Uncover the hidden stories of the Women of the Rails through an illustrative mural project at Railyard Park in Santa Fe, on view through July 31, 2024.
Herstory Printmaking Collective: Women of the Rails
on view through July 31, 2024
Santa Fe Railyard Park
Like so many historical photos, especially those involving people of color, the subjects remain a mystery. But the unnamed Chinese women and children whom artist and collections manager Amy Cao came across at Fort Lewis College’s Center of Southwest Studies proved galvanizing. Their underrecognized contributions to the Southwest railways inspired Women of the Rails, an ambitious, large-scale mural in Santa Fe’s Railyard Park by the Herstory Printmaking Collective (of which Cao is a member).
“Through our research, we came to understand the pivotal role of Chinese immigrants, freed slaves, and Native, Black, Latino, and Irish workers in the construction of the railways,” said Herstory. “Many of them had families they were supporting. Not all of them have received recognition for their gains or sacrifices.”
Spanning two sides of a Railyard Park community building, Women of the Rails traces the long and often forgotten role of women in the Western rail experience—from Owl Woman, a Cheyenne tribe member known for her skill as a mediator, to Christine Gonzalez Aldeis, the first U.S. woman to become a Class I railroad engineer. The mural is a presentation of the Railyard Park Conservancy’s Railyard Art Project, with funding from the City of Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department.
“The story we are telling begins with the lives of women during the establishment of the Santa Fe Rail, but it is also broader,” added Herstory. “By bringing those in the background of history into the foreground, we hope to paint a fuller picture of the railroads. By focusing on women, we are telling stories that are often ignored. By focusing on workers, we hope to bring greater appreciation for those who did, and continue to do, the hard work of linking our nation by rail. Ideally, through this installation, the audience will see themselves as a piece of the story.”
The Herstory Printmaking Collective uplifts the lives of women through making and publicly posting hand-printed, street-style portraits. Formed in early 2021 in Albuquerque with a core group of three members, Herstory has since represented the work of twenty-five female artists portraying forty different women. Their murals have appeared at the University of New Mexico’s Masley Art Gallery, on Mountain Road in Albuquerque, at the Southwest Printmaking Fiesta in Silver City, in Mancos, Colorado, through Mancos Common Press, and on the mobile Axle Contemporary gallery.
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