2026 Exhibitions and Events
- Mar 23
- 4 min read
Updated: 11 hours ago
My painting “Access Denied” is currently on view at @smithsoniannmai in Washington, DC in the new exhibition
“Stretching the Canvas: Ten Decades of Native Painting”! I hope visitors enjoy seeing my work alongside so many of my [friends/peers/mentors/inspirations]! #NativeArt
May 15, 2026 - Spring 2027
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C.
I am so excited to share that I am the recipient of the 2026 Walker Youngbird Foundation's Emerging Native Arts Grant:
Awarded bi-annually, the Emerging Native Arts Grant provides direct funding, mentorship, and visibility to Native and Indigenous artists at a pivotal stage in their careers. Native artists are often underrepresented in mainstream arts funding and gallery systems, and this initiative offers the resources to complete a proposed project, whether an exhibition, installation, publication, or other.
Chicago, IL
presents a group show with Hattie Lee Mendoza, Sean Chandler, and Melissa Melero-Moose
March 28, 2026 - July 26, 2026
artist reception, April 11, 2026 4pm - 7pm
Resilience: Voices of Basket Weavers in the Great Basin
An original @One, University Libraries documentary, this film explores the art of Native American basketry—its history, living practice, and future—through the voices of contemporary weavers, museum curators, and Indigenous artists.
Watch the film:
Nevada Toneega’a (Flowers) is a photographic field guide to the wildflowers of Hungry Valley and Pyramid Lake in Northern Nevada, by artist and independent curator Melissa Melero-Moose. Spanning a decade of seasonal observations, the guide highlights the richness of high desert plant life. Informed by Indigenous Knowledge, it includes Northern Paiute plant names to support cultural and language preservation. While focused on visual identification, it also reflects the deep ecological and cultural connections rooted in the Great Basin. This accessible guide invites plant enthusiasts, educators, and students to explore the often-overlooked beauty of Northern Nevada’s native landscape.
Available for purchase at the Nevada Museum of Art bookstore, or online
THIS IS US:
Contemporary Art from the Great Basin Native Artists
Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson Street, Carson City, NV
On view from November 2025 - October 2026
THIS IS US: Contemporary Art from the Great Basin Native Artists is an art exhibition to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of the founding of the Great Basin Native Artists (GBNA). The beginning of this regional art group came from a need in the community to find Native American artists in the region, document their work and create more opportunities for the artists with ongoing exhibitions, events and learning workshops. Over the past ten years, GBNA has grown into an important art staple in the region and has amassed a growing collection of contemporary Native art from all reaches of the Great Basin and California. Some of the artists in the GBNA collection include Ben Aleck, Fawn Douglas, Jack Malotte, Jean LaMarr, and Steve Nighthawk. In addition to the GBNA collection, the Nevada State Museum will be exhibiting some pieces from their permanent collection especially chosen to compliment the GBNA collection with art pieces including Jacque Rickard’s large pictorial beaded basket, a piece from Burch Kochamp that debuted in the original Under One Sky art exhibitions in 2002, and a large illustration from regional artist Marlin Thompson, titled Coyote Stories. As curator of the Great Basin Native Artists, it brings me great joy to share these unique artworks and these amazing American artists with our community. -MMM
Image credit: Kim Avanna Lawson, Mamie (Songoe’e) Hummingbird, 2023, monoprint
Lilley Museum, University of Nevada, Reno
January 2025 - July 2026
My work, Ben Aleck, and other Indigenous artists will be included in this group exhibition titled Connect the Dots. This show brings together artwork from across the Lilley Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Interesting pairings and installations around themes of place, people, and materiality compel us to think about the artists who make the work, the conditions and time periods the work was made, and our relationship to both.
Art catalogue to follow with writing from Autumn Harry, myself, Antoinette Cavannah and many others.
MOMÍM WENÉ: MEDICINE WATER
Grace Hudson Museum, Ukiah, CA
February 2026 - May 2026
Momím Wené: Medicine Water tells a story of tribal relationships between the people and their waterways through the paintings, basketry, beadwork, and regalia of over 30 Native artists. Their work reflects the various tribal histories of California Indian Country, changing times, and lifeways. Arranged by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, this exhibit began in central California and is now flowing to the home of the Ukiah Valley Pomo, where their regional voices will be added to the story.
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