Mornings with O’Keeffe | A Conversation with Arlo & Michael Namingha
Hear from artists Arlo and Michael Namingha, whose work is featured in the special exhibition Tewa Nangeh/Tewa Country. The artists discuss their practice, their creative processes, and the stories behind the pieces currently on view.
On view through November 1, 2026, Tewa Nangeh/Tewa Country honors Tewa people, art, culture, and landscapes, while drawing awareness to the erasure of the Tewa presence from the story of Georgia O’Keeffe in Northern New Mexico. Co-curated by artist Jason Garcia/Okuu Pín (Kha’p’o Owingeh/Santa Clara Pueblo) and Bess Murphy, Luce Curator of Art and Social Practice at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the exhibition features artists, scholars, and culture bearers from the six Tewa Pueblos of Northern New Mexico: Nambé, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, and Tesuque.
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This talk was recorded as part of our free Mornings with O’Keeffe lecture series on the first Wednesday of every month.
About the Speakers:
Arlo Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh, Hopi) has been creating art in various media. He is primarily a sculptor working in casted bronze, fabricated bronze, steel, wood, and stone. He also creates jewelry and prints. He comes from a long line of artisans in his family. His great, great, great grandmother is Nampeyo, who is recognized for bringing back the traditions of Hopi pottery making. His Father is Dan Namingha, an internationally known artist. Arlo’s work has been shown locally, nationally, and internationally with exhibits from Santa Fe, New York to exhibitions in Monaco and Japan. He managed the family gallery Niman Fine Art for a number of years with his mother, Frances Namingha, curating and setting up exhibitions working with both established and emerging artists. He has served on local boards as a trustee over the years. As an artist Namingha, has always believed in giving back to his community, not only in Santa Fe but abroad and to his tribal communities. He was recently recognized and received an award for the “10 Who Made a Difference 2023” in November 2023 by the Santa Fe, New Mexican, as well as the New Mexico Governor’s award for excellence in the arts in 2024. He also is an educator, teaching alongside his father Dan Namingha at the Namingha Institute which was established in 2019 in Flagstaff Arizona. His works have been featured in numerous groups and solo exhibits within the United States and is in several permanent museum collections as well as several U.S. Embassies throughout the world.
Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh, Hopi) is a conceptual artist who utilizes his work to document environmental changes and the impacts of industrial excavations. Through his work, he creates dialogue between the ancestral landscapes of the Pueblo people and the oil industry. His non-confrontational approach invites audiences to engage with his works in ways that allow them to witness the true environmental effects of the oil and gas industries. He aims to bring attention and awareness to the treatment of Pueblo homelands.
