Pueblo Pottery: Stories in Clay

The Vilcek Foundation launched "Pueblo Pottery: Stories in Clay," a digital experience to complement the exhibition of "Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery," which opened with a joint presentation in New York City (Lenapehoking) at the Vilcek Foundation and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In partnership with the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Vilcek Foundation, "Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery" was curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, a group of more than 60 Native American community members convened from the 22 Pueblo communities in the Southwest. The Collective was established in 2019 specifically to develop an exhibition that centers the voices of Native American people in the curation and display of Native American art.

"Pueblo Pottery: Stories in Clay" is community driven, and incorporates audio, essays, videos and interactive tools developed with the curators of the Pueblo Pottery Collective. In the digital experience, designed by Pentagram, users can explore three-dimensional views of selected works, accompanied by descriptions of form, design, and meaning. The three-dimensional views were captured using photogammetry with the support of Cortina Productions and Forum One.

To help develop the digital experience, the Vilcek Foundation engaged Brian D. Vallo as a leading consultant. A member of the Pueblo of Acoma tribe in New Mexico, he served as governor in 2019–21, and has more than 30 years of experience working in areas of museum development, cultural resources management, repatriation of ancestors and cultural patrimony, historic architecture preservation, the arts, and tourism. Vallo curated the selection of works and wrote content for the digital experience, and identified selections from the community curators to incorporate into the project.