Opening Reception: Activating Oga Po’ogeh Land Acknowledgement

Activating Oga Po’ogeh Land Acknowledgement
opening reception: Friday, May 31, 7:15-8:45 pm
on view: May 31–August 31, 2024

The Railyard Park Conservancy’s (RPC) Railyard Art Project (RAP) is proud to announce the opening of Activating Oga Po’ogeh Land Acknowledgement, a multimedia installation by Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo/White Earth Chippewa) on view through along the Santa Fe Rail Trail near Nuckolls Brewing Company.

Bringing community engagement to installation art, Activating Oga Po’ogeh creates a space for the public to think deeply and critically about the places and spaces in which we reside, asking questions about Indigenous place-based histories and ongoing relations, Western concepts of land ownership, and the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism in Santa Fe. Wall’s goal for the project is to construct “conditions for people to encounter land acknowledgement communally. The work takes the land acknowledgment to the land itself — outdoors in a public space.”

The multi-media sculpture, constructed with metal frames and concrete ears of corn, is brought to life through video installations of community members walking across Oga Po’ogeh. In this, Wall animates the Railyard, speaking to recent trends towards land acknowledgements and their inadequacy in reconciling the lasting effects of dispossession. Foregrounding tangible movements and meaningful actions, Wall asks us to embed ourselves in the land, activate our own sense of place, and think about what steps we can make in our own lives to reconcile these histories.

Support for this project comes from the City of Santa Fe Arts & Culture Commission, the Institute of American Indian Arts’ Social Engagement Residency Program, and the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation.

Join us, experience the exhibition, and stay tuned for additional events through summer 2024 by following the Railyard Park Conservancy on social media.