New Mexico’s eight historic sites feature a pop-up exhibition of single 33.5-by-84.7-inch panels that depict lesser-known stories from New Mexico history that predate statehood. Using archival photography and text, the large panels offer visitors snapshots of life in New Mexico across 250 years. “They all go back to themes of resilience and diversity,” says Matthew Barbour, deputy director of historic sites. The images will eventually be displayed together at a future location, still to be determined, where they will form a cohesive portrait of New Mexico.

Don’t miss: At Fort Stanton Historic Site, one panel celebrates the 9th Cavalry Band, made up of Black soldiers who performed music on the Santa Fe Plaza in 1876.