MSU opens photography exhibit about Native American modernity

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Midwestern State University opened its spring semester with a photography exhibition at the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery.

Cara Romero uses photography to show the modernity of Native peoples. She showcases her work in an exhibition titled “Cara Romero: Mythos and Sub-Pop” that opened on Jan. 10 and will close Feb. 25.

While pursuing her undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology, Romero was discouraged by how Native Americans were portrayed in academia and the media as bygone. She is an enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, but was raised in Houston, Texas. This aspect of her identity led her to turn to photography to portray a representation of Indigenous cultural memory, history and personal experiences through a female Native American lens.

Romero’s photography allows her to become a storyteller by using contemporary techniques to reflect the modernity of Native peoples, highlighting the worldviews and cultural aspects of Indigenous peoples in everyday life.

Romero keeps a studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico and regularly participates in Native American art fairs and discussion panels. Her work is part of both public and private international collections and was featured in PBS’ “Craft in America” in 2019.

A reception including a gallery talk will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 28.