Once Within A Time

Curated by Cecilia Alemani.

Once Within a Time takes its title from the most recent film by Godfrey Reggio, the legendary experimental filmmaker who has long resided in Santa Fe. 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 12th International places storytelling at its heart, exploring New Mexico’s multilayered history through the lens of more than 90 participants.

Once Within a Time revolves around the stories of a vibrant collection of over twenty characters—both current and historical, real and imagined— with ties to the region. The diverse cast encompasses historical figures, mythical beings, local heroes, unassuming residents, reclusive artists, distinctive writers, and charismatic healers. The biographies of these people—incarnated in a collection of artifacts, documents, images, and objects—function as catalysts for over seventy local, national and international artists, who have been prompted to engage with these histories and personal narrations, probing the power of storytelling. Many of the featured artists will create new work that engages directly or indirectly with the experiences and lore of these figures, offering visitors a view into key milestones in the history of New Mexico and the cultural ecosystem of Santa Fe. These new commissions will be shown alongside contemporary and historical works from around the world, inspiring new narratives when viewed in dialogue with New Mexico’s rich artistic and literary history.

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, empty storefronts, the lounge of a cannabis shop, and more. These locations set the tone for novel dialogues between figures, artists, and places, prompting visitors to explore different corners of Santa Fe.

Conceived as a vast family album, Once Within a Time centers people—specifically, those who have inhabited, traversed, or left their mark upon the Sante Fe region across the centuries. Transcending a singular theme or narrative, the 12th SITE SANTA FE International manifests as a symphony of voices, engaging with the city of Santa Fe and its myriad identities and histories.

Participants list, as of February 18, 2025
Korakrit Arunanondchai (1986, Bangkok, Thailand; lives in New York and Bangkok), Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) (1898 San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico Territory of the United States (present-day NM)–1955, San Ildefonso Pueblo, NM), Patricia Ayres (1975, New York; lives in New York), Donald Beauregard* (1884, Fillmore, Utah Territory of the United States (present-day UT)–1914, Fillmore, UT), Louise Bonnet (1970, Geneva, Switzerland; lives in Los Angeles), Tejal Boor* (Dates unknown [future], present-day Southeast New Mexico), Willa Cather* (1873, Gore, VA–1947, New York), Autumn Chacon (1987, Corrales, NM; lives in Albuquerque, NM), Ali Cherri (1976, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in Paris), Helen Cordero (1915, Cochiti Pueblo, NM–1994, Santa Fe, NM), Minerva Cuevas (1975, Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Mexico City), Santiago de Paoli (1978, Buenos Aires, Argentina; lives in Stamford, NY), Omari Douglin (1992, New York; lives in New York), Esteban / Estebanico* (c. 1500, sub-Saharan Africa–disappeared 1539, Hawikuh (present-day NM)), The Fire Spirit, archenemy of Zozobra* (Originated by dancer Jacques Cartier and artist Will Shuster, 1933, Santa Fe, NM), Cristina Flores Pescorán (1986, Lima, Peru; lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands), Guillermo Galindo (1960, Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Oakland, CA and Roswell, NM), Ximena Garrido-Lecca (1980, Lima, Peru; lives in Mexico City, Mexico), Maureen Gruben (1963, Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada; lives in Tuktoyaktuk), Raven Halfmoon (1991, Norman, OK; lives in Norman), Frederick Hammersley (1919, Salt Lake City, UT–2009, Albuquerque, NM), Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill (1979, Comox, British Columbia, Canada; lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples), Sky Hopinka (1984, Ferndale, WA; lives in New York), Lilli Hornig* (1921, Aussig, Czechoslovakia (present-day Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic)–2017, Providence, RI), David Horvitz (1980, Los Angeles; lives in Los Angeles), Maryam Hoseini (1988, Tehran, Iran; lives in New York), Archbishop Nitten Ishida* (1901, Hiroshima, Japan–1996, San Francisco), Saodat Ismailova (1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan; lives in Paris and Tashkent), Claude James* (1919, Nice–1985, Santa Fe, New Mexico United States), Joanna Keane Lopez (1991, Albuquerque, NM; lives in Galisteo, NM), Heechan Kim (1982, Seoul, South Korea; lives in New York), Karla Knight (1958, New York; lives in Redding, CT), Dominique Knowles (1996, Nassau, the Bahamas; lives in Paris), Terran Last Gun (1989, Browning, MT; lives in Santa Fe, NM), Louise Lawler (1947, Bronxville, NY; lives in New York), D. H. Lawrence (1885, Eastwood, England–1930, Vence), Dionne Lee (1988, New York; lives in Columbus, OH), Mire Lee (1988, Seoul, South Korea; lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Seoul), Simone Leigh (1967, Chicago, IL; lives in New York), Candice Lin (1979, Concord, MA; lives in Altadena, CA), Looking Glasses* (Conceived by writer Ted Chiang, 1998), Greg Mac Gregor (1941, La Crosse, WI; lives in Santa Fe, NM), Doña Mala* (Created by artist Gustave Baumann, c. 1940, Santa Fe, NM), La Malinche* (c. 1500, Anahuac (present-day Mexico)–1529, Mexico City, New Spain (present-day Mexico)), Diego Marcon (1985, Busto Arsizio, Italy; lives in Italy), John McCracken (1934, Berkeley, CA–2011, New York), Diego Medina (1993, Las Cruces, NM; lives in Taos, NM), Sidsel Meineche Hansen 1981, Ry, Denmark; lives in Copenhagen, Denmark), Na Mira 1982, Lawrence, KS; lives in Los Angeles), N. Scott Momaday* (1934, Lawton, OK–2024, Santa Fe, NM), Hira Nabi (1987, Lahore, Pakistan; lives in Berlin, Germany), Vladimir Nabokov* (1899, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (present-day Russia)–1977, Montreux, Switzerland), Nora Naranjo-Morse (1953, Kha’P’o Owenge, NM; lives in Kha’P’o Owenge), Chester Nez, and the so-called “Original 29” Navajo Code Talkers* Nez (1921, Chi Chil Tah, NM–2014, Albuquerque, NM), Ni-hual* (2492, present-day Valley of Fires in Carrizozo, NM–death date unknown), Amol K. Patil (1987, Mumbai, India; lives in Mumbai), Agnes Pelton (1881, Stuttgart, Germany–1961, Cathedral City, CA), Florence Miller Pierce (1918, Washington, DC–2007, Albuquerque, NM), Pop Chalee (Merina Lujan) (1906, Castle Gate, UT–1993, Santa Fe, NM), Eliot Porter (1901, Winnetka, IL–1990, Santa Fe, NM), Daisy Quezada Ureña (1990, Anaheim, CA; lives in Santa Fe, NM), Will Rawls (1978, Boston, MA; lives in Los Angeles, CA and New York), Godfrey Reggio (1940, New Orleans, LA; lives in Santa Fe, NM), Maja Ruznic (1983, Brčko, Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina); lives in Placitas, NM), Rebecca Salsbury James (1891, London, England–1968, Taos, NM), Agnes Scherer (1985, Lohr am Main, Germany; lives in Salzburg, Austria), Francis Schlatter* (1856, Ebersheim, France–1896, Casas Grandes, Mexico), Max Hooper Schneider (1982, Los Angeles, CA; lives in Los Angeles), Marilou Schultz (1954, Leupp, AZ; lives in Mesa, AZ), Katja Seib (1989, Düsseldorf, Germany; lives in Los Angeles, CA), Wael Shawky (1971, Alexandria, Egypt; lives in Alexandria), Penny Siopis (1953, Vryburg, South Africa; lives in Cape Town, South Africa), Luis Tapia 1950, Agua Fría, NM; lives in La Ciénega, NM), Doña Tules (Maria Gertrudis Barceló)* (c. 1800, Sonora, New Spain (present-day Mexico)–1852, Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory of the United States (present-day NM)), Nora Turato (1991, Zagreb, Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia); lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Ultima* (Conceived by writer Rudolfo Anaya, 1972, Albuquerque, NM), Uman (1980, Mogadishu, Somalia; lives in upstate New York), Ana Vaz (1986, Brasília, Brazil; lives in Paris and Brasília), Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan) (1918, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM–2006, Albuquerque, NM), Gisèle Vienne (1976, Charleville-Mézières, France; lives in Paris), WangShui (1986, Dallas, TX; lives in New York), Charisse Pearlina Weston (1988, Houston, TX; lives in New York), Emmi Whitehorse (1957, Crown Point, NM; lives in Santa Fe, NM), Will Wilson (1969, San Francisco, CA; lives in Santa Fe, NM and Austin, TX), Joseph E. Yoakum (1891, Ash Grove, MO–1972, Rock Island, IL), Norman Zammitt (1931, Toronto, Ontario, Canada–2007, Pasadena, CA), ZHANG Ruyi (1985, Shanghai; lives in Shanghai), ZHANG Yunyao (1985, Shanghai; lives in Paris), ZHANG XU Zhan (1988, Xinzhuang, Taiwan; lives in Xinzhuang),

* = “figure of interest”

Image information
Top row, from left: SITE SANTA FE, 2023. Photo: Mauricio Rojas; view of Gisèle Vienne: This Causes Consciousness to Fracture—A Puppet Play, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, 2024–25. Courtesy of the artist and Haus am Waldsee. Photo: Frank Sperling; Terran Last Gun: Gives Thanks To The Sun And Moon Beams, 2024. Ink and colored pencil on antique “Taxes Collected By City Treasurer” ledger sheet (dated 1912), watermark: Alpha Linen Ledger, 16 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches. Courtesy of the artist; Autumn Chacon: Malinxe, 2024. Featured in image: Laura Ortman. Performance view, Prototype Festival, New York, 2024. Produced and commissioned by Prototype. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Maria Baranova. 

Middle row, from left: Amol K. Patil: Lines Between the City S9, 2023. Bronze sculpture with light and sound, 10 x 12 x 26 cm. Photo: TKG+, Taiwan; Heechan Kim: #16, 2023. Ash, copper wire, 42 x 32 x 32 inches. Loewe Foundation; Simone Leigh: Untitled, 2023–24. Earthenware, stoneware, and steel armature. 90 x 73 x 75 inches. Courtesy the artist and Matthew Marks Gallery. © Simone Leigh; Will Rawls: Amphigory [U Can’t Escape Alive], 2022. Oil-based ink on paper, 30 x 40 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Adams and Ollman.

Bottom row, from left: view of Omari Douglin: Wave Gods 2, Ramiken, New York, 2023. Photo: Dario Lasagni. Courtesy of the artist and Ramiken, New York; Maja Ruznic, The Dark Place of Star Lines and Electricity, 2023. Oil on canvas, 100 x 150 x 2 1/2 inches. © Maja Ruznic. Courtesy of the artist and Karma; Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Protomorphisms: AGC Rope Driver Module, 2022. Steel structure, copper plates, steel plates, terracotta, rubber, alpaca wool, sheep wool, cotton 223 x 310 x 60 cm. Photo: Simon Vogel. Courtesy of Galerie Gisela Capitain; Once Within a Time, 2022. USA. Written and directed by Godfrey Reggio. Co-directed by Jon Kane. Original music composed by Philip Glass. 51 minutes. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.