Cara Romero

Chemehuevi · artists

Cara Romero (born 1977) is an enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe and a fine art photographer creating monumental digital photographs that examine contemporary Indigenous life. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Romero's large-scale works blend documentary photography with staged, cinematic compositions featuring Native subjects in powerful, dignified portrayals. Her 2019 photograph "Indian Land" was projected on the facade of the Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio — the first time a Native woman's artwork was projected on a building in the city. She has exhibited at the Smithsonian, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and Desert X. Romero's work challenges stereotypes and centers Indigenous joy, strength, and modernity.