On The Alchemy of Dialogue
Collaboration Lab: Let's weave the future of the arts in New Mexico, together
The inaugural evening of Collaboration Lab takes place this Wednesday, July 2, at the Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe. Co-hosted by the CCA and sponsored by the City of Santa Fe, CoLab is an event we at ArtBridge have been pouring our hearts into because it represents what we stand for: dialogue, collaboration, idea-weaving, vision crystallization, the exploration of possibilities and potentials, dreams and creative solutions in the realm of the arts, whether it be in community, industry, or within and among individuals.
I often mention our Monday meetings in these posts because they are the field of creation, like the pot at the end of the rainbow, out of which ArtBridge’s visions are born, and where we speak them into reality. This, I think, is precisely what Collaboration Lab is—except it invites you, along with an incredible lineup of leaders and visionaries in the arts from across New Mexico, to join ArtBridge Executive Director and ArtStorming Host Lili Pierrepont into a space of conversation, inspiration, and creation.
Conversation as the freshness of creation
I originally moved to Santa Fe back in 2006 to attend St. John’s College. There, tucked quietly in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos, I discovered that while absolutely any topic can be brought to a table, it sits there held within any given individual’s mental, emotional, philosophical, and even psychological framework until it’s explored in conversation.
When we come together to discuss a topic, whatever it may be, it becomes refracted through the prisms of individual minds, perspectives, lenses, thoughts, experiences, and curiosities. Out of this explorative exchange, a vastness of understanding, insight, inspiration, and fresh potential is born.
And this is what Collaboration Lab is.
It’s a field in which to come together and explore the current state of the arts in New Mexico and the myriad possibilities for their future. These five evenings in July will collaboratively explore challenges in the arts realm, like funding cuts, evolving audience engagement, community needs, resource opportunities, adapting to new realities in the arts, and beyond.
Given the nature of dialogue, I imagine topics we haven’t yet considered will also be brought forward, because that’s the sort of magic that happens when beautiful and diverse minds come together in an exploration through conversation.
At ArtBridge, we believe the future of the arts is collaborative, and we hope you’ll join us to shape it in New Mexico. You’ll be in brilliant company as the first evening, Wednesday, July 2, features Jamie Blosser, Director/CEO, Midtown Arts and Design Alliance; Lisa Keating, Executive Director, Santa Fe Gallery Association; Pamela Kelly, Vice President of Licensing & Brand Management, Museum of New Mexico Foundation; Robyne Robinson, Principal, fiveXfive Art Consultants; and Judy Tuwaletstiwa, who will be performing.
As Lili put it in our meeting, “Collaboration Lab is exactly that, a laboratory to explore together, and if people come out of it with a sense of hope or inspiration or curiosity, we will have succeeded.”
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited to experience the alchemy of dialogue in the context of a topic that not only helps make Santa Fe and New Mexico so special, but that, like the gift of conversation between unique and extraordinary minds, is inherently human and absolutely vital to the health of our communities. Register for free here.
The Lineup
July 2:
Jamie Blosser, Director/CEO, Midtown Arts and Design Alliance
Lisa Keating, Executive Director, Santa Fe Gallery Association
Pamela Kelly, Vice President of Licensing & Brand Management, Museum of New Mexico Foundation
Robyne Robinson, Principal, fiveXfive Public Art Consultants
Performance by Judy Tuwaletstiwa
July 9:
Matthew Chase-Daniel, Co-Director, Axle Contemporary
Brianna Figueroa, Executive Director, Creative Startups
Laura Finlay Smith, Former Curator, The Tia Collection
Drew Trujillo, Computer Science Program Developer and Visiting Faculty, Institute of American Indian Arts
Performance by Drew Trujillo
July 16:
Jennifer Graves, Box Office Manager, New Mexico Actors Lab
James W. Johnson, Executive Director, MAKE Santa Fe
Roger Montoya, Co-Founder, Moving Arts Española
Dylan Tenorio, Co-Executive Director, Little Globe, Inc.
Performance by Elizabeth Jacobson
July 23:
April Cleveland, Artistic Director, The Exodus Ensemble
Cole Forrest, Artistic Cinema Programmer, CCA Santa Fe
Megan Mulry, Executive Director, Santa Fe International Literary Festival
Toccarra Thomas, Executive Director, Santa Fe Art Institute
Performance by The Exodus Ensemble
Visit artbridgenm.org/bridges to learn more. Register for (free) tickets here.