Casa Grandes pottery in spotlight

PROVO — This month, the Casa Grandes pottery collection at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures begins its move toward center stage.

"We have a very notable collection of Casa Grandes pottery," said the teaching museum's curator Glenna Nielsen.

"It needs to be researched, exhibited and published. It is part of the history of our country. We can learn from these people. They built a thriving civilization in a very harsh climate."

The collection, acquired during the 1970s and 1980s, is part of a shared heritage with American Indian and Mexican peoples, she said. It was last exhibited in 1994.

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures will receive $134,172 Museums for America grant for a 28-month project. The grant is part of $17 million originating from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services targeting hundreds of museum programs across the country.

The result locally will be a new exhibition and two catalogs about the pottery collection, a museum spokeswoman said.

The project ends in December 2008.

Students, including those enrolled in the Museum Practices Program, will work with professionals to document, photograph and catalog the artifacts.

The catalogs are tentatively titled "Wealth of the Lost Red City" and "Legacy of Ancient Casas Grandes" and will include articles by experts and a student-authored section of 300 photo-illustrated catalog entries. The entries will include each object's cultural affiliation, date of manufacture, description and condition report.

Finally, they will plan and create a Casas Grande and Southwestern United States exhibition at the museum that is scheduled to open in May 2007 and remain until April 2009. Catalog publication is scheduled for Spring 2008.

"This project falls right in line with our (teaching) mission at the MPC," said Marti Allen, outgoing museum director. "The project not only allows students great experience, but one of its main objectives is preserving cultural heritage."

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 700 N. 100 East in Provo.

Call 422-0020 for more information or to schedule a guided tour.

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com