Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo) consults with the Vilcek Foundation on the foundation’s collection of Pueblo pottery, addressing issues such as collection documentation and stewardship practices. His work also includes expanding public access to the collection via exhibitions, events, and online resources.
Vallo was an important partner in the development of Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, working with Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel and Curator Emily Schuchardt Navratil. The exhibition features works from the Vilcek Collection and from the collections of the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He contributed written materials for the exhibition catalog, and wrote the introduction for The Coloring Book of Pueblo Pottery.
To expand access to the foundation’s collection of Pueblo pottery, Vallo curated the digital experience, Pueblo Pottery: Stories in Clay. The digital experience offers further insight into the works in the exhibition, centers the voices of the community curators of the Pueblo Pottery Collective, and highlights the enduring pottery-making traditions of the Pueblo people.
In addition to his work with the Vilcek Foundation, Vallo serves as a cultural and arts consultant with more than 30 years of experience. He is a former governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, and previously served as the director of the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research. He is the founding director of the Pueblo of Acoma’s Haakú Museum, and has worked as a consultant to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Field Museum, and the DeYoung Museum. Vallo provides expertise to organizations on federal laws that protect Native American art and artifacts, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.