Birds were flying south for winter over the weekend as hundreds of people from across the country flocked to the sun-kissed, mountain vistas of the campus of New Mexico State University for the 25th anniversary of the Imagining America (IA) Gathering.
Three days of immersive experiences began Oct. 3 with a joyful opening plenary. Mariachis ignited the festive gathering with lively music joined by colorful ballet folklórico dancers. Tortugas Pueblo Cacique Patrick Narvaez opened the event with a blessing for participants at the gathering.
NMSU President Valerio Ferme and IA Managing Director Stephanie Maroney embraced the audience of scholars, students and community in the Atkinson Recital Hall. Ferme thanked the Imagining America leadership for their vision in creating the annual event 25 years ago. Imagining America is a national consortium of colleges and universities that promotes public scholarship and practice in the arts, humanities and design to foster a more just and equitable society.
“You decided that it was time to think of the arts and humanities, but also of the cultural expressions of our people, more broadly, more extensively, more expansively,” Ferme said. “So, you looked ahead and opened a passageway for new generations of scholars and learners to step into the opening and see what new vistas could be experienced by re-imagining the arts and humanities in the public sphere. You expanded our vistas. You forced us outside of ourselves. You renewed an old commitment of the traditional arts and humanistic values to rethink of themselves more broadly as public goods, as transformative enterprises that, in turn, can guide us to a better understanding of ourselves. Something that is sorely needed in this day-and-age.”
Ferme got into the spirit of sharing with a personal story about his grandchildren and their “Friday fun day” while pulling up a pantleg to show off his Kokopelli socks.
This year’s IA theme, Providing Passage: Practicing the Worlds We Want, celebrated passages of all types as artists, organizers and scholars came together to share their life-sustaining ecological, physical, intellectual and spiritual passages. The program featured more than 100 speakers from over 50 higher education and cultural institutions across the U.S., with significant participation from IA Member institutions and the Paso del Norte region.
Maroney welcomed hundreds of people at the gathering explaining the vision behind it and providing participants an opportunity “to reflect on the ways we provide passage for one another, create havens for safety and practice connective ways of being together that fortify us for the journey ahead.”
The opening plenary was followed by a procession led by NMSU band members as they walked with streamers along the International Mall toward Corbett Center Student Union, where they would become immersed in opportunities for discovery. Over three days, a wide variety of panels, hands-on activities creating connections using yarn and craft supplies, printing with wood blocks and hand presses along with displays of art and a vendor area filled with colorful and creative crafts for purchase turned Corbett Center into a space filled with conversation, wonder and learning.
“Each panel and activity was distinctly different and well-attended,” said Cynthia Bejarano, NMSU Regents professor and co-leader of the local steering committee. “I was struck by the long-standing relationships attendees shared with each other, and the warmth and genuine engagement across all workshops and sessions that I attended. It was a supportive and imaginative space unlike anything I have ever experienced. From ‘The Clearing’ activities, inspired by Toni Morrison’s work, to the individual panel presentations discussing community engaged practices and activities, I remain inspired by what IA artists and public scholars do across the nation to bridge institutions of higher education with their own regional communities. We were left with many examples to build upon and to teach others about, especially through our memorable six local site visits.”
NMSU art alumna Citlali Delgado was the featured artist of the gathering and created posters to visually express the vision of the theme.
Delgado and her father were on hand to discuss her artwork. The turtle, the cactus, the Organ Mountains and a giant stepping over the desert landscape.
She described her art as being “reflections of our environments, like river people in the desert. Making use of our multiplicity, I wanted this image to represent the varying passageways people have taken to Las Cruces for the Imagining America National Gathering. Whether its original Pueblo people or migrating newcomers, the Rio Grande is one of the passageways that keeps guiding people to being united. Through bright fluorescent colors mixed with earthy browns, I speak to the land, animals, days and nights that we are a product of. It is not a matter of owning anything other than the collaborative responsibility we have to dream of a healthier, more joyful and brighter world beginning in each of our different communities.”
Site visits were a key component of the IA National Gathering, providing an opportunity for community organizations to host smaller groups of participants from across the country in their own spaces. Community visits included activities in the NMSU Art Museum, the Las Cruces Museum System, talks with NMSU College Migrant Assistance students who shared their experiences as farmworkers, tours of the Fabián García Research Center and the Chile Pepper Institute, a tour of historic Old Mesilla and the Fountain Theatre, a community-led walking tour down Main Street in Las Cruces and a tour of the Tortugas Pueblo titled “Walking with Our Ancestors,” which shared music, historic photographs, stories and culture with participants.
After the closing plenary session ending the gathering Oct. 5, Bejarano co-led a bus tour south along the Camino Real with Jeff Shepherd and Zaira Martin. As the bus meandered through the pecan trees over Highway 28 down to Sunland Park, New Mexico, attendees learned about the rich and complex historical region including contemporary challenges that our border communities experience. A stop at Doña Ana Community College’s Sunland Park campus held panel discussions with DACC Chancellor Mónica Torres, NMSU and DACC faculty and community advocates, and ended with a performance choreographed by Claudia Casillas and performed by El Pasoan Odette Dominguez. The trip culminated in a delicious meal with more discussions by IA attendees at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing.
Ferme described the IA gathering at NMSU this way. “It is a piece of art and an artifact that combines our land-grant origins in the agricultural arts with the aesthetics of ‘artisanship’ that underscores much of our arts and humanities origin.”
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CUTLINE: With music and dance, the New Mexico State University Ballet Folklórico and Mariachis welcomed hundreds of Imagining America National Gathering participants during the opening plenary session on Oct. 3 in the Atkinson Recital Hall. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
CUTLINE: (From left) New Mexico State University President Valerio Ferme presented AI Managing Director Stephanie Maroney with a tapestry woven by the NM Heritage Wool Project commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Imagining America National Gathering Oct. 3-5 at NMSU. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
CUTLINE: Hundreds of Imagining America attendees waved streamers and blew bubbles as the procession moved from Atkinson Recital Hall to New Mexico State University’s Corbett Center Student Union where three days of panels, activities and discovery awaited. (NMSU photos by Sarah Kimmerly)
CUTLINE: Activities during the IA gathering invited participants to get hands-on experience with block printing, a single-print press and exploring their connections to others by tracking them with yarn on a large white board. (Photos by Andrew Williams)
CUTLINE: New Mexico State University alumna Citlali Delgardo was selected Visual Artist for the 2025 Imagining America Gathering. She and her father engaged with the audience in a conversation about her artwork. She produced posters in vivid colors expressing the vision of the gathering. The main poster depicts the environment, the river and people crossing the desert landscape. The turtle represents the Tortugas Pueblo, and the Organ Mountains are an iconic reference point in Las Cruces. The nopal cactus, a fruitful plant, reminds us that what may seem barren can nourish and sustain us. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly/Art by Citlali Delgado)
CUTLINE: Dozens of vendors showcased many types of arts and crafts for purchase during the three-day Imagining America National Gathering at New Mexico State University Oct. 3-5. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)