SAVE THE DATE: NeoRio – Sat. Sept. 12th!
NeoRio 2015: Luz es Vida – Light is Life
Montoso Campground, Wild Rivers, RGDN National Monument
Saturday, Sept. 12th 3:30 – 9 pm
FREE – Donations Welcome + Appreciated
NeoRio is an annual outdoor, contemporary art event organized by us, Land, Experience and Art of Place (LEAP) in collaboration with the BLM and other partners. It is a call to explore the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument through new works by innovative artists about local, natural-world themes. The 2015 theme is “Luz es Vida – Light is Life;” part of the United Nations’ “International Year of Light” with a local twist. In honor of this year’s theme, NeoRio will be off-grid and take place solely on the rim of the gorge at Montoso Campground with festivities powered by the sun.
NeoRio 2015 features light artist, Ethan Jackson, whose immersive optical installations and imagery about place and perception are gaining world-wide attention. Campsite shelters will be transformed into site-specific artworks including a walk-in camera obscura in the afternoon and an evening anamorphic video installation. Take-in Ethan’s solar-powered, audio-visual artist talk (solar trailer sponsored by PPC Solar) and enjoy a locally sourced meal, harvested from Cerro Vista Farm and created by Kathy Morsell, plus evening campfire and music. NeoRio is a BLM Public Lands Day event.
NeoRio 2015 Event Schedule (may be subject to change)
3:30 – 5:30 pm Camera Obscura Installation (Ethan Jackson)
5:00 Luz es Vida Feast by Cathy Morsell
6:00 pm Artist Talk by Ethan Jackson + Cookies
7 – 9 pm Anamorphic Video Installation (Ethan Jackson) + Music + Campfire
Hope you can join us! Spread the word!
Saturday, July 18: Pecha Kucha
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument
Luz es Vida: 20 Images x 20 Seconds + Many Stories
Outdoor Amphitheater, Wild Rivers Visitor Center, Cerro
We sold out last year, at the PechaKucha at OCHO, so this summer our most popular summer event moves to the Wild Rivers Amphitheater at the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument just west of Questa, on the outskirts of Cerro. Join in an evening of audio-visual shorts and lots of creative thinking on the theme of “light.” Presenters have 20 slides/20 seconds each to showcase local stories and inspiration. Come explore dramatic hiking trails, pitch your tent and stay ’til Sunday, or come just for the evening and enjoy a free, guided walk, light catered savouries and sweets and a PechaKucha you won’t forget. The walk is from 4:30 – 6:30 pm, locally-sourced dinner starts at 7 pm, show begins at sunset. Tickets will go fast! Reserve your seat and place for dinner (by July 10th) and if you’re from Taos, board the Localogy School Bus for the Special Pecha Kucha Package (entertainment and guide on board – reserve by July 8th). Call TCA for reservations at (575)758-2052. Reserved Special PK Package $48; dinner and show $25; show only $10. Reserved show tickets guarantee your seat; $10 show tickets at the door may be standing room only. More….
What: “Luz es Vida Art Show: Light is Life”
When: Opening Reception, June 6th 5 – 8 pm (show runs June 5th – July 5th, 2015)
Where: OCHO Art + Event Space, #8 Hwy. 38, Questa, NM
Light gives life everywhere, but especially here in northern New Mexico, one of the solar capitols of the world. Light grows our food and sustains our agricultural heritage; it powers and heats many of our homes. On a sunny day, Questa get’s 80% of its electricity from the solar field installed on a defunct mine tailings site west of the village. And of course we mustn’t forget the unbroken light across the sagebrush that stopped a couple of artists in their tracks a hundred years ago, famously confirming Taos County’s artistic heritage. The open call “Luz es Vida Art Show” is a venue for today’s local and regional artists to present their own light-inspired artworks. The show is curated by LEAP and hosted by OCHO and will feature works by over 30 local and regional artists in a variety of two and three dimensional mediums; a wonderful sampling of northern NM talent!
A public reception is to be held on Saturday, June 6th, from 5 – 8 pm. Hors d’oeuvres, drinks and music by Bittersweet Highway will add to the celebration. People’s Choice Awards in several categories will be announced at the end of the evening.
For more information about the upcoming art show or other “Luz es Vida” events visit HERE or call the Questa Visitor Center at 575-613-2852.
Hope to see you there!
More info + download application PDF HERE!
“Luz es Vida” Banners Up!
We are very excited (as you can see!) to announce that the “Luz es Vida” Banners have been installed in the local RTD Bus Stops in and around Questa. If you’re local, check them out next time you drive by!
Dan Simon, from RTD, joined us as we installed the first banner across from the Alta Vista School sign in Questa. He is pictured along with us, Joan Long and Claire Coté, below.
See a press release about the banners from RTD here: “Questa Students Bus Stop Banners.”
Click on the images below to view as a slideshow.
Students Shine at OCHO on Earth Day!
On April 22 – Earth Day, there was a full house at OCHO Art + Event Space. Bursting with youth creativity, color and light, the “Luz es Vida Earth Day Youth Performance Café” was full to capacity in more ways than one! Five large, brightly painted banners as well as some wonderful smaller works greeted guests as they entered the gallery space . Each one reflected the “Luz es Vida – Light is Life” theme in its own unique way through the creativity of the many youth hands (over 220!) that worked on them. (See photos of the making of the banners here.)
As the café tables and chairs filled with eager families and students from all three Questa District schools, teen volunteers circulated serving savory and sweet treats to audience members. The round, face-painting table occupied one corner of the room, where kids lined up to receive fun Earth-Day and Luz es Vida face designs on their faces. In the opposite corner was a craft table and buffet of recycled paper and crafting supplies.
Rio Costilla Learning Academy kicked off the performances with shadow and recycled puppet shows accompanied by songs, followed by Earth Day-themed songs, with some even original compositions, performed by Roots & Wings Community School Music program and a solo piano performance by one of its students. Next up was an El Rito homeschooler who dramatically recited a poem, followed by Alta Vista Intermediate students reading their own poems entitled “Where I am From” and “If I Ruled the World.” A collective, participatory rhythm-based rainmaking exercise punctuated by a student-made “rainbow” concluded the evening. Prompting the audience between acts was Gabe Rael with an “applause” sign. Another fun element was that besides our excellent MC for the event, students introduced their performances and provided information about their schools.
Click on images below for slideshow view; double click on slideshow to return to post.
A deep thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers for helping to make the event such a success; to Lynn Gitter and the banner-prep team, to Diane DeFremery and the art-workshop team; to kitchen master, Gaea McGahee, and our teen volunteers, to Olga Gressot and Starr for the delicious sweet treats, to Genevieve deVellis and Lillian Thibedeau for facilitating the recycled craft table, to stage management duo Alberta Bouyer and Jean Frey, to Tim Long – sound-man and event MC, and to Lisa Fox and Pete Mellon for the use of the café tables. Thanks also to the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area Fund (NRGNHAF) and Questa Economic Development Fund (QEDF) and individual donors as well as local businesses and “Luz es Vida” coalition partners for helping to promote the event. Big thanks to the teachers and school administrators for working with us and warm congratulations and gratitude to all of the students for sharing their creative visual and performative accomplishments with us. It takes a village to raise and Earth Day event!
LEAP Project leaders, Claire Coté and Joan long, feel that they can report without a doubt, that the event and project in general was a great success!
Keep your eyes out for the banners, soon to be relocated and installed in local NCRTD Blue Bus stops…..and don’t forget to mark your calendars for our other upcoming Luz es Vida Events in Questa!
“Luz es Vida” Earth Day Youth Performance Café
Join us for an Earth Day, Youth-Centered Celebration at OCHO Art + Event Space!
“Luz es Vida – Light is Life” banners painted by local students will illuminate the room while puppetry, live music and poetry light up the stage in this fun, family-friendly event celebrating the beautiful planet we live on! Participating students come from Alta Vista Elementary and Intermediate School, Costilla Academy, Roots & Wings Community School, as well as some local homeschooling families. Face-painting and a DIY recycled crafts table will round out the fun for the whole family. OCHO is a beautiful gallery, event and community space in downtown Questa, across from the Questa Visitors Center located in the old Centinel Bank building. The event is free and refreshments will be served. With this event the whole community is invited to join local students and their families in celebrating the creativity of our kids!
During March and April over 220 students from Alta Vista, Costilla Academy and Roots and Wings Schools have been busy painting large, 4 ft. x 9 ft. banners in workshops facilitated by LEAP (Land, Experience and Art of Place) project leaders and volunteers. The workshops were driven by the “Luz es Vida – Light is Life” theme, while students determined the content of their collaborative art. The banners will be unveiled at the Earth Day Performance Café at OCHO and will then be installed at the five bus stops in Questa and the surrounding communities of Lama, Costilla and Cerro.
The first Earth Day was celebrated 45 years ago on April 22, 1970. This holiday was created to mark the importance of keeping our planet healthy and to renew our commitment to make positive changes in our community. The Youth Performance Café continues this tradition right here in Questa in 2015.
See more here.
Luz es Vida: International Year of Light
It’s 2015 – The International Year of Light!
In proclaiming an International Year focusing on Light, UNESCO has recognized that light plays a vital role in our daily lives and is an important cross-cutting discipline of science in the 21st century. On the most fundamental level through photosynthesis, light is necessary to the existence of life itself, and the many applications of light have revolutionized society through medicine, communications, entertainment and culture. Light-based technologies have opened up international communication via the Internet and continue to be central to linking cultural, economic and political aspects of the global society.
This year LEAP and its collaborators are putting a regional spin on this international theme: Luz es Vida – Light is Life. Light gives life everywhere, but especially here in northern New Mexico! Light supports our agricultural heritage, heats our homes, and is muse to many. Let’s not forget how our stunning NM light across sagebrush stopped a couple of artists in their tracks a hundred years ago. (They stayed in the Taos area and started the Taos arts colony!)
We hope you’ll join us for some of the Luz es Vida events and programs!
Luz es Vida Event + Program Schedule
March 9 – April 18: “Luz es Vida” painted banner workshops
Taking place at Questa Alta Vista Elementary and Intermediate School, Rio Costilla Southwest Learning Academy and Roots & Wings Community School.
June – September: Youth Wilderness Field Trips + Luz es Vida Workshops
Wilderness Field trips for local students, paired with innovative STEM + Art workshops. Students will interface with their environment in creative ways and expand their ideas about light.
April 22, 6 – 8 pm: Luz es Vida Earth Day Youth Performance Café
OCHO Art + Event Space, #8 State Hwy 38 (across from Questa Visitor Center)
Community Event showcasing “Luz es Vida” banners and performances by local students, in celebration of the Earth and this year’s event theme, “Luz es Vida” – Light is Life. FREE
June 5 – July 5: Luz es Vida Art Show: Light is Life – Small Works
OCHO Art + Event Space, #8 State Hwy 38, Questa
An open exhibition of small works by local, regional, traditional and experimental artists exploring the meaning of “Light.” Open Fridays – Sundays, 11 – 5 pm and by appointment. FREE
June 6, 5 – 8 pm: Opening Reception “Luz es Vida Art Show: Light is Life – Small Works”
OCHO Art + Event Space, #8 State Hwy 38, Questa
Reception kick-off for the new exhibition of small works by local and regional artists exploring the meaning of “Light”; live music, refreshments + event surprises FREE
July 18, 7 – 10 pm: “Luz es Vida: 20 Images x 20 Seconds + Many Stories” (PechaKucha)
Wild Rivers Visitor Amphitheater, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Cerro
An evening of audio-visual shorts and creativity: presenters have 20 slides/20 seconds each to showcase local stories related to “Light.” $7/ticket + extra for optional, light, pre-show meal.
September 12, Afternoon – Evening: NeoRio 2015: Light is Life
Wild Rivers, RGDN National Monument
NeoRio featured artist lecture and artwork by optical + light artist, Ethan Jackson followed by an art-filled evening celebration; music, poetry + traditional local feast on the rim of the gorge. FREE
September 21 – December 11: Luz es Vida Rotating Youth Community Art Shows
Various locations in Questa
Artworks by local youth displayed in unexpected venues. FREE
October 3: Public Lands Day Volunteering + Eagle Rock Lake Reopening Celebration
Eagle Rock Lake, Questa
Morning beautification volunteering; midday meal, live music, + ribbon cutting ceremony. FREE
Sept. 6 – NeoRio 2014: Thinking Wilderness
Visit the NeoRio 2014 page for more details and to see the event press release!
Get directions and google map here.
Thinking Wilderness: The Art Show!
LEAP’s “Thinking Wilderness” event series in Questa, turns its attention, this month, to the visual arts!
Throughout history, artists have played an important role in defining our relationship with nature and “wilderness.” Prior to the 1800’s, most Western art was of religious scenes, allegory, or portraiture. Artists such as painters J. M. W. Turner and John Constable in Great Britain, began to rearrange the entire value system of Western culture, adding an element of awe and reverence for the inherent value of nature. In the United States, the work of nineteenth-century painters such as Albert Beirstadt, and Thomas Moran, inspired pride in America’s wild landscapes and an interest in preserving them.
Many artists today continue to build an appreciation for wilderness, offering emotional insights into the legacy of stewardship that is so important to the very self-image of Americans, and certainly to those of us in New Mexico. “Thinking Wilderness: The Art Show” shines a spotlight on this continuing legacy.
