The Fralin Museum of Art Awarded $125,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Fralin Museum of Art has been awarded $125,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art to support “O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell.” The grant marks the first award for The Fralin and the University of Virginia (UVA) from the Terra Foundation for American Art and will fund the traveling exhibition and scholarly exhibition catalog. The Fralin partnered with the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) to organize “O’Powa O’Meng.” The exhibition will be on view at Mia from September 2024 to January 2025, and at The Fralin Museum of Art from February to June 2025. Two additional venues are anticipated.

“This sponsorship from the Terra Foundation for American Art to support ‘O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell’ and the accompanying catalog directly advances The Fralin’s mission of encouraging the spirit of curiosity and promoting diversity of thought through the study, care and celebration of art,” said Karen E. Milbourne, J. Sanford Miller Family director of The Fralin. “This important gift reinforces The Fralin Museum of Art’s continued focus on highlighting the work of artists of all backgrounds by showcasing one of the most important and consequential Native American female potters in the United States.”

The Terra Foundation for American Art supports temporary exhibitions that amplify diverse voices and invite enriching dialogue that explores the history of American art from various perspectives. “O’Powa O’Meng” aligns with that goal, bringing recognition to a trailblazing Native American artist, introducing new scholarly work and providing emotional encounters with Folwell’s pottery.

Jody Folwell is a contemporary potter from Kha’p’o Owingeh (also known as Santa Clara Pueblo) located in northern New Mexico, who is widely considered among the most significant and influential clay artists of her generation. With an artistic practice that spans five decades, she has revolutionized contemporary Pueblo pottery and Native art more broadly by pushing the boundaries of form, content and design. She is the first Pueblo artist to employ writing and designs as personal, political and social narratives directly on her pottery. The exhibition assembles 26 works from public and private collections for her first solo exhibition. The retrospective centers Folwell’s practice and situates her within the intersecting artistic contexts of Kha’p’o Owingeh, Native American art and Contemporary and American art more broadly.

The exhibition title, which translates to “I came here, I got here, I’m still going” in Folwell’s Tewa language, reflects the artist’s personal journey toward devoting herself to pottery. Addressing legacy, the exhibition features works by Folwell’s mother Rose Naranjo, daughters Polly Rose Folwell and Susan Folwell, and granddaughter Kaa Folwell. Visitors will leave with an expanded and more critical awareness that contemporary Native artists are creative, inventive and engaged with the world around them while still being grounded in their communities and traditions.

The exhibition is co-curated by Adriana Greci Green, Ph.D., curator of Indigenous arts of the Americas at The Fralin Museum of Art; Jill Ahlberg Yohe, Ph.D., associate curator of Native American art at Minneapolis Institute of Art; and Bruce Bernstein, Ph.D., senior scholar, School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico. A fully illustrated catalog will accompany the exhibition, with contributions by the co-curators and leading artists Lonnie Vigil (Nambé Pueblo), Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo), Les Namingha (Zuni and Tewa-Hopi) and Cara Romero (Chemehuevi); media producer Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache); designer Kevin Coochwytewa (Isleta Pueblo and Hopi); Kha’p’o Owingeh scholar and sister of the artist, Tessie Naranjo, Ph.D.; and family members — all artists themselves — Roxanne Swentzell, Rose B. Simpson, Eliza Naranjo Morse and Kaa Folwell. Didactics include first person narratives, contributions about Jody's work and curatorial perspectives that place Folwell within, though not bound by, several art genres. A short video, shot on location in Folwell's home in Kha’p’o Owingeh, will augment written materials and offer visitors a window into the artist's worlds. 

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About The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia
Established in 1935, the University of Virginia Art Museum became The Fralin Museum of Art in 2012 in honor of a bequest of American art and service to the University by Cynthia and W. Heywood Fralin. The Museum maintains a collection of more than 13,000 works of art, including American and European painting, works on paper and sculpture from the 15th through the 20th centuries; art from the ancient Mediterranean; Asian art; and Native and ancient American art. Housed in the historic Bayly Building near the Rotunda on the landmark UVA campus, The Fralin is dedicated to serving the widest possible audiences and engaging comprehensive visual education to enhance its visitors’ understanding of world cultures. Throughout the year, the Museum presents a diverse selection of exhibitions, programs, research and events that bring the University and broader community together.

About the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Home to more than 100,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) inspires wonder, spurs creativity and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest art collections in the country—from all corners of the globe, and from ancient to contemporary—Mia links the past to the present, enables global conversations and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration.

General admission to Mia is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee. For more information, call 612-870-3000 or visit artsmia.org.

About the Terra Foundation for American Art
The Terra Foundation for American Art, established in 1978 and having offices in Chicago and Paris, supports organizations and individuals locally and globally with the aim of fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices that expand narratives of American art, through the foundation’s grant program, collection and initiatives.

Images Left to Right: 

Jody Folwell
“T’ah p-ah sa’ wae (Dad’s Fish),” c. 2000
Clay, paint
13 x 11 in.
Collection of Jody Folwell, Santa Clara, NM
Photo by Addison Doty. © Jody Folwell

Jody Folwell
“Wild West Show,” 1996–2003
Clay, paint
21 7/16 x 14 1/16 in.
Courtesy of the School of Advanced Research, cat. no. SAR.2004-16-1
Photo by Addison Doty. © Jody Folwell

Jody Folwell
“Ancient,” 2018 or 2019
Clay, paint
11 x 11 in.
Collection of Susan Ratzkin, Thousand Oaks, CA
Photo by Addison Doty. © Jody Folwell

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