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A & C
Following notable leadership positions at organizations like the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Center for Contemporary Arts and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, nonprofit pro Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota) has been named the interim director of Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Arts & Culture on Museum Hill.
“Of course, I’m here to keep the train on the tracks until the new director is chosen,” Means tells SFR. “There’s no ego or vision or any of that in my leadership—it’s simply to keep the positive momentum going.”
MIAC’s recent years have been punctuated with a glut of praiseworthy shows including the multi-tribal Here, Now and Always, the textile-forward Horizons and the Grounded in Clay show currently on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Means tells SFR the museum has plenty more in the works at, but she agrees that the current spate of programming counts among the best she can recall.
“I mean, Grounded in Clay? Amazing show,” Means says. “To have it at the MET and have that exposure is phenomenal, and I just want to make sure we’re continuing programs like that and allowing the staff to do their best work. I don’t want to take any of the accolades away from the good work that has already been done”
Much of her new responsibilities will come down to fundraising, Means says, including, if things go well, more memberships in MIAC’s Friends of Indian Arts program, which kicked off in 1994 and, according to the MIAC website, offers members “an array of exciting and informative programs highlighting Native American art, culture and history.”
“I want to be helpful and useful,” Means adds. ”I want to increase membership, because we need that support. We want [MIAC] to be the place where people come to see and experience Native American art in all its forms.”
Means, whose appointment officially goes into effect Jan. 6, says it’s likely she’ll pursue the full-time director job down the road but wants to make sure she tackles any current challenges that present themselves before she’s worried about that.
“I’m ready to help in whatever capacity I can,” she says.
New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego said in a statement that Means’ experience will help “maintain stability and move Museum of Indian Arts & Culture forward in the interim. The museum’s commitment to education and outreach programs and its close work with Indigenous communities will benefit greatly from Danyelle’s tremendous skills.”
