Meow Wolf announces New York project, Georgia O’Keeffe protégé Juan Hamilton dies, and more top Southwest art news headlines for April 2025.
News
Meow Wolf Promises First East Coast Exhibition at Manhattan’s Pier 17 in 2027
Santa Fe–based entertainment corporation Meow Wolf announced its first permanent exhibition on the East Coast, slated for a 2027 debut at Pier 17 in Manhattan. The company has not always completed announced projects—such as a hotel in Phoenix and an exhibition in Washington, D.C.—underscoring the leadership and financial challenges the company faces.
Juan Hamilton, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Protégé and Sole Beneficiary, Dies at 79
Juan Hamilton, an artist and the sole beneficiary of Georgia O’Keeffe’s will, died at 79 in his Santa Fe home from complications related to a subdural hematoma. Hamilton, who cared for O’Keeffe in her final years and inherited her $90 million estate, was a sculptor who counted luminaries like Andy Warhol and Joni Mitchell among his fans.
Texas Drops Case Against Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth Over Sally Mann Exhibition
A Texas county decided not to pursue legal action against the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth over Sally Mann’s photographs, which have been widely exhibited for more than thirty years. Texas officials seized the photographs in January amid the museum’s preparations for a leadership change, with Halona Norton-Westbrook set to take over as director in July.
Also:
- Closing a twenty-five year investigation, the Atomic Museum in Las Vegas revealed that “Miss Atomic Bomb” is Anna Lee Mahoney of the Bronx, New York, uncovering the long-hidden truth behind the iconic 1957 photograph.
- A new arts advocacy group in Nevada, the Southern Nevada Arts Coalition, is championing AB219—a bill that would redirect 1% of the state’s live entertainment tax to fund local arts initiatives—potentially delivering a significant boost to Nevada’s cultural infrastructure.
- Corriente Alterna, an international performing arts series celebrating contemporary Mexican, Latinx, and Chicanx artists, launches its first live edition in Utah in April, featuring eleven performances by artists from Utah, Texas, and Mexico.
- Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts established the Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Memorial Scholarship to honor the late pioneering Native artist and provide funding for emerging Indigenous artists and leaders.
- The Springville Museum in Utah released Spirit of the Art City, a documentary about how high school students and community members laid the groundwork for the institution in the 1920s.
- The Panhandle-Plains Museum in Canyon, Texas, announced its indefinite closure following a state fire marshal report. Glasstire reports that while “some of the issues have already been corrected… others will require major renovations.”
Grants and Awards
Nasher Sculpture Center Awards Otobong Nkanga the 2025 Nasher Prize
Otobong Nkanga, renowned for her evocative installations exploring humanity’s complex ties to land and resources, won the $100,000 Nasher Prize under the center’s new biennial format, with the honor to be celebrated with an April exhibition and monograph.
MIAC Celebrates 2025 Goodman Fellow Auri Poseyesva at Engaging the Future Exhibition
The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture’s new exhibition Engaging the Future: The Goodman Fellowship Artists showcases nineteen contemporary Native artists—including 2025 Goodman Fellow Auri Poseyesva (Hopi)—in Santa Fe.
Eric Fischl Teams with Phoenix Art Museum and Phoenix College to Spotlight Emerging Talent
Renowned painter and sculptor Eric Fischl presents the 2025 Vanguard Awards—recognizing outstanding student talent—at a ceremony in April as part of an event series with Phoenix Art Museum and Phoenix College.
Also:
- Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe launched its Spring 2025 Artist-in-Residence Program featuring noted Native artists such as Douglas Miles (San Carlos Apache), Melanie Yazzie (Diné/Navajo), and Neeko Garcia (Diné/Navajo and Hispanic).
- Contemporary at Blue Star in San Antonio announced its 2025-26 Berlin Residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, selecting Bexar County artists Miles Friday, Brandy Gonzalez, Anthony Rundblade, and Andrea Willems for three-month residencies.
- Rebecca Lee Kunz, who lives in Santa Fe, is the first Cherokee artist to win the 2025 Caldecott Medal for her debut children’s book Chooch Helped.
Leadership Changes and Appointments
IFAM Appoints Helena Ribe as New Board Chair
The International Folk Art Market has named Helena Ribe, a retired World Bank economist with a Yale PhD, as its new board chair, as it prepares for its twenty-first annual market in July 2025.
Also:
- Joseph Specter, formerly president and general director of Arizona Opera, is the new president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which is based in Arizona and Wisconsin.
- Various Small Fires named Angela Robins, former director of Honor Fraser Gallery, as its senior director. The contemporary gallery has spaces in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Seoul, and will soon open a new location in Orange County.
- Justin Richel is the new interim residency director of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program in New Mexico following the departure of longtime director Larry Bob Phillips. Richel was a 2020 RAiR artist-in-residence.
