The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) opens Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe’s first solo U.S. museum exhibition on Thursday, November 19, 2026, in the Miami Design District. The free show brings together more than 100 works by the Yanomami artist and runs through March 28, 2027.
Key Takeaways
- ICA Miami and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain co-curated and co-produced the exhibition, the first show the two institutions have produced together.
- The exhibition has four sections, moving from the artist’s early works on handmade paper to a new film soundtracked by his own chanting.
- Mexico City architect Mauricio Rocha designed the galleries, drawing on the shapono, the traditional Yanomami communal dwelling.
- Opening night runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on November 19, and admission to ICA Miami is free Wednesday through Sunday.
- Gean Moreno of ICA Miami and Michela Alessandrini of the Fondation Cartier are the curators.
ICA Miami Brings a Yanomami Artist’s First U.S. Museum Survey to the Design District
Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe was born in 1971 in Sheroana, Venezuela, and is a member of the Yanomami, one of the largest Indigenous groups in Amazonia. He was raised in, and still lives in, the remote Poripori community along the upper Orinoco River. His work draws on the plants and animals of the forest around him.
The ICA Miami exhibition is his first solo presentation at a U.S. museum, but his work has been shown widely abroad. In 2022 he was selected for The Milk of Dreams, the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale, and his work appeared in the XXIII Biennale of Sydney the same year. In the United States, his work was included in The Yanomami Struggle at The Shed in New York in 2023.
Handmade Paper Sits at the Center of Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe’s Practice
Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe began making paper from natural fibers in the 1990s, and drawings, paintings and prints on handmade paper remain the core of his work. The materials listed for works in the ICA Miami show reflect that. Shipari teshina (Stingray’s Sting), from 2021, is a monotype on mulberry paper. Hii nomawe hipa (Dead Tree), from 2018, is acrylic on coated cane paper. Mothoka koko (Heart of Sun), from 2021, is acrylic on recycled paper.
His titles are in Yanomami, with English translations, and they read like field notes on the forest: a stingray’s sting, a red parrot feather, stinging vines, a fallen tree. The shapes on the paper are pared down to marks, lines and repeated patterns. They record what he observes rather than illustrate it. Larger works on canvas, such as Hii Hi frare frare (Tree with Yellow Trunk), carry the same visual language to a bigger scale.
Newer works push the material further. He hupe (Mountains), a 2026 diptych more than 12 feet wide, is made of pigmented, pressed pulp on cotton pulp with screen printing. Here the paper itself becomes the image.
Four Sections Trace Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe’s Visual Language From Paper to Film
ICA Miami organized the exhibition in four sections. Building a Language opens the show with Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe’s earliest efforts to find a visual form for the Yanomami cultural experience, including his key work Shapono.
Notational Systems and Encyclopedic Exercises follows the indexing systems he began developing in the early 2010s, in which he catalogs the forest. Landscapes widens the view, with larger compositions and new materials. Shamanic Initiation closes the exhibition with work shaped by his recent shamanic training, including images about dreams and the link between the visible and invisible worlds.
The final section has the exhibition’s newest pieces: a new film soundtracked by the artist’s chanting, a site-specific mural, and a site-specific installation of shamanic poles.
Mauricio Rocha Designs Galleries Inspired by the Yanomami Shapono
Mexico City architect Mauricio Rocha and his studio, Taller de Arquitectura, designed the exhibition. Rocha’s firm won the 2023 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize for its remodeling and expansion of the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City.
For ICA Miami, Rocha based the design on the atmosphere of the shapono, the traditional Yanomami communal dwelling. Filtered light, natural earth pigments and framed views of the surrounding landscape are meant to slow visitors down before they reach the work. The galleries are designed to echo the forest the work comes from.
ICA Miami and the Fondation Cartier Extend a Partnership Begun With Olga de Amaral
The exhibition is the first co-curated and co-produced by ICA Miami and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris. It builds on the two institutions’ earlier collaboration on a retrospective of Colombian fiber artist Olga de Amaral. That show premiered at the Fondation Cartier in 2024 and traveled to ICA Miami in 2025.
Several works in the Miami presentation come from the Fondation Cartier’s collection, which has supported the artist’s work through exhibitions in Paris, Milan and New York.
Visiting ICA Miami for the Opening
ICA Miami is at 61 NE 41st St. in the Miami Design District. Admission is free with a timed ticket, and the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Opening night runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on November 19.
The exhibition opens two weeks before Miami Art Week, so it can be visited before the crowds arrive. It fits alongside the free public projects planned around Art Basel Miami Beach 2026 on the city’s calendar of free art this season.
FAQs
When does the Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe exhibition open at ICA Miami?
The exhibition opens Thursday, November 19, 2026, with an opening night from 7 to 9 p.m. It stays on view through March 28, 2027.
Is ICA Miami free?
Yes. Admission to ICA Miami is free with a timed ticket, Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where is ICA Miami?
ICA Miami is at 61 NE 41st St. in the Miami Design District.
Who is Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe?
Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe is a Yanomami artist born in 1971 in Sheroana, Venezuela. He is known for drawings, paintings and prints on handmade paper that record the plants, animals and traditions of the Amazon rainforest.
Who designed the exhibition?
Mexico City architect Mauricio Rocha and his studio, Taller de Arquitectura, designed the exhibition. The design draws on the shapono, the traditional Yanomami communal dwelling.
When is Miami Art Week 2026?
Art Basel Miami Beach, the anchor of Miami Art Week, runs December 4 to 6, 2026. The ICA Miami exhibition opens about two weeks earlier.
