In a first, this iteration of the International will extend beyond SITE SANTA FE to more than a dozen locations across the city. These partner venues comprise cultural institutions such as the New Mexico History Museum including the Palace of the Governors, the Museum of International Folk Art, the New Mexico Military Museum, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian and the St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art, as well as spaces in a local park, a former foundry, a movie theater, empty storefronts, the lounge of a cannabis shop and more. Visitors to each venue will encounter the stories of various characters, who are incarnated in the exhibition through a collection of texts, documents, images and objects. The locations set the tone for novel dialogues between figures, artists and places, prompting visitors to explore different corners of Santa Fe.
Examples of the figures of interest include Doña Tules, a notorious nineteenth-century saloon owner known as the “Queen of Sin”; Chester Nez, the last surviving member of the so-called “Original 29” Navajo Code Talkers; acclaimed writers Willa Cather and Vladimir Nabokov; Lilli Hornig, a chemist and scientist who contributed to the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos; the fictional healer Ultima, conceived of by the seminal writer Rudolfo Anaya; La Malinche, an enslaved Nahua woman and translator for the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés; and many more.
Projects specifically created for Once Within a Time—by artists including Guillermo Galindo, David Horvitz, Dominique Knowles, Simone Leigh and Nora Naranjo Morse, among others—encompass a range of interventions, from site-specific sculptures, large-scale installations and performances to subtle disruptions that infiltrate the routines and configurations of the city, provoking distinct experiences with art against the unique backdrop of Santa Fe. The exhibition will also feature work by artists based in New Mexico (such as Autumn Chacon, Diego Medina, Daisy Quezada Ureña, Maja Ruznic and Luis Tapia) and internationally (such as Ali Cherri, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Saodat Ismailova, Gisèle Vienne and ZHANG XU Zhan), as well as historical artists who resided in the Southwest and were influenced by its dynamic culture and landscape (including D. H. Lawrence, Agnes Pelton, Pop Chalee, Eliot Porter and Rebecca Salsbury James).
“Conceived as an expansive family album, Once Within a Time is inspired by a group of characters who have inhabited, traversed, or left their mark upon the Sante Fe region across the centuries,” says Alemani. “Rather than adhering to a single narrative, the exhibition embarks on a polyphonic journey, exploring the city’s multifaceted identities and rich cultural history. These interweaving narratives will foster unexpected connections between sites and artworks at the intersection of art, architecture, storytelling and history.”
The 12th International takes its title, Once Within a Time, from the most recent film by Godfrey Reggio, the legendary Santa Fe-based experimental filmmaker who is also a participating artist in the exhibition. Reggio’s Once Within a Time (2022) intertwines fairytale atmospheres with apocalyptic landscapes, pursuing a form of storytelling that blends the fantastical and the mundane in a moving portrait of the existential condition. Inspired by the film’s circular narratives, the exhibition places storytelling at its heart and will also feature new commissions from writers and poets including Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Alicia Inez Guzmán, Lucy R. Lippard, Tommy Orange, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Luci Tapahonso and Karen Tei Yamashita, among others.
Formerly known as the SITE SANTA FE Biennial, the International was established in 1995 as the first community-wide biennial or triennial of its kind in the United States. For decades, it has provided a platform for artists from around the world to respond to the unique geography, history and cultures of New Mexico. This edition is the first since 2018 and since Phillips Executive Director Louis Grachos’s return to the institution’s helm.
“In a groundbreaking departure from tradition, SITE SANTA FE is proud to partner with multiple institutions and venues to spark new conversations around contemporary art in the context of our city’s momentous history,” says Grachos. “Cecilia Alemani’s enthusiasm to encourage artists to respond to New Mexico’s culture and guide the development of the exhibition is superbly aligned with SITE SANTA FE’s ethos of collaboration and artist-centric exhibition-making.”
12th Site Santa Fe International Participants
Korakrit Arunanondchai , Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal), Patricia Ayres , Donald Beauregard*, Louise Bonnet , Tejal Boor* , Willa Cather* , Autumn Chacon , Ali Cherri , Helen Cordero , Minerva Cuevas Santiago de Paoli, Omari Douglin , Esteban / Estebanico*, The Fire Spirit archenemy of Zozobra* Cristina Flores Pescorán, Guillermo Galindo, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Maureen Gruben, Raven Halfmoon, Frederick Hammersley,Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill,Sky Hopinka, Lilli Hornig*, David Horvitz, Maryam Hoseini, Archbishop Nitten Ishida*, Saodat Ismailova, Claude James*, Joanna Keane Lopez Heechan Kim, Karla Knight, Dominique Knowles, Terran Last Gun, Louise Lawler, D. H. Lawrence, Dionne Lee, Mire Lee, Simone Leigh, Candice Lin, Looking Glasses*, Greg Mac Gregor, Doña Mala*, La Malinche*, Diego Marcon, John McCracken, Diego Medina, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Na Mira, N. Scott Momaday*, Hira Nabi , Vladimir Nabokov*, Nora Naranjo Morse, Chester Nez and the so- called “Original 29”, Navajo Code Talkers*, Ni-hual*, Amol K. Patil, Agnes Pelton, Florence Miller Pierce, Pop Chalee (Merina Lujan), Eliot Porter, Daisy Quezada Ureña, Will Rawls, Godfrey Reggio, Maja Ruznic, Rebecca Salsbury James, Agnes Scherer, Francis Schlatter*, Max Hooper Schneider, Marilou Schultz, Katja Seib, Wael Shawky, Penny Siopis, Luis Tapia, Doña Tules (Maria Gertrudis Barceló)*, Nora Turato, Ultima*, Uman, Ana Vaz, Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan), Gisèle Vienne, WangShui, Charisse Pearlina Weston, Emmi Whitehorse, Will Wilson, Joseph E. Yoakum, Norman Zammitt, ZHANG Ruyi, ZHANG Yunyao and ZHANG XU Zhan.
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS
The 12th SITE SANTA FE International will feature a wide range of public programs and educational opportunities centered on storytelling. Programs will include live performances by participating artists. In August, artist Autumn Chacon will present Malinxe (2024). This riveting and dramatic opera features composer and violinist Laura Ortman, musician and journalist Marisa Demarco as La Malinche and artist Jeffrey Gibson portraying the spirit of La Llorona.
Expansive public programming will include artist talks and panel discussions with 12th International venue partners throughout the city of Santa Fe. A collaboration with the mobile art space Axle Contemporary, housed in a custom retrofitted 1970 aluminum step van, will bring extensions of the exhibition into Northern New Mexico communities.
Additionally, education programs such as artist-led workshops, discussion groups and family days will take place throughout the run of the exhibition. In collaboration with community partners New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe High School and the Santa Fe Community College, SITE SANTA FE will produce youth-led audio guides and a podcast series. Additional educational offerings include student tours, on-site activities, classroom visits and educator resources.
GRAND OPENING AND GALA WEEKENDS
The 12th International’s Grand Opening Weekend will take place June 27 through June 29, 2025 and will include a press preview as well as first-look events for exhibition sponsors and members. A public opening celebration on Friday evening will feature an outdoor concert in the Railyard, food and drinks at SITE and a late-night DJ dance party in the Marlene Nathan Meyerson Auditorium, in addition to extended gallery hours. On Saturday, SITE SANTA FE will present a Curator Talk with Cecilia Alemani.
The Gala Weekend happening July 18 through July 20, 2025 will honor SITE SANTA FE’s founders and bring together patrons from near and far in support of the institution’s contributions to the contemporary art field. Gala guests will enjoy private exhibition viewing, an elegant indoor/outdoor dinner and one-of-a-kind programming on Friday evening. Saturday programming will highlight Curator Cecilia Alemani, exhibition artists and special guests.
12th SITE SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL SPONSORS
As of February 18, 2025 Once Within a Time is made possible by the generous support of the SITE SANTA FE Board of Directors, the SITE SANTA FE Exhibitions Fund and the following foundations, individuals, government agencies and institutions: Lead Support is provided by Ford Foundation, Rubio Butterfield Foundation and The Hearthland Foundation. Visionary Support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; New Mexico
Tourism Department; Joan and Mitchell Markow, Two Sisters Foundation; Marti Meyerson and Jamie Hooper; Nancy Parker Magoon; Andrew Rudnick; and Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation. Generous Support is provided by Arison Arts Foundation; Agnes Gund; Thornburg Investment Management; Maria and Edward Gale, Gale Family Foundation; Marleen De Bode and Marc Olivié; Jeanne and Michael Klein; Henry R. Muñoz III; Shah Garg Foundation; Courtney Finch Taylor and Scott Taylor; and Rosina Yue.
Press release from SITE SANTA FE
Image: Once Within a Time. 2022. USA. Written and directed by Godfrey Reggio. Co-directed by Jon Kane. Original music composed by Philip Glass. 51 min. Image courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories
