'Makowa' at the MIAC finds connections between stars and their stories

“Makowa: the Worlds Above Us” connects the world, the stars and their stories.

The exhibit features a diverse range of art pieces that represent the world above, complemented by NASA images and scientific explanations. It’s on display at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe through Aug. 17, 2026.

“‘Makowa: the Worlds Above Us’ is about the continued relationship between us humans and our observations of the sky, the nighttime sky and the daytime sky,” Marlon Magdalena, co-curator, said. “How we’re all connected, and how each one affects each other.”

Magdelena said the exhibit tried to pair the modern with the old observations.

“We do get into the sciences of how certain things are explained,” Magdalena said.

The opening of the gallery featured a portable planetarium that Magdalena says could be brought out for future events. He says MIAC wants to host various events, such as star parties and telescope viewing in conjunction with the exhibit.

Pieces were chosen from several decades and incorporate a wide variety of art styles.

“Some are from 1,000 years ago to modern times. Some more contemporary arts, from paintings to jewelry, clothing, sculpture and photography as well,” Magdalena said.

Out of all the pieces, a standout piece for Magdalena, he says, is a Navajo blanket.

“The design on that particular blanket is of the moon landing, it has two astronauts, the American flag,” Magdalena said. “The little space lunar capsule thing in the background, and the earth and stars up in the background. So I think that’s one of my favorites.”

Magdalena said that most of the observations that are talked about in the exhibit are from the Indigenous point of view from Indigenous peoples in the Southwest, mainly in New Mexico.

“The four states are there, and past and present. So we’re trying to connect the past and the present.”

Magdalena says that the exhibit shows how everything in these stories and what they are based on is intertwined.

“The different levels from where we stand up into the clouds and up into the sky, where the sun and the stars and the moon, it’s all connected,” Magdalena said.

'Makowa' at the MIAC finds connections between stars and their stories