BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Media are invited to preview the Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology after its multimillion-dollar renovation at 11 a.m. Oct. 14, Indigenous Peoples Day. Experts and curators will be available to give guided tours and answer questions related to new exhibitions and the mission of the museum ahead of its grand opening.
“We want the museum to feel like home for everyone,” said Brandie Macdonald, executive director of the museum and Chickasaw Nation citizen/Choctaw Nation descendant. “It’s a place where families can come together to learn about the robust cultural heritage of humanity and engage with people’s stories about love, family, cultural traditions, connections to land and the history of Indiana.”
The media are invited to take behind-the-scenes tours of exhibitions and collections storage where visitors will be able to see and interact with archaeologists and underwater archaeologists as they show objects. The researchers in these areas use state-of-the-art technology, including a 3D artifact imaging box.
The museum will unveil the William Mathers Gallery, which features two new exhibitions. One is “Whispers from the Divide,” a captivating video installation by Arthur Liou, the Herman B Wells Professor of Digital Art at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. The installation takes visitors on an immersive first-person journey along the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Presented in English and Spanish, the exhibition will include an interactive poetry component, inviting patrons to share their own stories related to home, land and family.
Another featured exhibition is curated by Heather Akou, program director and associate professor of fashion design at the Eskenazi School. “Divine Adornment: Community Stories of Belonging” discusses the difference between fast fashion and slow fashion, highlighting student and community stories related to clothing and jewelry. Featuring stunning pieces from the museum’s collection, the exhibition highlights how fashion signifies belonging and inspires contemporary makers of Islamic textiles and jewelry.
The media can also see demonstrations of “City on the River” through a new virtual reality dome that will transport them to Angel Mounds State Historic Site along the Ohio River. The site was home to the Mississippian community from A.D. 1050 to 1450, and the museum holds and cares for 2.5 million artifacts from the site within its collections.
“City on the River” will officially open in 2025 as an exhibition that represents several years of close partnership and collaboration with the Angel Mounds Exhibition Advisory Council, which includes members of Indigenous-descendant communities who are ancestrally connected to the site and for whom the site still holds significance.
“Locally Based, Globally Relevant,” an interactive exhibition in the North Lobby Gallery, highlights the importance and scale of how Indigenous peoples have contributed to land and water management, conservation, reclamation, environmental governance and more. Curators partnered with Eduardo S. Brondizio, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, to create the exhibition. Brondizio received the Volvo Environment Prize in 2023 for his research examining human-environment interactions and how they’ve transformed the Amazon.
The museum officially reopens to the public on Oct. 19 with a free family-friendly event from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. that includes giveaways, food, live music and tours.
The IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology houses the collections from the former Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. With over 5 million objects of cultural heritage and archaeological significance, the museum tells the human stories behind these objects and uplifts the source and descendant communities connected to them.
