Heard Museum

The Heard Museum

The Heard Museum - the Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art - is a museum located in Arizona, USA. The main Heard Museum is located on Central Avenue in Phoenix and there are now two branches of the Museum: the Heard Museum North Scottsdale in Scottsdale in the North Valley and the Heard Museum West in Surprise in the West Valley.

The overall mission of the Heard Museum is to educate the public about the heritage and the living cultures and arts of Native peoples, with emphasis on the peoples of the Southwest. The Heard Museum is not a history museum. It is a living museum featuring both artifacts and contemporary art of Native cultures. The Heard Museum has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.

The Heard Museum was founded in 1929 by Dwight B. and Maie Bartlett Heard to house their personal collection of art. Much of the archaeological material in the Heard's collection came from La Ciudad Indian ruin, which the Heards purchased in 1926 at 19th and Polk streets in Phoenix.