The opening reception for “Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020” heralds the beginning of a new era for New Mexico State University’s Art Museum.
The public reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a site-specific performance by Jessica Jackson Hutchins at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 at the museum located inside NMSU’s new art facility Devasthali Hall, 1308 E. University Ave. The exhibit will continue through May 28, including a number of workshops and other activities.
“Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020,” co-curated by Marisa Sage and Laurel Nakadate, will feature 22 artists “expanding and enriching the compelling conversations regarding motherhood in today’s socio-political climate,” Sage said. Through video, painting, installation, sculpture, film and photographic works by a diverse group of artists, themes of empowerment, empathy, intimacy, selflessness, vulnerability, failure, anxiety and choice are examined.
“Situated in the Borderplex region of Southern New Mexico, ‘Labor’ confronts and challenges the historic and contemporary ways mothers and mothering have been represented in both art and popular culture,” said Sage, director of the museum.
The Labor exhibit builds off “MOTHER,” a fall 2018 New York City-based exhibition of photography and video work co-curated by Nakadate, video artist, filmmaker and photographer, and the firm Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects.
“There has always been an abundance of artists making work about mothers and motherhood,” said Nakadate, “but until recently, many galleries and institutions have not created a space for that work. Our hope is that providing a platform for this work can create a forum for conversations to take place, and for artists ruminating within this realm to find one another.”
The exhibition is among several events connected to the Feb. 28 grand opening of NMSU’s new art facility, Devasthali Hall.
On Saturday Feb. 29, NMSU’s Department of Art will host workshops and art-making activities in two sessions: morning (11a.m.¬–1p.m.) and afternoon (2–4p.m.).
Led by departmental faculty, staff and students, options will include collaborative still life drawing, printmaking, graphic design, slab building (to make a mug or bowl), a photo portrait studio with colored gels, small-scale metals projects and a museum conservation activity. Meanwhile, MFA students will be hosting open studio tours during these hours to highlight their recent artwork.
‘Students, faculty and staff are excited to have an opportunity to share our new classrooms and studios with the community of Las Cruces through the open house activities,” said Julia Barello, academic head of the Department of Art in the College of Arts and Sciences. “The teaching side of our building is spacious, beautiful and well-equipped, and we are eager to share the potential with others.”
Also on Saturday, Sage will give a curatorial walkthrough with exhibiting artist Joey Fauerso at 11 a.m. and 1 p..m in the Contemporary Art Gallery. At 2 p.m., Kaylan Buteyn in the Zane Bennett will deliver a live podcast “ARTIST/MOTHER” in the Collection Study Room, and at 3:30 p.m. artist Lenka Clayton will give a reading from her book “Mothers’ Days” in the Contemporary Art Gallery.
“This exhibition strives to create a laboratory of inclusiveness and support that offers opportunities not only for internationally celebrated artists, but also for the regional community, through local programming and the exhibition of work by New Mexico-based artists who speak to their own experiences relating to motherhood,” Sage said.
In addition to the main exhibition, taking place in the new Contemporary Gallery, the theme of motherhood will be further explored through the lens of the NMSU Permanent Art Collection. These curated exhibitions will be displayed in the two new galleries – the Bunny Conlon Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery and the Margie and Bobby Rankin Retablo Gallery.
Various programming will be available to the public, including an educational program series entitled “Mama Create-ups” targeting regional moms. This is intended to provide time, an inclusive safe environment, and resources for both local and student mothers. These events will provide one hour of informational talks by local specialists on themes, such as lactation, the Family and Medical Leave Act, fostering and adopting in New Mexico, carving out time for your passions, and rights and resources for local mothers.
During the following hour, mothers will be given time to write or work on personal projects while their children creatively explore art projects inspired by “Labor” in collaboration with the existing University Art Museum’s OutsmART children’s workshops – whose mission is to expose children in the Southwest to art through exploration and play.
“Our mission in the University Art Museum is to serve multiple constituents both on-campus and off,” said Sage. “We strive to create a bridge between the regional community of Las Cruces and southern New Mexico and NMSU at large, including our students, faculty and staff.”
For a list of all the artists, activities and workshops for “Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020,” visit uam.nmsu.edu.
This exhibition is supported by: The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico–Devasthali Family Foundation Fund; The Southwest Border Cultures Institute; NMSU Department of Art’s Lilian Steinman Visiting Artists & Scholars Lecture Series; the Friends of the University Art Museum; the George & Lucy Gray Endowed Art Fund and several private donors.