Jerry Jacka photography exhibit showcases iconic artists & culture

The Heard presents Storyteller: The Photography of Jerry Jacka, an original exhibition that features Jacka’s portraits of iconic American Indian artists paired with examples of their artwork from the museum’s collection.

Experience images of artists, primarily from the American Southwest, engaged in a range of activities related to traditional cultural practices including weaving, pottery, kachina-carving, and jewelry making.

The exhibition also features images from his award-winning contributions to Arizona Highways Magazine. Jerry Jacka’s award-winning photography has profoundly influenced how generations of people think and feel about the people and landscapes of the American Southwest.

Ann Marshall, the curator at the Heard Museum, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the exhibition at the museum.

“Jerry Jacka is a photographer who introduced so many people to Arizona and Arizona native artists and their art,” Marshall said.

The photographer passed away in 2017. His family donated Jacka’s lifetime work of 133,000 images that comprise the exhibition. The images are a series of people creating art.

The Art

Annie Antone: A smiley woman, an award-winning Tohono O’odham basket weaver sits creating a woven basket called “The Last Dance.” She has her bleached, unbleached yucca and martinia laid out ready to become the basket. The basket shows people dancing, which refers to the people in her community.