USU's NEHMA Opens 2 Exhibitions: 'Faces of Drug Addiction' and 'Exploding Native Inevitable'

LOGAN, Utah — Two exhibitions covering very different subject matter are opening at Utah State University’s Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art: INTO LIGHT: Faces of Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories and Exploding Native Inevitable.

Both exhibitions will open to the public on Aug. 20 with separate special receptions scheduled for Aug. 23 and Sept. 19.

Faces of Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories is part of the INTO LIGHT national project, partnering with one museum in each state to exhibit portraits and stories of individuals from that state who have lost their lives to drug addiction, drug poisoning or related causes. Each person

featured in the portraits comes from a family member or loved one in Utah who submitted a photograph and a story. Artists then created hand-drawn graphite portraits based on those photographs.

On Aug. 23, in conjunction with International Drug Awareness Day, NEHMA and USU Extension’s A Light to Remember will host a reception to invite the public to view the exhibition, connect with the community, remember and find hope through recovery stories, lighting luminary lanterns and food. This event is held in partnership with the Into Light Project and USU Extension. Attendees can join USU President Al Smith, USU NEHMA and Extension staff and family members whose loved ones are featured in the exhibition. The event is free and open to all.

The Into Light Project was founded in 2018 by Theresa Clower, who lost her son, Devin, to an accidental overdose.

"Now more than ever, we need to speak out and confront the stigma surrounding addiction," Clower said. "Each submission helps to humanize the issue — reminding us that addiction does not define a person and that every life lost is a story worth remembering. By bringing families together and creating this exhibition, we hope to not only pay tribute to those we have lost but also to foster a sense of community among those who have experienced similar losses and educate others about drug addiction.”

Exploding Native Inevitable features 12 contemporary Indigenous artists and two collaboratives. On Sept. 19,NEHMA will host a gallery talk with the curators and a reception celebrating the exhibition. The event will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s pivotal 1966 Exploding Plastic Inevitable, this exhibition similarly explores the possibilities of art outside traditional Western expectations. Native American artist and co-curator Brad Kalhamer describes the artists in the exhibition as the next wave of Indigenous art “Warhol’s contemporary update.”

The curators traveled across the country to find artists making work inspired by their cultures that explode boundaries.

Featured artist Nizhonniya Austin says: “When I think about my Native presence in the world, I [feel] like a ghost before Standing Rock. … People have begun seeing Native people and listening to what they have to say. This exhibition is a … fantastic representation of contemporary Native artists in all of our complexity.”

This exhibition was curated by Brad Kahlhamer and Dan Mills and organized by the Bates College Museum of Art.

NEHMA Executive Director and Chief Curator Katie Lee-Koven states: “While we have the two exhibitions on the art and murals from the Intermountain Indian School on view, I wanted to have an exhibition of art created by Native American artists today, to see how vibrant, varied and rooted their work is in their heritage in a contemporary context.”

Repainting the I: Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals and Eagle Village: Sheila Nadimi exhibitions, both highlighting the history of the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City are on view through Jan. 17, 2026.