News & Experiences
It’s never been about the materials, or even techniques. It’s the voice. It’s the voice that remains authentic and true and Native and specific to whomever you are and who your people are and the stories you have to tell. — Teri Greeves, Coe Center Honorary Director
February 2020
Child’s Vest (back), c. 1880. Omaha (attrib.), Nebraska. 10.5 x 14.25 in. (26.67 x 36.2 cm). Hide, beads, and cloth. NA1115

A Note from Rachel,
President, Executive Director

The wonderful thing about the Coe is you never know what you might find when you come through our doors. It can be quiet and pristine or messy and chaotic as we hang a show or having just held a project meeting—or something in-between. However, the unknown is not just for you or our visitors, but also for all of us who work and volunteer at the Coe too.

This past week was just such an experience—the Coe was thrilled and honored to invite Jhane Myers to a mini-residency with the support of New Mexico Arts. I couldn’t resist and so rather than working at my desk, as I should, I would periodically get up to see what Jhane was up to.

One time I found her looking closely at a beautiful Child's Vest. She pointed out the intricate beading obviously the hand of a very skilled artist. She pointed out the differences between the front and back—she surmised that artist might have beaded the back first and when coming to the front became tired and so the beading doesn’t go down quite as far. She pointed out the amazing edging that finished off the bottom and arm holes; she hadn't seen that before. We talked about the animals on the back—the chickens and what we thought were coyotes or wolves on the back—wondering if they were hungry and if were the chickens in danger...

So, for a moment, I was the visitor and Jhane my guide, taking me through her life and experience. Her words introduced me to her family, her children, friends and mentors, her history and it all lead to this moment with this beautifully beaded vest in front of us. I will keep this memory, as well as others I have experienced through my years at the Coe, close to me for eternity—my life enriched and forever changed for the better. Thank you Jhane, and to all those amazing people who have enriched my life and those of our visitors! Thank you to Ted who sent me the journey of becoming the visitor.

We have more opportunities through our programming—whether with artists, students, curators, or another visitor who is at the Coe at the same time you might be, so please join us for some of our upcoming programs. Eliza Naranjo Morse will be joining us at the Coe on First Friday, March 6, 1-4 pm. As part of our First Friday program, the Coe is inviting artists to share the first Friday of each month with us and our visitors—each artist will choose how they will participate. For example, Eliza is inviting visitors to join her in sketching works from the collection. Please join us every First Friday of the month, to see which artist is visiting and how they will share with you while here.

Adrian Wall will join us as part of the Coe Side-By-Side Artist Series in April for a mini residency, giving a public program on April 18. The Side-By-Side Artist Series program is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Also not to be missed are our energetic and creative Hands-On high school curators who open their exhibition on May 8, entitled (I'm Nostalgic for) Memories I've Never Lived Before .

Lastly, if you are unable to attend our programs or just wish to spend more time in the collections, please never hesitate to call or email to arrange a visit.
Jhane Myers in residency at the Coe Center, February 2020

What's Happening at the Coe...
Stay tuned for more programs, but below are a few highlights.


• Friday, March 6, 2020, 1-4 pm: Eliza Naranjo Morse joins us for First Friday at the Coe!

• Saturday, April 18, 2020, 7 pm: Adrian Wall: Mapping Our History, Projecting Our Future. Adrian will work within the collection, researching four objects to create an immersive multi-media presentation which ties each object to the land and people incorporating music from each object's tribal origin and using the exciting art form of Projection Mapping.

• May 8, 2020, 5-7 pm: Save the date for the sixth Hands-On Curatorial Program student exhibition opening entitled (I'm Nostalgic for) Memories I've Never Lived Before . Each year is different—they research, design, and implement their own work into the exhibition and in their own words.
Above: (I'm Nostalgic for) Memories I've Never Lived Before logo created by the 2020 Hands-On student curators
Do you have furniture...?

Our Hands-On student curators are preparing an incredible, immersive exhibition this year. Their project is titled  (I'm Nostalgic for) Memories I've Never Lived Before . For their exhibition installation they are currently seeking generous donations of the following items. If you happen to have one (or all) of these items, or have questions, please contact our curator Bess Murphy [ click here].

Does this pique your interest? Make sure to attend their opening May 8, 5-7 pm!

- Bean bag chair
- Lava lamp
- Floor lamp
- Small desk
- Two armchairs and/or one small loveseat
- Clean throw rugs
- Bookshelf
- Beaded curtain
- Diary with a lock
Above: Ralph T. Coe at his home in Santa Fe, c. 2002.
Below: Objects from Ted's promised gift on display at the Met, 2020.
Bruce Bernstein, Chief Curator and Director of Innovation at the Coe Center recently visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art—an institution with strong ties to Ted Coe due to the 2011 donation from his collection to the Met, creating the core collection for Native American arts. Bernstein goes on to write about his visit...
A Gift making a Difference...
Bruce Bernstein

In 2003, Ted Coe curated The Responsive Eye: Ralph T. Coe and the Collecting of American Indian Art , an exhibition at the Met featuring about 200 objects from his collection. At the time he ple dged these pieces and potentially his entire Native American arts collection to the Met. The catalog includes essays by Ted as well as by his close friends, art dealer and collector Eugene V. Thaw and Jonathan King, long time North America curator at the British Museum. Ted long hoped that his collection might serve as a core for the development of an important Native arts program at the Met, as well as to finally properly recognize Native arts along side other great world art traditions. 
After Ted’s passing in 2010, following his wishes, approximately 210 objects were given to the Met. Through this gift, Ted’s aspiration was to create an outstanding department of Native arts at the Met and to create an understanding of why Native American arts is one of the world’s great art traditions.

The gift was placed in the Africa, Oceania and Americas department (AOA); the name being an art museum catch-all for Indigenous art from around the world. AOA departments have in recent years made great strides but nonetheless they exist as and are the result of great colonial projects by western societies. Because of Ted’s collecting practices, his long-time association and friendships with artists, as well as contemporary and historic works included in his donation—it was an awkward fit in the Met’s AOA department. Ted’s gift embodied all of the reasons why AOA departments for Native American arts, in particular, can be antiquated ideas using old perspective of how art systems, artists, and societies interrelate. 
Fast forward to 2020, and Ted’s gift is moving to the Met’s American Wing and becoming part of the exciting development of an important new Met program initiative. In the fall 2018, the Met’s American Wing Native Arts exhibition gallery opened to great fanfare with a exhibition of historic Native arts, Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection where 500,000 visitors have visited. The donations of spectacular historic Native art are the stimulus for the creation of the new Met venture. Moreover, the Diker’s insisted their collections be placed within the American Wing, within the story of America, and not relegated to an AOA section of the museum. The new venture is already making a difference including the recent installation of Kent Monkman's monumental paintings in the grand entry hall .
 
At the Coe, we are excited that Ted’s donation is becoming part of the American Wing where the department is in the process of hiring their first Native arts curator who will develop and broaden Native arts programs and exhibitions throughout the museum. 

Recent and encouraging discussions suggest that the Coe gifts will become more prominent and included in upcoming exhibitions. Indeed, some of Ted’s donation are already in use helping to bring Native voice to non-Native paintings, in a curatorial program titled, Native Perspectives . 
Thank You to Our 2019 Community Partners!
The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts is a private operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent of the Internal Revenue Code. Please donate online or mail checks to the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, 1590 B Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505. Your support creates connection. Thank you.

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