Mixed Media
Community Through Making from Peru to New Mexico
The Museum of International Folk Art’s new exhibition, Community Through Making from Peru to New Mexico, explores the role of art in bringing communities together to deal with important social issues through three collaborative projects by local and Peruvian artists.
Places of Memory explores how art heals the trauma of individuals and communities affected by violence and includes the participation of Española-based Tewa Women United and the National Association of the Families of the Abducted, Detained, and Disappeared of Peru (Ayacucho, Peru).
Street Art and Activism showcases muralists, printers, and painters whose cooperative works explore contemporary social issues. The project features independent artists and IAIA alumni such as Moira Garcia, a founding member of Art for Change; Jamison Chas Banks, a multidisciplinary artist and member of the IAIA faculty; and John Paul Granillo and Juan Lira, members of the Alas de Agua art collective.
The third project, Rivers of Plastic, brings together Aymara sculptor Aymar Ccopacatty and Santa Clara Pueblo artist Nora Naranjo Morse, who use non-biodegradable materials to inspire conversations on the impact of plastic waste on their respective homelands.
Community Through Making, which appears in the Gallery of Conscience through Jan. 5, 2020, includes video installations and original artworks made in 2018 as part of a museum-sponsored program in conjunction with the exhibition Crafting Memory: The Art of Community in Peru. The exhibit came out of a series of 10-day residencies that paired local and Peruvian artists.
The opening reception is at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6. Events include a talk by participating artists at 1 p.m., and a pop-up art market and art-making activities, both starting at 2 p.m. The reception is free to the public. After Jan. 6, the exhibition is open by admission. The Museum of International Folk Art is at 706 Camino Lejo. Call 505-476-1200 for more information. — Michael Abatemarco