Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light), spanning two decades of work, the exhibit includes over 60 large-scale photographs —all the iconic images we love alongside new work on a scale never seen before. The exhibition is curated by Hood Museum Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art Dr. Jami Powell. It will be on view at the Hood Museum from January 18 through August 10, 2025. It will travel to Phoenix Art Museum from February 28–June 28, 2026, and to MOCA Jacksonville, October 1, 2026 – March 21, 2027, among other national and international venues to be announced. The exhibition showcases deeply personal stories, and to them, presenting such a beautiful institution was incredibly moving.
With deep gratitude to Bridget Sandate, Romero’s friend and Chemehuevi language keeper, they titled the exhibition Panûpünüwügai, which means living light in the Chemehuevi language. The way that they’ve put the words together, Panûpünüwügai, is a translation of the spirit of light. So, it has multiple meanings. It’s not just about the subject matter that’s in the show; it’s also about the spirituality of how light plays with the subjects, how the light is alive, and how the subject matter is also living. It speaks to the nature of photography being a painting with light.
Jami Powell and Romero co-organized the exhibition into themes based on throughlines found in Romero’s photographic series: California Desert & Mythos, (Re)Imagining Americana, Rematriation: Empowering Indigenous Women, Environmental Racism, and Ancestral Futures. In this exhibition, for the first time, Romero’s storytelling transcends the two-dimensional realm with the inclusion of two installations that invite visitors to interact with the process.
Romero gives heartfelt thanks to the Hood Museum team for their vision and care, to her family and friends for their endless encouragement, and to you and everyone who has supported her work over the years. She believes this milestone belongs to all of us and she hopes you can visit the exhibition.
Opening Reception of Panûpünüwügai (Living Light), Photo Credit Rob Strong
NEW RELEASES
The exhibition also features multiple new and never-before-seen works, including four photographs that Romero created while in residency with the Hood Museum in June 2024. At this time, she collaborated with four Kānaka Maoli Dartmouth students to create four new works: two for the First American Doll series, two new underwater photographs, and two from her Chemehuevi cultural landscape. They were unveiled during the press preview and are now available online, in the gallery, or through the catalog.
AMEDÉE, 2025, Limited Edition Archival Fine Art Photograph
KAITLYN, 2025, Limited Edition Archival Fine Art Photograph
DEVIL’S CLAW NO. 1, 2025, Limited Edition Archival Fine Art Photograph
Cali Gold, 2025, Limited Edition Archival Fine Art Photograph
