Storywork: Marie Watt

Beginning February 21, 2026, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) on the University of Utah campus will host a major exhibition of work by interdisciplinary artist Marie Watt. Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation includes over 60 artworks highlighting Watt’s career since 1996.

Watt is a highly celebrated artist, creating art that bridges history, culture, and community. She received the 2025 Heinz Award, a $250,000 award celebrating the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the arts, the economy and the environment. “This Land, Shared Sky,” a collaborative site-specific installation with Chicago-based sculptor Nick Cave, will be on permanent display in the lobby of the Obama Presidential Center when it opens later in 2026.

As a member of the Seneca Nation with German-Scots ancestry, Watt is a self-described “half cowboy and half Indian” who weaves together ideas of kinship, community, stewardship, tradition, and memory through her practice of “storywork.” This retrospective of Watt’s print practice will be accompanied by her monumental blanket stacks, hanging textiles, and small-scale sculptures.

“I view materials as sites for storytelling, repositories of experiences, vulnerabilities, and histories,” said Watt. “Through playing with shifting light, the soft curves of wood grain, the droops of a baby blanket, I examine how familiar textures draw you into the story of a piece, gently leading you to a unique yet shared experience – an interaction with heirloom-like objects. The story does not start or end with a singular work, but expands beyond what is visible, carried forward by the meaning-making viewers bring to the work.”

Watt draws from Native and non-Native traditions, including Greco-Roman myth, pop culture, and Indigenous oral narratives, to remind viewers of their stories, obligations to the world, and relationships with past and future generations. The artist’s work is inspired by a Klamath elder’s insight: “My story changes when I know your story.”

“Marie Watt is one of the most important American artists of our time! Her art helps us understand stories and symbols of Native communities,” said ARTnews Top 200 Collector and real estate developer, Jordan Schnitzer.

“It is an honor to work with an artist like Marie Watt, whose practice is grounded in community and care,” said Emily Lawhead, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary art at the UMFA. “Storywork is a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness at a moment when such reflection feels urgent and necessary.”

Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt is organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation in partnership with University Galleries, University of San Diego, and curated by John Murphy, Ph.D., Hoehn Curatorial Fellow for Prints. The UMFA’s iteration of this exhibition was curated by Emily Lawhead, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.