Shelburne, Vt. (January 4, 2024) – Shelburne Museum proudly announces that Associate Curator of Native American Art Victoria Sunnergren has been appointed as a judge for the 66th Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market (IF&M). The IF&M, one of the largest American Indian art markets, takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, from March 1-3, 2024.

As an authority in Native American art, Sunnergren will be one of three judges for Classification II – Pottery at the prestigious IF&M. Joining her on the judging panel are Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo) and Joseph Aguilar (San Ildefonso Pueblo). Vallo and Aguilar served as consultants for last year’s exhibition at Shelburne Museum, Built from the Earth: Pueblo Pottery from the Anthony and Teressa Perry Collection.

“Victoria’s appointment to judge this distinguished event is a testament to her expertise in the field. We are honored that she and Shelburne Museum will be represented at this prestigious market,” said Thomas Denenberg, John Wilmerding Director of Shelburne Museum. 

Shelburne Museum’s curatorship in Native American Art was established a year ago as part of the museum’s Native American Initiative, with Sunnergren being the inaugural appointee to this position. The Native American Initiative at Shelburne Museum is a major undertaking that includes stewardship of the Perry Collection, an important collection of Native American art and construction of a building and integrated landscape collaboratively designed to create a national resource for the study and care of Indigenous art. Currently in the early design phase, The Perry Center for Native American Art will be the 40th building on Shelburne Museum’s 45-acre campus scheduled to open in 2026.  

The Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, established in 1958, has evolved into one of the largest American Indian art markets globally. Drawing nearly 15,000 visitors and showcasing the work of more than 600 of the Nation’s most preeminent American Indian artists, the event provides a unique opportunity for art enthusiasts to engage with multiple generations of artists working across various visual art forms. For more information about the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, please visit https://heard.org/event/fair/

Image caption: Shelburne Museum Associate Curator of Native American Art Victoria Sunnergren. 

Hi-res image available HERE. 

About Shelburne Museum

Founded in 1947 by trailblazing folk art collector Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960), Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, is the largest art and history museum in northern New England and Vermont’s foremost public resource for visual art and material culture. The Museum’s 45-acre campus is comprised of 39 buildings including the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education and Webb Gallery featuring important American paintings by Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, Grandma Moses, John Singleton Copley and many more.  For more information, please visit shelburnemuseum.org. 

                                                                     

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