From August through November 2020, artists participating in the Land Arts of the American West program explored Albuquerque through a series of Art & Ecology Field Labs.
During these Field Labs they employed an investigative TRANSECT to guide their movements – starting from the east atop the Sandia Mountains, then down across the city and river valley, and ending at the volcanoes on the westside of Albuquerque. They traversed not only space, but also transected the many environmental, social, geologic, economic, industrial, and political issues present. As a response to these experiences each artist produced a series of works and reflections shared here in this website and as a folded map publication.
FIELD LAB SITES
Sandia Peak, Elena Gallegos Open Space, Manzano Open Space/Kirtland Airforce Base, Tijeras Arroyo, National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, International District, The Big-I, The Wheels Museum at the Railyards, Sawmill District, Old Town, Mountain View Neighborhood, Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, Bachechi Open Space, Drinking Water Diversion Dam, Los Poblanos Open Space, Flood Control Infrastructure at Lower Montoyas Arroyo, Rio Rancho Development Boundaries, Petroglyph National Monument, Volcanoes and Escarpment.
ARTISTS
Alisha Anderson
Kerry Cottle
Jana Greiner
Daniel Hojnacki
Britney King
Shelby Roberts
Magdalena Sterling
Cristina Tadeo
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge that we are on the unceded homelands of the Pueblo, Diné, and Apache people. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We commit to honoring and listening to all life that came before us. We express gratitude for the land, water, and air that sustains us.
These lands hold a history of settler-colonial violence alongside continuous Indigenous resistance and resilience. We see this acknowledgment as an ongoing dialogue that recognizes the displacement of Indigenous people. By recognizing these histories we can foster an environment for all people to feel included and valued.
As artists, we understand that a land acknowledgment is more than a statement, it is an ongoing process—one that informs and alters our practice. We invite you to begin the process of land acknowledgment with these resources:
What unceded homelands do I live on?
www.native-land.ca
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
U.S. Department of Arts and Culture
www.usdac.us/nativeland
WHERE CAN I learn MORE about Land Back?
Native America Calling — Podcast episode 10/19/20
“Momentum for taking LAND BACK”
#HonorNativeLand
#LandBack
PROJECT DIRECTORS AND EDITORS
Jeanette Hart-Mann, LAAW Director and Assistant Professor of Art & Ecology
Ryan Henel, LAAW Field Coordinator and Lecturer in Art & Ecology
Alisha Anderson, LAAW Project Assistant and MFA Candidate in Art & Ecology
LAND ARTS OF THE AMERICAN WEST
Land Arts of the American West is an academic program supporting field-based Art & Ecology courses at the University of New Mexico committed to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students into the field of Art & Ecology as professional creative practitioners. The program’s pedagogy is unique, employing a combination of the following: student centered research and practice, intensely experiential and embodied bioregional field-based explorations, collective workshopping/projects, and opportunities to publicly present finished works. LAAW supports learning opportunities for students from all backgrounds and across creative disciplines. Our desire is to foster a diverse, inspiring, collective, critical, and safe experimental space for students, faculty, and guests.
Land Arts of the American West is an Art & Ecology program at The University of New Mexico in the Department of Art. Its mission is to inspire and support environmentally and socially engaged art practices through field-based bioregional teaching, collective learning, interdisciplinary research, community collaboration, and creative forms of publication and exhibition.