Theater/Exhibitions/Film/Opera/Creative Collaboration

Artistic Director/Project Director.  Lines & Circles—A Celebration of Santa Fe Families.  This project brought together three and four generations of eleven Santa Fe families over 18 months to compose/create a unique family work of art (story, short film, photograph, woodwork, quilt, sculpture, pottery, recording, etc.) and original poem.  Sponsored by the City of Santa Fe, the Lannan Foundation, and Littleglobe.  Click on "Poet Laureate" to learn more.

Core Artist, Littleglobe, Inc..  Littleglobe exists to create collaborative art, nurture community capacity, and foster life-affirming connections across the boundaries that divide us. Recent projects/performances:

• Project Director/Artistic Director--Open  Books, a poetry and art project for youth, ages 16-21 in foster care placement and/or independent living programs with the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).  June-December, 2010. Project Director, Writer.

• Project Coordinator/Librettist--ROUTE/RUTA: A Santa Fe Bus Opera, an interactive, inter-media new opera-in-motion that will premiere on active city bus lines.

• Poet/Performer--What Will You Remember?, a composed and improvisational spoken-word/poetry performance with Lauren Camp, Jasmine Cuffee, and Jamie Figueroa in response to the Form and Function exhibit (Julia Barello, Cal Lane, Roberto Gallegos, Beth Rekow and others) at 516 Arts, March 27, 2010. 

• Script/Performer--SALVE: Women on War and Warriorship, a composed and improvisational music and spoken word performance piece that investigates women’s personal insights into the internal experiences of                                             RUTA photo credit: Bob Brady                       war and warriorship (2009 & 2010).

• Script--Common Ground Festival Performance, a multi-media performance by an inter-generational ensemble (ages 5-80) of community residents from the Cuba, Ojo Encino, and Torreon, New Mexico (2008). 

• Librettist/Performer--“Memorylines: Santa Fe: Voces de Nuestras Jornadas” a new opera performance commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera as part of its 50^th anniversary celebration.  Created through intensive ensemble work by a diverse artist team and Santa Fe community residents.  Librettist, performer.

 Artistic Director/Poet/Performer. 

• Ekphrastic Performance in response to “Form & Function,” a group exhibition featuring the work of artists and designers who explore sustainability, reuse, decoration, tradition and innovation. With poets Jasmine Cuffee, Jamie Figueroa, and Lauren Camp.  516 Arts, Albuquerque, March 27, 2010.

• Ekphrastic Performance in response to “Capitalism: Fueled by Envy and Greed” by sheri crider. This poetry/spoken word/musical/improvisational performance, by poets and spoken word artists Valerie Martínez, Maureen Seaton, and Jasmine Cuffee, is a response to sheri crider’s installation, of the same name, which includes a scale replica of a section of a 1946 Albuquerque home constructed with materials (destined for landfills) culled from local construction sites.

Poet/Performer, A Tribute to Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Poets, Dancers, Musicians and Artists respond to poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Theaterwork.  December 18 & 19, 2009, James A. Little Theater, Santa Fe.

Playwright, “Heart of the Goddess of Corn,” a one act play.  Staged readings March 8, 2008, National Hispanic Cultural Center; March 17, 2007, Southwest Playwrights Festival; March 1, 2006, Greer Garson Theater, Santa Fe.

Poet/Collaborator--Poems and Pics: A traveling exhibit and anthology. This exhibit was organized by the Institute of Latino Studies and granted a 2005 NEA project grant.  The exhibit features the work of 10 Latino/a poets alongside the work of 10 Latino/a artists, culminating in the publication of an ianthology.  Valerie Martínez’s poem, “Invocation,” was paired with a photo collage by artist Kathy Vargas.  The exhibit visited New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Albuquerque (the National Hispanic Center) and other cities.