Mixed Media The Fence at the Railyard
“Six hundred feet of photography. For three months. Outside.” That’s how organizers are billing The Fence, a show of more than 300 large photographs installed in the Santa Fe Railyard Park. Santa Fe is the fifth U.S. city chosen to host The Fence, which was inaugurated in Brooklyn in 2012 by United Photo Industries, New York. The other cities are Atlanta, Boston, and Houston.
Each year, photographers submit work that fits under at least one of six thematic categories: Home, Streets, People, Creatures, Nature, and Play. An international jury selects 40 photographers. In the Santa Fe edition of
The Fence, an additional 16 photographers who are New Mexico residents were curated into the show. In all, there are 333 photographs by those 56 photographers installed along the hike-and-bike trail (formally known as the Alameda) adjacent to the New Mexico Rail Runner Express tracks.
How will these photos survive outdoors for months? (The Fence will remain up until October or November.) “The photographs are printed on a white vinyl material, and they have lasted for months in the other locations, including in Brooklyn, on a path along the water, where they survived Hurricane Sandy,” said Gabriella Marks, president of the American Society of Media Photographers-New Mexico, and one of the photographers juried into the exhibition. The Fence is presented by the ASMP-New Mexico; United Photo Industries, New York; and the Railyard Park Conservancy.
The Railyard Art Project is always looking for temporary art installations, and local artists are encouraged to apply, said the conservancy’s executive director, Linda Shafer. The Fence was approved at the beginning of the year. It opens with a reception at the Railyard Park Community Building (Paseo de Peralta and S. Guadalupe St., behind SITE Santa Fe) on Saturday, July 9, at 5 p.m. Many of the exhibiting photographers will be on hand to give tours and talk about the project. The Fence New Mexico is a member of the collaborative initiative Photo Summer. Visit www.thefencenm.org.
— Paul Weideman