John Lukavic

Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts | Denver Art Museum

John P. Lukavic, Ph.D. serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Curator and department head of Native Arts at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) and oversees the Arts of Africa, Arts of Oceania and Indigenous Arts of North America collections. Key projects developed by Lukavic include organizing exhibitions including “Kent Monkman: History is Painted By the Victors” (2025), “Each/Other: Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger” (2021), “Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer” (2018) and “Super Indian: Fritz Scholder, 1967-1980” (2015). He served as lead curator for the completely re-imagined and reinstalled Indigenous Arts of North America collection, as well as for “Stampede: Animals in Art” (2017), “우리가 인디언으로 _ 알던 사람들 : Cultures and Histories of Indigenous People in North America” (2024-25), and he co-curated such exhibitions as “Eyes On: Julie Buffalohead” (2018), “Why We Dance: American Indian Art in Motion” (2016) and “Georgia O’Keeffe In New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land” (2013). Lukavic received his doctorate in cultural anthropology at the University of Oklahoma (2012), a master’s degree in museum science from Texas Tech University (2001) and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, also from the University of Oklahoma (1999). He serves as Vice President for the Native American Art Studies Association as well as a Board member for the Denver Indian Center, Inc.