SFR Picks—Week of Jan. 15

A Curated Crisis

SITE Santa Fe's Young Curators program celebrates its 20th year

"I see myself as more of a facilitator. I really want them to feel empowered to make decisions," says Amanda Lee Formby, who was preparing to leave an
eight-year-long position as education manager at SITE Santa Fe the same day she spoke with SFR.

Lee Formby is referring her role as the leader of SITE's Young Curators program, and the "them" is a cohort of teenagers who come together after school to study contemporary curation with access to SITE's network of world-class experts; the goal is to put together a group exhibit, and this year, the 13 young curators did just that, naming it Kaboom!—and it opens this Friday.

"The Young Curators are worried for the world," reads the press release, "their upcoming exhibition…brings together young artists who share these concerns and use their artwork to explore the harm that we (humans) are bringing on ourselves and our world." Expect work that explores problems, but with empathy as well as toughness. Expect to catch their ideas for solutions, too.

"Right from the start, the group was really concerned about the current state of the world, not even in isolation, like social issues, environmental issues—they didn't even segregate those issues in their mind," Lee Formby says, describing this cohort's particular handle on a zeitgeist marked by global interconnectedness—and crisis.

After deciding their theme and approach, the student curators put out a call for art, the reach of which is determined by students' demographics and social spheres. "I think we had maybe over 90 submissions of artwork," Lee Formby points out. And while the focus is on work from young artists, the cohort accepted submissions from folks 30 and younger.

"It's scary and it's sad to talk about these issues, but I also get a sense of hope for future generations whenever I talk to them and work with them," says Lee Formby. "They really are an amazing group of young people…their message and the artists they selected are important." (Cole Rehbein)

Kaboom!: 
5-7 pm Friday Jan. 17. Free.
SITE Santa Fe,
1606 Paseo de Peralta,
989-1199

All Mixed Up

We've said it before and we'll say it again—if you're not paying attention to contemporary Native arts, you're missing out on one of the most vibrant and important pieces of today's art world. As such, we're slightly obsessed with IAIA's Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and you should be, too. If this is the case (or even if you just want to learn a little more), might we suggest the upcoming Mix and Mingle? It's an evening for would-be docents and fans to check out the galleries, learn more about the mission and potentially work for one of the most kickass museums in the country. There are numerous ways to get involved, and the opportunities to expand one's horizons are limitless. Do this. Do it now.
(Alex De Vore)

IAIA MoCNA Mix and Mingle: 
5-6:30 pm Wednesday Jan. 15. Free.
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts,
108 Cathedral Place,
983-8900

A Moveable Fest

Oh, Madrid Film Festival, how we love thee—from the understanding that low-budget and campy are actually good things to the core principle that fun and friendship above all make for one heck of a movie fest. Not content to stay grounded outside town, however, festival heads Joe West and Andrew Wice are taking the show on the road, commandeering the Jean Cocteau Cinema with a crop of their best and brightest submissions. Even better, West—who everyone knows is a musician and a half—offers up musical treats as well, and it'll only set you back 10 bucks. There's something so wonderful about homemade cinema, there's something wonderful about not having to look at film projects like some serious business only decipherable to the haughtiest of snobs. This'll be fun, musical and, we bet, pretty funny. (ADV)

Madrid Film Festival Tour 2020: 
7 pm Thursday Jan. 16. $10.
Jean Cocteau Cinema,
418 Montezuma Ave.,
466-5528.

Activate Bat Music Machine!

The times, they are a-never gonna be the same, especially as we seem to be in a glorious live music renaissance in Santa Fe wherein new bands who don't play Americana are popping up. Case in point, a pair of shows from newly formed surf-punk band The Batrays. With members of Clementine Was Right and a rockabilly bent á la Wanda Jackson, The Batrays are poppy, doo-woppy and oh-so-catchy with enough of a Link Wray-esque fuzzy edge to keep it rocking. Expect an album on the horizon and make sure to catch a show as soon as you can. (ADV)

The Batrays with Still Looking for Cosmo and Black Unicorn:
8 pm Tuesday Jan. 21. Free.
Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom),
2920 Rufina St.,
954-1068.