Santa Fe Arts Commission Sponsors Exhibition on Hunger

The City of Santa Fe Arts Commission has invited 17 local artists to participate in an exhibition that focuses on hunger in our state and around the world. 

The artists, who work in a variety of media, will display their work at the Santa Fe Community Gallery, 201 W. Marcy St, which is inside the Santa Fe Convention Center. The exhibition, entitled “Longer Table: Food, Nourishment and Sustainability,"will be launched with a special reception today, September 27, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the community gallery.  The works of the artists will be in display until January.

The artists were asked to address the myriad issues related to food production, sustainability, scarcity, affordability, safety, access and availability, and the ramifications of our food policies in New Mexico.

"According to an article in 2016, the effects of climate change on food production around the world could lead to more than 500,000 deaths by the year 2050," said the Santa Fe Arts Commission in a Facebook page for this event. "Climate related impacts on agriculture could lead to an overall global decline in food availability. We are headed into a world food crisis and the evidence is mounting."

"If you are fortunate to have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher wall," said Santa Fe artist Bette Yozell, who works primarily in watercolors and gouache, with explorations in glass, etching, and various other media. "I am grateful to have this opportunity to address the challenge of global food sustainability in a visual format."

Other artists include Bobbe Besold, Matthew Bollinger, Liz Brindley, Eric Heithaus, Kathamann, Angela Kirkman, Will Karp, Marietta Patricia Leis, Andrea Lozano, Darlene Olivia McElroy, Catherine Molland, AnaMaria Samaniego, Michael Sharber, Melinda Silver, and Laurinda Stockwell.
 

Yozell is the only one of the 17 artists I know personally.  I met her and her husband on  an educational trip to Havana, Cuba,in December 2016, sponsored by the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico. I was one of the LAII staff people accompanying the group of more than a dozen people from New Mexico and other areas to study art deco architecture in the Cuban capital and to experience the Havana Jazz Festival.

 You can see more of Yozell's work via a separate exhibit, entitled Mixed Media, at the Jean Cocteau Cinema gallery in October. "The opening will be on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 5:30-7. I am hoping you can make this, as well. A videoed interview of me in my studio has been made in conjunction with this exhibit," said Yozell.