Art Meets History: Many Worlds Are Born
February 19 - May 14, 2022
Curated by Ric Kasini Kadour & Alicia Inez Guzmán, PhD
Millions of worlds are born, evolve, and pass away into nebulous, unmeasured skies; and there is still eternity. Time always. — Rudolfo Anaya
This exhibition takes a cue from the late Chicano writer Rudolfo Anaya, who is best known for his fictional, but still true, portrait of New Mexico, Bless Me, Última. The light, the land, the mysticism, and the people were all his subjects — kinfolk in a constellation that spanned generations. Along the same lines, the expansive content of this group exhibition also spans multiple generations and understandings of New Mexico’s many histories, worlds born from beauty, violence, and a deep sense of place.
Art Meets History at 516 ARTS spans two exhibitions: Many Worlds Are Born (February 19 – May 14, 2022) and Technologies of the Spirit (June 11 – September 3, 2022). Both are curated by Ric Kasini Kadour and Alicia Inez Guzmán, Ph.D., and are accompanied by a series of public conversations and activities that bring together historic content and contemporary art. The project, above all, looks at divergent understandings place through the prisms of kinship and conflict in New Mexico.
To develop the artworks on view, the artists engaged with the Albuquerque Museum Photography Archives, and many of them took part in Artist Lab: Art Meets History in New Mexico, an educational program offered by 516 ARTS and the national Art Meets History Initiative, in which participating artists were asked to examine personal and collective histories in New Mexico and the Southwest. In addition to the artists’ projects and installations across many mediums and contemporary art practices, a selection of the historic reference photographs from the Albuquerque Museum Photography Archives are on view.
Companion Website Index
This website is a companion to the exhibition where we share longer commentaries about artwork and historical photos as well as links to additional media and resources.
