The Heard Museum in Phoenix

The Heard Museum in Phoenix, founded in 1929, is one of our absolute favs when it comes to Native-American collections. Both, traditional and modern, is covered here, in a beautiful building and setting, around courtyards with sculpture of famous Apache Indian artist Allan Houser (left) and other artists.

There is the permanent exhibition - with a superb kachina collection, a basket and silver collection, etc. - plus a fantastic "art fence" (photo on the right), plus several changing exhibitions at the same time. Among them, I liked the one about Hawaiian surf culture (bottom) and one about silver boxes best. 

They have two wonderful shops (no tax!), too - merchandise perhaps not necessarily our price range - but beautiful jewelry, weavings, baskets etc.! In the adjacent café-restaurant they serve native american food. 

Drive into town was better than expected. With all the preparations and parties for Superbowl going on, we expected the highways into Phoenix to be more crowded