This fall, the Albuquerque Museum invites visitors to experience a sweeping vision of Indigenous creativity and resilience through Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past, opening Nov. 1, 2025 and on view through Feb. 8, 2026.
The exhibition unites two of the most acclaimed voices in contemporary Native art — photographer Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) and potter Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo) — in a compelling dialogue that bridges the past, present and future of Indigenous identity.
Organized by the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, this nationally traveling show marks its third stop in Albuquerque. Featuring 40 works, including 18 of Diego’s intricately painted ceramics and lithographs alongside 22 of Cara’s cinematic photographs, the exhibition explores storytelling as both preservation and transformation.
Through their respective mediums, the Romeros reframe Indigenous representation, infusing traditional forms with the energy of pop culture and the urgency of contemporary issues.
“Cara and Diego are two of the most dynamic contemporary artists working today. Diego’s family reaches far back into New Mexico history, while Cara is a more recent arrival. Both of them tell such important Indigenous stories and bring those historic stories up into contemporary relevance,” says Andrew Connors, director of the Albuquerque Museum.
The exhibition examines subjects ranging from rewriting historical narratives and confronting environmental racism to tracing ancestral evolution. Through these interwoven themes, visitors encounter work that simultaneously honors and challenges tradition.
Diego’s pottery, rooted in millennia-old Pueblo techniques, takes on new life through his bold graphic style and mythic storytelling. Cara’s photography employs a modern lens to portray Indigenous protagonists who are powerful, present and futuristic.
As Connors explained, the museum was drawn to how the exhibition merges two artistic languages into a shared conversation about time and heritage. “The fact that Diego’s medium of ceramics represents a thousands-of-year-old tradition here in New Mexico and that Cara’s medium of photography is much more recent, and yet they are both examining aspects of ancient heritage, shows how that heritage remains living and vital to this day,” says Connors.
In addition to the works traveling from other venues, Albuquerque Museum introduces two monumental additions making their public debut. “Our assistant curator of art, Dr. William Gassaway, has worked with Cara to include two large photo murals, which she recently created,” says Connors. “These have not yet been shown anywhere, and they will be shown for the first time at the Albuquerque Museum.”
These works, part of Romero’s celebrated Four Horsewomen series, reinterpret the apocalyptic imagery of the Four Horsemen through an Indigenous feminist lens. Installed directly on the gallery walls, these pieces envelop viewers in an immersive visual encounter that reclaims power and prophecy for Native women.
For museumgoers, Tales of Futures Past offers more than aesthetic discovery, it’s an invitation to reimagine how Indigenous art speaks to the shared present. “The best of artists provide us opportunities to understand the world around us more richly and more complexly,” says Connors. “Both Diego and Cara build upon what many of our visitors may understand as Native American history and heritage, but they tell the stories through contemporary lenses.”
In this way, the exhibition reaches beyond cultural boundaries to engage universal questions of identity, legacy and belonging. “The fact that both of the artists are Native American does not mean that the stories they tell are simply relevant to Native communities,” says Connors. “They are relevant to all of us living in contemporary society today.”
The Albuquerque Museum’s exhibition also includes a short film, The Gathering, produced by Kaela Waldstein of Mountain Mover Media, documenting the creation of Romero’s new large-scale photographs.
Visitors can explore the show through a variety of public programs, including an opening panel on Nov. 1 featuring both artists in conversation with Isleta/Jemez artist and scholar Deborah Jojola, and a special Third Thursday event on Nov. 20 dedicated to the exhibition.
Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past stands as both an artistic milestone and a reflection of the museum’s mission to celebrate local voices within a global conversation. By pairing ancient mediums with futuristic visions, the Romeros remind audiences that Indigenous creativity is not confined to history; it is a living, evolving force.
Cara & Diego: Tales of Futures Past
Nov. 1, 2025 to Feb. 8, 2026
Albuquerque Museum (2000 Mountain Rd. NW)
Opening Panel featuring artists Cara and Diego Romero
Saturday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Third Thursday evening events in honor of Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past
Thursday, Nov. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.