Photo: Artist Ramson Lomatewama working with glass, from Clearly Indigenous, curated by Letitia Chambers
Mingei International Museum Presents Over 100 Glass Art Objects in Groundbreaking Exhibition Recognizing Native Artists
Native Artists Working in Glass Recognized at Mingei International Museum
June 15, 2026, SAN DIEGO, CA — Mingei International Museum is pleased to announce Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, a groundbreaking exhibition giving broader and overdue recognition to a wide range of contemporary Native American and indigenous Pacific-Rim artists working in glass. Clearly Indigenous is on view at Mingei International Museum from June 27 through September 20, 2026.
“Mingei is proud to continue to highlight the work of contemporary Native American artists in 2026. With any exhibition of indigenous art, the museum and our curators work in collaboration with tribal nations, forging new relationships and deepening existing ones, building upon our core value to center indigenous voices in craft.” said Emily Hanna, Director of Exhibitions and Chief Curator. “This exhibition builds upon histories and experiences shared in our recent exhibition of Native American ledger drawings, Historic Footsteps, which featured the work of contemporary Native American artists alongside historic works from the mid to late 1800s.”
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass features 120 glass art objects created by twenty-nine Native American artists and leading glass artist Dale Chihuly, who first introduced glass art to Indian country. Many of these artists are widely known for their work in other media as well. In addition, two Australian Aboriginal artists and two Maori artists who have collaborated with Native American artists are also featured, for a total of thirty-three indigenous artists, plus Chihuly.
A companion book published by the Museum of New Mexico Press features most of the artworks in the exhibit. It was authored by Dr. Letitia Chambers, who curated the exhibition together with artist and museum consultant Cathy Short (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which originated this seminal exhibition.
The stunning art in the exhibition embodies the intellectual content of Native traditions, newly illuminated by the unique properties that can only be achieved by working with glass. Whether re-interpreting traditional stories and designs in the medium of glass, or expressing contemporary issues affecting tribal societies, Native glass artists have created a content-laden body of work. These artists have melded the aesthetics and properties inherent in glass art with their cultural ways of knowing. The result is a ground-breaking exhibit featuring an impressive body of artworks.
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass was originated by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM with curators Letitia Chambers and Cathy Short, and was organized as a traveling exhibition and is toured by International Arts & Artists and curator Letitia Chambers.
This exhibition is also part of Handwork 2026, Craft in America’s nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America.
Scheduled US tour dates for Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass are as follows: Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS (June 10, 2023 – September 17, 2023); Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH (December 15, 2023 – April 7, 2024); Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI (May 18, 2024 – August 25, 2024); Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (June 13, 2025 – September 14, 2025); National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY (November 15, 2025 – May 29, 2026); Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA (June 26 – September 18, 2026); Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA (October 16, 2026 – January 8, 2027); and The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, St. Petersburg, FL (October 7, 2028 - February 25, 2029).
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Dr. Letitia Chambers is a collector of Native American art who has been involved in issues affecting Native Americans throughout her career, including serving as the CEO of Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, as a founding director and board chair of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, and as a Trustee of the Institute of American Indian Arts. Before focusing her career on the arts, Dr. Chambers was well known as a public policy expert at both the federal and state levels. She served as Staff Director of two U.S. Senate Committees and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly. She also headed the state system of higher education in New Mexico. Her private sector experience includes serving as CEO of a highly successful Washington DC-based public policy consulting firm. Letitia Chambers resides in Santa Fe, where she maintains a consulting practice and has curated several exhibitions at the Museum of Indian Art and Culture and the Santa Fe Botanical Garden.
Mingei International Museum, Sharing the Voices of Indigenous Artists
The presentation of Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass at Mingei International Museum furthers a commitment by the institution to exhibiting the art of the people with and for the communities being recognized.
In 2025, Mingei International Museum made recent acquisitions to its collection by contemporary Native artists including Eva Salazar, Preston Singletary, Dan Friday, Jason Garcia, Chase Kahwinhut Earles, and others. Also last year, the Museum hosted and participated in the making of Historic Footprints, an exhibition developed in collaboration with living and thriving members of Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo tribes.
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ABOUT INTERNATIONAL ART & ARTISTS
International Arts & Artists in Washington, DC, is a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally, through exhibitions, programs and services to artists, arts institutions and the public. Visit www.artsandartists.org.
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ABOUT MINGEI INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM
Mingei International Museum, located in San Diego’s Balboa Park Cultural District, celebrates human creativity through multicultural works of folk art, craft, and design. Inspired by the Japanese mingei (art of the people) movement, Mingei cares deeply about design functionality, handmade craft, and bringing out the creativity that lives in all of us. In addition to rotating gallery exhibitions and event programming, Mingei's gift shop, theater, education center, restaurant, and café are backdrops for finding inspiration and connecting with the community. As the presenter of San Diego Design Week and a partner to over 50 local artists and art and cultural organizations, Mingei puts celebrating creativity at the core of its mission through workshops, film festivals, lectures, and more. Mingei is a nonprofit institution funded by admission, individuals, and institutional support.
ABOUT THE BALBOA PARK CULTURAL DISTRICT
Located in the heart of San Diego, the Balboa Park Cultural District is home to a variety of arts and culture offerings. The 1,200 acre public park has been a hub for art, science, history, and culture since the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The Cultural District includes Balboa Park’s central mesa, particularly 17 museums, performing arts centers, gardens, and of course, the world famous San Diego Zoo. Thanks to organizations like the City of San Diego, Forever Balboa Park, the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, and staff members of various institutions, the Balboa Park Cultural District is a major tourist destination.
Learn More and download media images: https://mingei.org/exhibitions/clearly-indigenous
