TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK
It’s difficult to a imagine a time in 19th-century America when European settlers, Native Americans and frontiersmen all came together peacefully, let alone partied together, but a new Peters Projects exhibition depicts the true story of the Rocky Mountains’ “spring gatherings.”
The exhibition, titled “The Rendezvous,” includes works by artist Kent Monkman inspired by painter Alfred Jacob Miller, who visited these parties in the 1800s when various groups “mated, fought, gambled, danced, drank to excess.”
But don’t expect a standard take. There’s a modern twist to the paintings. Monkman, who has a “time-traveling,” gender-non-comforming alter-ego named Miss Chief Eagle Testickle (sic), says he purposely made the genders of the characters in his work undecipherable or ambiguous in order for viewers to draw comparisons between the freedom of the scenes depicted in his paintings and the freedom of gender fluidity.
Peters Projects, 1011 Paseo de Peralta, will hold an opening reception tonight from 5-7 p.m., but the show will run until Sept. 2.
FUNKY SHOW:
A Canadian band with an Afro-Cuban edge is rounding out the first week of the Santa Fe Bandstand series’ summer schedule with a 7:15 p.m. show on the Plaza Saturday. Toronto’s The Battle of Santiago aims to show that the country to the north has Latin roots and a thriving culture, specifically from its large Cuban population, and can fuse Latin music with a “distinctly Canadian post-rock spirit and sensibility.” Opening the show, at 6 p.m., is Santa Fe’s Shake Alert, a funky, Afro-beat band that expands to styles ranging from street to jazz, all of which are meant to get people dancing
SEASON 7 IS COMING:
In honor of its owner and Santa Fe hometown favorite, George R.R. Martin, Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Ave., will show all of Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” on the big screen for free. For those who missed the last season of the hit HBO show or need a refresher, the screenings begin Tuesday with Episodes 1 and 2. The theater will show two episodes every day until the premiere of Season 7 on July 16. Although it’s free, tickets are still needed. Go to the Cocteau box office or call (505) 466-5528 to reserve seats.
HAPPY 80TH:
What would a birthday party be without cake, food and dancing — even if it’s for a museum? On Saturday, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 704 Camino Lejo, celebrates its 80th birthday with free admission and tours, as well as discounts at their museum trading posts, pueblo dance performances, artist demonstrations, food trucks and a birthday cake. For kids, there will also be a coloring area and a “selfie station.” The festivities go on from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Cake will be served at 1:30 p.m.