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Art, People, and Life in the Southwest, 1913 to Today is a one-hour speaking and visual presentation for groups who want to hear the stories behind the art.

About the Presentation

The Heart of Collecting, a one-hour speaking and visual presentation, weaves a story of how sustaining art, culture, and families shapes lives.

Judith Lavender shares her family's history of trading with the Native peoples of the Southwest, which began in 1913 when her grandfather built one of the early trading posts at Tselani on the Navajo Nation. Her father carried on the family's trading until he was 100 years old. Woven through her talk are the artists who created the art, and what they taught her about their culture and traditions.

Surrounded by Native American art from childhood, she developed a discerning eye for quality. She draws on her early years as one of eight children, playing among stacks of Navajo weavings at her father's trading post, and on growing up among Diné, Hopi, and Zuni people in Gallup, New Mexico, to share the deep appreciation she developed for art, culture, and people.

What Audiences Take Away

Family Trading History

How trading posts connected families, artists, and communities across the Southwest.

Stories About the Artists

The makers behind the art, their culture and traditions.

A Peek at the Collection

Selected pieces gathered over generations, seen through the eyes of a collector.

Format

In person or virtual

Audience

Groups of 25 to more than 100

Fees

Honorarium requested, plus travel

Previously Presented At

  • The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
  • Private Foundation, Evanston, Illinois
  • Crow Canyon, Cortez, Colorado
  • University of New Mexico, Lobo Living Room
  • Private group, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
  • and many private organizations

What Others Say

“Judith Lavender’s presentation title is very appropriate, since it speaks from the heart more than any other presentation about collecting art from another culture that I had ever heard. You will come away from this moving presentation with a deeper understanding and profound respect for Native American cultures of the Southwest.”
Dr. Anne P. UnderhillProfessor of AnthropologyYale UniversityNew Haven, Connecticut
“Listening to Judith Lavender’s presentation of her memories and research on the Native American peoples she grew up with was very moving. Judith combined insightful research with personal account to weave together a compelling story of native artists, their work, and her and her families’ experiences trading and collecting.”
Alaka Wali, Ph.D.Curator of North American AnthropologyApplied Cultural Research DirectorThe Field MuseumChicago, Illinois

Well suited to

  • Museums
  • Libraries
  • Historical societies
  • Collector groups
  • Community organizations
  • Private organizations

Every piece has a story.

Send inquiry

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Or write directly

judithlavender@heartofcollecting.com