Sacred Circle Gallery Current Exhibit
Sacred Circle Gallery holds Daybreak Star's curated exhibits of Native American art, featuring contemporary and traditional Native American art by a wide range of internationally recognized and local artists. We are proud to have sustained support through 4Culture.
Mia Sutanto’s Solo Exhibition ‘Anywhere But Here’
March 23 – June 21, 2026
The Sacred Circle Gallery is honored to present a new solo exhibition ‘ Anywhere But Here’ by Mia Sutanto, a Zuni Pueblo 2-D digital artist.
Sutanto brings a deeply personal body of work to our gallery that explores the intersections of femininity, mixed cultural identity, and mental health awareness.
Through a vibrant use of color and storytelling, this exhibition reflects on the responsibility of Indigenous people as safe keepers of the land. Sutanto utilizes the color red as a focal point to transform feelings of anger into meaningful dialogue, specifically drawing attention to the experiences of women and young girls within matriarchal cultures and the critical need to honor living relatives.
While the work addresses complex themes and social climates, it is ultimately a message of hope. Every piece represents a shared strength inherited from ancestors and community members alike. We invite you to experience this profound exploration of heritage, protection, and resilience!
Exhibition Details
- On View: Now through June 21st, 2026
- Gallery Hours: Mon – Sun, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Artist Exhibition: May 9th, 2 – 5 PM at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
- Happening in conjunction with the Mother’s Day Native Art Market
Artist Statement
“Anywhere But Here” – refers to my current feelings surrounding the political climate of this country. But unlike many others who may share these feelings – I cannot leave. As a Zuni woman, it has been passed down to me that we have a responsibility to stay here and protect our land. Because as Indigenous people, we are its safe keepers.
I am a mixed Indigenous (Zuni Pueblo and Chinese Indonesian) contemporary 2-D digital artist, painter, and poet originally from Naperville, IL. Through this exhibition, I wanted this body of work to explore themes concerning femininity, my mixed cultural identity, and mental health awareness. I first felt compelled to include the color red as a focal point in a lot of the paintings to represent how anger can be a healthy emotion that deserves space and can be transformed into something meaningful. I want to convey and draw attention to how it feels when your culture is matriarchal but, you still see so much violence and disrespect towards women and young girls in your community. With all of the missing cases of relatives which only receive minimal news
coverage, the message that is conveyed, is that your existence is unimportant.
A majority of my work centers around women, but I also include representation of male figures that represent relatives that I admire. I want this exhibition, despite some of its darker themes, to feel hopeful for the future generations of Zuni. Every painting in this exhibition represents a piece of strength I’ve felt through my ancestors and from the men and women in my community. And that if they feel that same strength to know it comes from them. With the amount of emphasis we put on honoring our ancestors we should put just as much energy into protecting and listening to our living relatives of today – as we need to support and be there for one another more than ever during these times.
Elah:kwa,
Mia Sutanto
About Mia
Mia Sutanto is a 2-D digital artist, painter, and poet who is originally from Naperville, IL. She was fourteen years old when she moved to her mother’s homeland of Zuni, NM. She is of Zuni Pueblo and Chinese Indonesian descent. The distance and disconnect she felt from her Indigenous culture growing up has been a motivating factor in creating her art.
She is a self-taught artist and started her art career through a 2-D digital art apprenticeship with the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. In this program, she was taught how to draw using software on the iPad and learned how to sell and price her work. From there, she has been participating in prestigious Indigenous art shows such as the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, the Autry American Indian Arts Festival, and many others. She won a 2nd place ribbon for her work at the Gallup Intertribal Indian Ceremonial juried art competition in 2024 for her art piece entitled “Grief.”
Mia creates a range of contemporary art pieces with themes concerning femininity, mixed cultural identity, and mental health awareness. She feels that art has allowed her to develop a stronger connection with both of her cultures as well as helped her cultivate a voice for current issues she sees today. Mia is known to experiment with different styles but often uses bold colorful elements to highlight different states of mind or to support the strong messages in her work.
“i don’t wanna talk about it”
This piece was created as part of reflecting on the violence towards women I see in my community. Especially considering that our tribe started as a matriarchal society and still functions as one in many households. I wanted to capture the disheartening feeling through explosive color, texture, and subject. I chose to use a flower in a vase as plants and pottery hold feminine traits. Making pottery is also historically one of the ways women can ask for blessings in our tribe. Instead of fixating on the beauty of the pottery and plants, I wanted to show the effects of that violence through the withering petals and the blood – though the blood itself also represents rebirth. I wanted to capture how when living with the repercussions of violent behavior you feel awkwardly shuffled into a position where you feel powerless. Overall, with this piece I wanted to show how misogyny hurts everyone.
Native American Art Markets
Come visit Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center for all your gift ideas! In addition to our Gift Shop, we regularly host Artist and Craft Market in our building. Support your local indigenous community! Art prints, original works of art, clothing, drums, jewelry, and much more! Traditional food on site and entertainment throughout the market. Click here to learn more!
Permanent Collection
In 1975 the City of Seattle’s 1% for Art Program allocated $80,000 for the Daybreak Star Center for an original collection of Native American Art across cultures. Native American artists were selected through a national competition to create a group of works representative of contemporary India and Alaskan Native art. The Daybreak Star Arts Center opened to the public in 1978.
Visit our Permanent Collection with a Self-Guided Tour of Daybreak Star.
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