Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts
Tania Willard, Surrounded/Surrounding, 2018, wood burning fire ring, laser etched leather, wood, vinyl transfer.
516 ARTS in Albuquerque, NM and the Poeh Cultural Center & Museum in Pojoaque, NM are proud to collaborate in presenting the touring exhibition, Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts. The exhibition and its public programs will be presented at the two sites, uniquely bridging two vital regions in the state of New Mexico. The exhibition will be on view at both venues from July 11 through October 4, 2025, which each hosting their own opening reception event.
Curated by Candice Hopkins and Dylan Robinson, Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts features newly commissioned scores, performances, videos, sculptures and sound by Indigenous and other artists who respond to this question. Unfolding in a sequence of five parts, the scores take the form of beadwork, videos, objects, graphic notation, historical belongings, and written instructions. During the exhibition, these scores are activated at specific moments by musicians, dancers, performers and members of the public gradually filling the gallery and surrounding public spaces with sound and action.
The exhibition is cumulative, limning an ever-changing community of artworks, shared experience and engagement as it travels. Soundings shifts and evolves, gaining new artists and players in each location. Some artworks have multiple parts, others change to their own rhythm as the exhibition grows. At the core of the exhibition is a grounding in concepts of Indigenous land and territory. To move beyond the mere acknowledgement of land and territory here means offering instructions for sensing and listening to Indigenous histories that trouble the colonial imaginary. Soundings activates and asserts Indigenous resurgence through the actions these artworks call forth.
Opening Reception Events:
Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts will see a grand opening weekend with a special reception held at each exhibiting venue. Beginning on Friday, July 11, from 5-7pm at the Poeh Cultural Center & Museum, exhibiting artist Tania Willard’s installation and graphic score, Surrounded/Surrounding, will be activated in a communal gathering featuring dancer Than Povi Martinez and a string-based sound artist. Albuquerque’s opening reception, Saturday, July 12, from 6-8pm at 516 ARTS.