Ciboleros & Comancheros: Commerce, Identity, and History

Thursday, May 12, 2022 6pm – 7:30pm

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Artist Juanita J. Lavadie and digital archivist Jillian Hartke in conversation with exhibition co-curator Alicia Inez Guzmán, PhD, will share two distinct histories of commerce in New Mexico. In the 20th-century, trade shows and agricultural fairs were integral to the exchange of goods, services, and knowledge. They were also events where people came together across cultural lines to share what their communities produced. Jillian Hartke shares images of such eventsfrom the Albuquerque Museum’s Photography Archives and speaks about how they shaped New Mexican identities. In her installation, Ciboleros & Comancheros, Juanita J. Lavadie created four Spanish Colonial personas, each of whom embodies an element of an 18th- and 19th-century trading expedition to the Comancheria. The expedition included a buffalo hunter, a converso who barters, a notable son destined for politics or the clergy, and a talented negotiator whose showmanship and ability to reach across cultures bolstered the expedition’s success. Together, they took the community’s goods to trade with indigenous peoples and other settlers. Lavadie will unpack these personas and speak about what we can learn from them that applies to contemporary life in New Mexico.

COVID-19 POLICY:

516 ARTS requires masks for all indoor events. We are no longer asking for proof of vaccination