The University Museum reopened its doors on Feb. 27 with its first exhibition since 2022. Curated by Sabrina Gonzalez, the exhibition, titled “Corn Mother,” explores the cultural and symbolic importance of corn in Indigenous communities, particularly in the Southwest.
“As I was creating the concept for the exhibit, I wanted to kind of show this very deep relationship between different Indigenous cultures here in the southwest and their relationships to corn,” Gonzalez said. “Because corn is more than just a food… she’s a relative. She’s a part of life, and she’s a life-giver, like mothers and so that’s really like the concept and the whole design, and the reason why.”
Gonzalez said her exhibition was split up into six different sections. These six sections include culinary, processing, social traditions, oral traditions, rituals, and contemporary use. Each section highlights how corn plays a role in both historical and modern contexts.
“So those are the main themes, but the main idea is to kind of get across to people that corn is more than just a food,” Gonzalez said…