Exhibits | Center of Southwest Studies

Coloradans and our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change highlights the deep connections Coloradans have with the state's natural landscape and, through it, with each other. The artwork included in the exhibition was produced by teams of artists and scientists grappling with the various ways Coloradans are experiencing the interrelated challenges of fire, drought, water, and air quality in their communities. The exhibition was organized by CU Boulder's Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship in partnership with the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and the Boulder County Arts Alliance.

For more information see: Coloradans and our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change.  This exhibition will be at the Center of Southwest Studies through February 7, 2025 thanks to a generous grant from the Ballantine Family Fund.

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 24 from 4:30-6:30pm 

Given Time: Sensory Aesthetics of Reclamation explores Indigenous relationships to land and how it intersects with issues of sovereignty, environmental sustainability, colonialism, and identity through the presentation of four films by prominent Native artists alongside select objects from the Center of Southwest Studies' museum collections that relate to and enhance the themes presented within the films. 

This exhibition is guest curated by Megan Alvarado-Saggese, PhD, Assistant Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Fort Lewis College, and features the work of Angelo Baca (Hopi/Diné), Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians), and New Red Order [Jackson Polys (Tlingit), Zack Khalil (Ojibway) Adam Khalil (Ojibway)]. 

Notably, Given Time signifies a new and innovative direction for the Center by prominently featuring moving image as a central medium in the museum gallery space for the first time. The content of the works presented foregrounds Indigenous voices and knowledge systems through recollections of personal and shared histories. Film, a vivid mode of direct storytelling, offers an immersive, transportive experience that brings us in connection with the artists’ vision, memories and perspectives.

Location: CSWS Stairwell

In May 2023, curatorial fellow Elise Boulanger (Osage Nation) co-taught a Maymester EXCEL course with internationally renowned artist Nanibah Chacon (Diné, Chicana) at the Center of Southwest Studies. Students participating in this Maymester course designed and painted a mural informed by research conducted in the Center’s museum collections and conversations about cultural celebration and belonging, thoughtful representations of non-dominant cultural values and worldviews, and connection to land. The mural, which embraces Traditional Cultural Knowledge, references a Navajo sampler-style textile and incorporates historical and contemporary weavings from the Center of Southwest Studies’ Durango Collection® of Southwest textiles, sash belts from the collaborating artists’ communities, and other Center collections items.