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May 2026—The Arizona State Museum (ASM) is seeking outright donations to modernize and expand our curatorial facilities for our significant and highly prized Southwest Textile Collection, one of the most important of its kind.
The Vision: A Southwest Textile Study Room for Storage, Research, and Viewing
The vision is a secure, spacious, and dynamic environment that will make ASM’s Southwest Textile Collection more readily and safely accessible to students, curators, researchers, members of descendant communities, artists, collectors, and the general public. The current plan, including updated digital databases, would provide access to historic and modern handmade fabrics of Athabaskan-speaking, Puebloan, and other peoples of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico for tours, research, preservation, and many other purposes.
The Urgency
Considering the fragile nature of many historic textiles and frequent requests for viewing, funds raised between now and the end of 2027 will be matched in any amount up to $250,000 through a generous challenge grant from a private benefactor.
Details of textiles in ASM's collection.
The Goal
The goal is to bring together 1,600 textiles and related objects currently stored in five different areas in two buildings into a centralized, dedicated space of 3,000 sq. ft. on the main floor of the museum’s north building.
The Tasks Ahead, with a Targeted Budget of $1.5 Million
• Demolish, reconstruct, and refurbish two adjacent rooms on the first floor of ASM North.
• Upgrade HVAC, electrical, and lighting systems.
• Relocate and add more cabinets for rolled storage.
• Relocate and add more cabinets for flat storage.
• Design and mount an open-suspension system for oversized textiles.
• Install modular examination tables, with magnification and image projection systems.
Textiles are accessed for research, artist inspiration, tours, and exhibits.
The Timeline
2030 is the target for completion. The ASM conservation team plans to photograph, vacuum, stabilize, conduct spot tests for toxins, and other preservation-related activities before the textiles are placed in their new homes. Around that time, the museum’s IT team will launch an upgraded database, making ASM’s and Dr. Joe Ben Wheat’s technical and historical data widely available for comparisons.
About the Collection
Southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexican textiles, numbering 700 and 900 pieces respectively, are a highlight of ASM’s ethnological collections. Dates span from the early 1800s to the present day. All the Indigenous textile-producing or -using cultures of the region are represented, including Pueblo, Diné, Ndéé, Ute, Paiute, O’odham, Yaqui, Cocopah, Tarahumara, Mayo, and Seri, plus Hispanic communities. Early Hopi mantas, rare Diné biil (women’s dresses), and classic/late classic Diné sarapes and chief-style blankets are highlights. A star is a 13 ft.-wide pictorial rug woven by Diné weaver Ason Yellowhair in the late 1940s/early 1950s. The collection also includes handwoven horsegear and handmade weaving tools.
Details of textiles in ASM's collection.
About the Arizona State Museum
Established by the Arizona territorial legislature in 1893, ASM is the oldest and largest anthropological research museum in the region, the nation’s largest and busiest state-run archaeological repository, and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
ASM occupies two buildings on the west-side historic district of the University of Arizona campus. While the century-old buildings’ exteriors are beautiful, their interiors and mechanical systems are not up to 21st century museum standards for controlling climate and providing appropriate preservation environments. This project is part of ASM’s continuing efforts to create microclimates and upgrade conditions within its facilities in order to better care for the state’s collections. ASM’s highest responsibility is to ensure that its vast and important collections and associated records are preserved in perpetuity, so that they will continue to be available for research and inspiration.
Home to Three American Treasure Collections
ASM cares for more than three million objects including 46,000 cubic feet of bulk archaeological research materials. Among these, THREE specific collections have been federally recognized and designated “American Treasures.” To our knowledge, ASM is the only institution in the country to be so honored, a fact that emphasizes how important its collections are to our nation’s shared cultural heritage. ASM’s collection of Southwest Indian pottery, 24,000 whole vessels (including 2,000 year-old specimens), attained American Treasure status in the year 2000. The museum’s collection of American Indian perishables (basketry and woven fiber), 35,000 objects (including 7,000 year old specimens), followed suit in 2011. The photography collection attained its designation in 2018.
The Textiles are Next!
• Southwest Textile Study Room, projected completion date 2030
• Photo Vault, completed 2026
• Perishables Vault, completed 2017
• Pottery Vault and Conservation Lab, completed 2008
For more information or to send your check, payable to "UA Foundation/ASM," contact:
Darlene F. Lizarraga
Office of Marketing and Development
Arizona State Museum
PO Box 210026 | Tucson, AZ 85721-0026
dfl@arizona.edu | 520-626-8381