Pushing Boundaries: Contemporary Indigenous Art & IAIA

Public Talk by Manuela Well-Off-Man

6 – 8 PM
April 22, 2025

RSVP by April 20, 2025 by calling (806) 834-6221

This presentation explores the development of contemporary Indigenous art, focusing on the pivotal role of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in supporting experimentation, risk-taking, and fostering groundbreaking artists. Their work often addresses important issues, redefines Native representation, and integrates Indigenous perspectives into modern and contemporary art movements. The discussion will highlight the broader landscape of Indigenous artistic innovation and examine IAIA’s lasting impact on today’s leading Indigenous artists, including those featured in the Museum of Contemporary Native Art’s (MoCNA) current and upcoming exhibitions. The presentation will illustrate how Indigenous artists continue to push boundaries, assert their presence in global contemporary art, and redefine narratives of identity, hidden histories, and artistic expression.

Manuela Well-Off-Man is an art historian and chief curator at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. She has more than 20 years of curatorial experience in museums and galleries. Well-Off-Man previously served as curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and as curator of art at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. She was born and raised in Eastern Westphalia, Germany. She came to Montana to work as an intern for the Art Museum of Missoula in Missoula, Montana and the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, and to extend her knowledge of contemporary Native American art. During her internship at the Art Museum of Missoula she conducted a meeting of Indian artists on the Rocky Boy Reservation when she met her future husband, John Well-Off-Man.

Manuela Well-Off-Man has authored exhibition catalogs, developed, organized and installed art exhibitions. She has a background in international contemporary art shows. In 1999 she curated an exhibition of contemporary American Indian art for the Westphalian State Museum of Natural History in Münster, Germany. She also translated catalogue texts and other texts from German into English for the Museum of Natural History in Münster. She also worked for the youth photo project "Photography, An Image of Each Other" as independent curator, catalogue author, and grant writer.

Manuela Well-Off-Man received a Ph.D. degree in Art History from the Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany in 1997. She graduated from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany with and M.A. degree in Art History, Archaeology, and Pedagogy in 1994. She earned am Intermediate/B.A. degree in Art History, Archaeology, and Pedagogy at the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany in 1990.