TERRITORIAL NARRATIVE FIGURES AT THE 12th SITE SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL
Once Within a Time inaugurated on June 27 in New Mexico with an ambitious exhibition that reflects on the many layers of history, identity, and memory that shape Santa Fe and northern New Mexico.
The 12th SITE SANTA FE, curated by Cecilia Alemani, unfolds across fourteen venues in the city and brings together 98 participants, including contemporary artists and local “figures of interest” —both real and fictional, historical and contemporary— whose stories are placed in dialogue with the artworks to explore the power of storytelling. This edition marks the triumphant return of the show (formerly the Biennial), a key initiative in the region’s cultural scene since 1995, and is the first under the renewed leadership of Executive Director Louis Grachos.
The exhibition features over 350 works produced between 1926 and the present. These pieces are centered around narratives that emerge from local contexts to resonate on a global scale. Approximately half of the artists present new commissions—many of them site-specific installations—that directly engage with the experiences and legends of the selected figures.
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Courtesy of SITE Santa Fe
The project extends beyond SITE SANTA FE’s main space, involving institutions such as the New Mexico History Museum, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, along with unconventional sites like a cannabis shop, a hotel, and a public park. Each location hosts unique stories conveyed through texts, documents, images, and objects, inviting visitors to explore the city with a sensitive, political, and poetic lens.
The title of this edition comes from the 2022 film Once Within a Time by experimental filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, a Santa Fe resident and participant in the exhibition. The film blends apocalyptic imagery with fairytale atmospheres, crafting a circular narrative that inspired the curatorial framework of the event.
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Courtesy of SITE Santa Fe
In addition to artists such as Korakrit Arunanondchai, Minerva Cuevas, Cristina Flores Pescorán, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Sky Hopinka, and Simone Leigh, the exhibition also includes commissioned literary works by prominent voices such as Lucy R. Lippard, Tommy Orange, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, and Luci Tapahonso.
*Cover image: courtesy of SITE Santa Fe.
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