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| - The Heard Museum is a beautiful museum showcasing American Indian art mostly from the mid-late 1900s.
The architecture of the actual building is one of my favorite things - a true Phoenix icon filled with meandering passages and multiple small outdoor spaces. All very peaceful.
The modern/rotating exhibits are usually pretty great: Diego Rivera, T.C. Cannon, Frida Kahlo in the last year or so. The museum also has a selection of artifacts gathered by the Heard family in their travels throughout the U.S., central America, and Africa.
Bonus kids' section includes projects focused on the main exhibitor. For the T.C. Cannon exhibit, the kids' area included ways to practice juxtaposing traditional American Indian patterns or garb in a modern setting (just like Cannon!).
Note, however, that the Heard is more of a showcase for modern (or modernish) American Indian art, including paintings, blankets, sculpture, and dress. It is aimed at preserving the ancient cultures not on showcasing ancient artifacts from these cultures. With this position as a niche modern art museum, the kids' area does not include a basic education on the different American Indian cultures/what regions they originally came from/the differences in their clothing, homes, way of life. Maybe that's more of a feature of the Pueblo Grande Museum by the airport...Either way, The Heard is a beautiful art museum and has some very interesting and beautiful exhibits about American Indian culture in the 1900s.
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