The Crocker Art Museum is pleased to announce Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past will be on view from June 29 through October 12, 2025. Tales of Futures Past is a traveling show, originating at the Figge Art Museum (Davenport, IA).  

Tales of Futures Past is the first nationally traveling exhibition to showcase the husband-and-wife duo’s works in dialogue. This exhibition explores the diversity of Indigenous identity and experiences through the distinct but interconnected practices of Cara Romero (Chemehuevi/American) and Diego Romero (Cochiti/American). On view will be approximately 35 works of Diego Romero’s thought-provoking pottery pieces and lithographs and Cara Romero’s evocative photographs, including selections from her Indigenous Futurism series, as well as a collaborative work the two made exclusively for this exhibition. 

Reflecting on the significance of the exhibition, Cara and Diego Romero shared, “We are very excited (and moved) to have our first two-person show together that illuminates ways in which our works are in conversation with each other and how our artists' lives intertwine. We deeply enjoy creating in this life together and center our existence in art and work to support each other's endeavors. It will be so touching to see the works travel together.” 

Tales of Futures Past highlights the powerful artistic synergy between them, underscoring the storytelling potential of collaboration and partnership. The husband and wife maintain individual studios, but each engages with shared themes that interrogate the complexities and evolving nature of Indigenous identity. Drawing from personal perspectives and popular culture, they create artworks that confront the impacts of colonialization, celebrate resilience, and address issues of social and environmental justice through imagery deeply rooted in cultural heritage.

"Cara and Diego have consistently addressed pressing social and political issues through their art,” notes Sara Morris, the Crocker’s Ruth Rippon Curator of Ceramics. “When brought together in Tales of Futures Past, their works engage in a visual dialogue that amplifies Indigenous voices and lived experiences, while inviting reflection on collaboration as a creative force that uplifts and inspires." 

Organized thematically, Tales of Futures Past presents five sections dedicated to rewriting historical narratives, celebrating the power of Indigeneity, advocating environmental consciousness, exploring shared mythologies, and tracing ancestral evolution. 

About the Artists 

Cara Romero (Chemehuevi/American, born 1977) is a photographer who collaborates with individuals from various tribal backgrounds to create powerful imagery drawing on Indigenous and non-Indigenous culture, heritage, and identity. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero was raised between the rural Chemehuevi reservation in the Mojave Desert, CA, and Houston, TX. Romero is a skilled photographer and visual storyteller, whose expansive body of work is informed by a background in cultural anthropology, photojournalism, and commercial photography. 

Diego Romero (Cochiti/American, born 1964) is a potter and printmaker who draws on various sources of inspiration for his sharp-witted narrative imagery and design aesthetics. Born and raised in Berkeley, California to a Cochiti father and a non-Native mother, he often visited New Mexico as a child. Trained in traditional pottery techniques at the IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts), Romero combines his love of comic-style illustrations, Mimbres-style figures, Greek amphora, and pop culture to create his distinctive artwork. 

Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past is organized by the Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa. This exhibition is made possible in part through the generous support of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.