CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: July 1, 2005 – May 31, 2006
The Field Museum will host an exhibition, Transforming Tradition: Pottery from Mata Ortiz, showing more than 20 ollas donated to the Museum by Leo and Lois Damkroger. Also included will be Casas Grandes pieces from the 14th and 15th centuries illustrating the prehistoric source of inspiration for this “complex and delicate artistic tradition .. producing some of the world’s finest contemporary ceramics.” Contact: The Field Museum (312-922-9410), 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496. www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/mataortiz_tempexhib.htm
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: April 22 – Aug 13, 2006
The Art Institute of Chicago will mount a major exhibition, Casas Grandes and the Ceramic Art of the Ancient Southwest, of some 90 pieces of prehistoric Casas Grandes pottery from the Ed Harris and Ken Kokrda collections of American and Mexican ceramics. To give the context of the prehistoric Pueblo cultural group, the exhibition will also show 50 pieces representing other major styles: Mimbres, Four-Mile Polychrome, Hohokam, Sityatki polychrome from the Hopi Mesas, and some large Tularosa and Socorro ollas (Anasazi not represented). Yale University Press plans to release in November a hardcover catalog of 192 pages and more than 140 color illustrations. The text will be by Richard Townsend, Curator of African and Amerindian Art, Art Institute of Chicago, with contributions by Ken Kokrda and Barbara Moulard. Richard Townsend writes of this exhibition:
Between A.D. 1200 and 1400 in the vast desert region that encompasses parts of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico, there flourished many ancient Indian communities whose diverse ceramic arts are considered among the most accomplished in the world. The visual tradition of this distinctive cultural area bears an unmistakable Southwestern character, readily distinguished from that of Mesoamerica to the south or the arts of the ancient Mississippian valley to the east. This will be the first major exhibition to explore, through works of the highest artistic order, the complex imagery of the Casas Grandes-Pakimé tradition of northwest Mexico in relation to the more archaeologically well-known and aesthetically appreciated styles of the American Southwest. Contrasting and comparing this powerful imagery will reveal as never before the exceptional achievement of Casas master potters, hitherto largely unknown to the public. Polychromatic designs of animals, both real and mythological, together with abstract human figures and geometries of remarkable variation, will be displayed to reveal their imaginative complexity.
Contact: Richard Townsend (312-443-3657), Curator, Department of African and Amerindian Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60603-6110. rtownsend[at]artic.edu www.artic.edu
SAN DIEGO, CA: Ongoing
The Wells Fargo Bank at 4th and B is hosting indefinitely an exhibit of Mata Ortiz pottery from the collection of the San Diego Museum of Man. Approximately 20 pieces are shown, including five by Juan Quezada. Contact Grace Johnson (619-239-2001), Curator of Latin American Collections, San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, San Diego CA 92101 gjohnson[at]museumofman.org
GENESEO, NY: Ongoing
The School of Performing Arts, State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo, has mounted in the lobby of Brogie Hall on Park Street a permanent exhibition of 130 pieces of Mata Ortiz pottery from the private collection of musician Alan Case. While this collection contains some early pieces, it mainly shows the pottery art of Mata Ortiz from the mid 1990's. Contact Alan Case (585-243-4616) by phone or, best, by email at case[at]geneseo.edu
Scheduled Events
June 6
DEADLINE for entries (slides or digital photos) for the Third Bi-National Painting Competition 2005, this year on the theme “Más Allá de la Puerta T” (Beyond the T-Shaped Door). Artists will be notified June 18-20 if their work has been accepted. If affirmative, their work should be delivered to the Mexican Consulate, El Paso, on June 23. Stephen Vollmer, Curator of Art of the Americas, Tucson Museum of Art, will judge the entries and award prizes of $20,000, $15,000, and $5,000 pesos. For explanation in Spanish and English, visit the web site http://festivalnuevapaquime.com
June 11-19 Mariposa Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
June 12
WALNUT CREEK, CA: Benefit sale of Mata Ortiz art
Shadelands Museum and gardens will sponsor a show and sale of Mata Ortiz clay art from 8-4 p.m. This event will benefit LITA (Love Is The Answer), a non-profit venture founded in 1980 to match volunteers as one-to-one friends with people living in convalescent hospitals and other long term care facilities in Contra Costa County. LITA is non-sectarian and does not charge for its services. Contact Victoria Ryan (925-212-4573), Director, LITA, 6830 Stockton Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, or Sonny Melendrez (505-649-7074). victoriaryan[at]sbcglobal.net www.litaofcontracosta.org
June 14-24 Rancho Sierra Madre Class (See under Tours/Classes)
June 15-20 Tortuga Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
June 18-19
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Benefit sale of Mata Ortiz art
Zephyr Real Estate, located on 24th Street between Castro and Noe, will host their annual two-day show and sale of Mata Ortiz clay art to benefit LITA (Love is the Answer). LITA is a non-profit venture founded in 1980 to match volunteers as one-to-one friends with people living in convalescent hospitals and other long term care facilities in Contra Costa County. It is non-sectarian and does not charge for its services. Contact Victoria Ryan (925-212-4573), director of LITA, 6830 Stockton Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, or Sonny Melendrez (505-649-7074). victoriaryan[at]sbcglobal.net www.litaofcontracosta.org
June 18-19
GRAND JUNCTION, CO: Quezada pottery-making methods taught by Michael Wisner
The Art Center at Western Colorado Center for the Arts will offer an intensive two-day workshop by Michael Wisner on the pottery methods developed by Juan Quezada, including hand-forming, burnishing, incising, painting, brush-making, and outdoor firing using using both oxidation and reduction techniques. Contact Cree (970-243-7337, X2 or terry@gjartcenter.org) at the Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501. gjartcenter.org (See also Mike Wisner’s website: http://southwestpottery.com/)
July - September
CASAS GRANDES, CHIHUAHUA: Call for volunteers for archaeological dig
University of Arizona Ph.D. candidate Todd A. Pitezel is calling for volunteers to assist with dissertation research at Cerro de Moctezuma, the highest hill in the Casas Grandes Valley, a few kilometers southwest of and overlooking Paquimé. The hill contains a large site, El Pueblito, which has never been excavated. It is the only known habitation on a hill from the Medio period, A.D. 1200-1450. This first excavation of El Pueblito will attempt to determine why it is on a hill hundreds of meters above its neighbors. Field tasks will include excavation, mapping, and artifact processing and analysis. Volunteers are asked to commit two weeks time to the project, but are welcome to stay longer, and should have field school or equivalent experience. The project will provide food and rent a house where crew members can sleep and shower. Project research design and additional information are available at www.u.arizona.edu/~pitezel/archaeology.html. Contact Todd Pitezel (520-730-8686), pitezel[at]email.arizona.edu.
July 1-10
CASAS GRANDES, CHIHUAHUA: Multicultural festival
The fifth annual Festival Nueva Paquimé: Esplendor de Culturas will celebrate the diverse cultural achievements—Mormon, Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Tarahumara, Mennonite—of northwest Chihuahua, a region embracing the municipios of Ascencion, Janos, Casas Grandes, Nuevo Casas Grandes, Galeana, Buenaventura, Madera, Zaragoza, Gómez-Fárias, and Namiquipa. Outstanding events at the Festival will include a grand opening parade of the northern cultures; an evening of rediscovery of their origins for Mexican-Americans; a fine-arts exhibition; the third annual bi-national painting competition; regional rodeo finals; art and history lectures; art in the park; the second bi-national gathering of poets; theatrical works; ranchero dancing; choral presentations; a concert of contemporary music; puppet shows, story telling, and other children’s theater; callejoneadas, or nighttime processions through Casas Grandes with singers and a burro carrying a keg of sotol, punctuated by historical skits and reenactments; charreada and roping events; and a traditional sweat lodge (temascal) led by shaman Cristóbal Jiménez. Of special note for readers of this Calendar, Spencer MacCallum’s brother, Crawford, of Albuquerque, will present again this year his classic, interactive children’s story with his many animal sound effects, The Four Musicians of Belen, rendered in antique and poetic Spanish, at noon each day Tuesday-Friday in Casas Grandes at the Museum of Northern Cultures (Paquimé). Contact Rita Meraz at the Chihuahua State tourism offices, merazrita[at]hotmail.com, or Sandy Casillas (011-52-636-692-4275), committee member omasandi[at]paquinet.com.mx. http://festivalnuevapaquime.com
July 7-9 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
July 4
EL CERRITO, CA: benefit show and sale of Mata Ortiz art
Nothing beats El Cerrito’s annual City Celebration, 10-3 p.m., for an old-fashioned family outing July 4th. Drive up off San Pablo Avenue heading toward the top on Moeser. Live music in the park, lots of food booths and everything else under the sun. A drawing card for the last four years has been the LITA booth of Mata Ortiz art. Sales of pottery will benefit LITA (Love is the Answer), a non-profit venture founded in 1980 to match volunteers as one-to-one friends with people living in convalescent hospitals and other long term care facilities in Contra Costa County. LITA is non-sectarian and does not charge for its services. Contact Victoria Ryan (925-212-4573), director of LITA, 6830 Stockton Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, or Sonny Melendrez (505-649-7074). victoriaryan[at]sbcglobal.net www.litaofcontracosta.org
July 4-17 Galería Casas Grandes Class (See under Tours/Classes)
July 9-15
PACHECO/COLONIA JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA: A gathering of families
A gathering will take place July 9-15 at Colonia Juárez and the vicinity of Pacheco, near the Cave of the Olla in the Sierras west of Mata Ortiz, to commemorate the families who settled there more than a century ago. Descendents of more than 30 of the founding families are expected to attend, as well as many interested in the history of the Mormon colonies. Participants will spend the first two nights in Colonia Juárez followed by three days at the Jarvis’ ranch at Pacheco, swapping many stories and visiting sites of the original colonies. The final day will be at Colonia Juárez and Colonia Dublán before returning on the 15th. Contact Dan Jarvis (480-834-0813), coordinator, 1104 W. Ninth Place, Mesa AZ 85201. Dj160001[at]ncr.com
July 12-16 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
July 16-17
SILVER CITY, NM: Eighth Annual "FIESTA DE LA OLLA"
The Mimbres Region Arts Council will hold its eighth annual fiesta celebrating the pottery and potters of Mata Ortiz at Fort Cobre from 9-6 p.m. Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday. Fort Cobre, located in Ponderosa pine country at Pinos Altos, six miles north of Silver City on Route 15, is a "living cultural museum" with adobe structures, earthen floors, antique furnishings. The public is invited to attend a slide talk by Spencer MacCallum at 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening on many of his and Juan Quezada’s experiences in the beginning years of the “miracle of Mata Ortiz.” Juan Quezada and his family will conduct a two-day pottery workshop. Tuition for the workshop (10-3 p.m. each day), will be $150. In addition, there will be open pottery demonstrations, folklórico dancing, mariachis, Charro horses, dancing with Hispanic and Anglo bands, venders offering many kinds of cultural foods, and more. Many visitors are expected to attend from Mata Ortiz and Silver City’s sister-city, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Great fun for the whole family. Contact the Mimbres Region Arts Council (505-538-2505 / 888-758-7289), 1201 Pope Street, Box 1830, Silver City, NM 88062 arts[at]mimbresarts.org http://www.mimbresarts.org/
July 28-30 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
August 11-13 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
August 16-20 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
August 20-27 Cultural Arts Workshop (See under Tours/Classes)
August 25-27 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
September 5-8 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
September 8-10 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
September 9
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN: Workshop with Michael Wisner
As part of the American Pottery Festival September 8-11, featuring 20 American artists offering workshops, slideshows, demonstrations, classes and artwork for sale, the Northern Clay Center will sponsor a one-day class on Friday September 9th from 8 to 4 p.m.. This intensive one day class will cover traditional Southwest Indian and Mata Ortiz techniques of handbuilding, texturing, burnishing, painting, and firing. Students will leave with fired artwork. Contact the Northern Clay Center (612-339-8007), 2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis MN 55406. Office hours weekdays 9-5:30 (see website for gallery hours). www.northernclaycenter.org. (See also Mike Wisner’s website: http://southwestpottery.com/)
September 13-17 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
September 14-18 Arizona/Sonora Desert Museum Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
September 20-23 Las Cruces Voyagers Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
September 21-29 MoLAA Travelers Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
September 22-24 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
September 27-Oct 3 Noberta Fresquez Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
October 6-8 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
October 8
CASAS GRANDES, CHIHUAHUA: Ninth Annual Gathering of Friends of Mata Ortiz
This yearly gathering of friends of Mata Ortiz includes by invitation all members of the "Mata Ortiz extended family." The original intent, to foster community and communication among traders, soon expanded to include anyone from either side of the border having a direct and significant involvement with the village, whether artist, scholar, collector, student, museum person, trader, gallery owner, writer, or simply a friend of Mata Ortiz. The program includes a speaker on a topic of interest followed by informal discussion of problems and concerns in the village and the long-term viability of the market for Mata Ortiz art. This year’s Gathering will begin with a reception Friday evening followed on Saturday by an all-day program at a large tent that to be set up by the railroad station in Mata Ortiz. The program will begin this year with the dedication of the Mata Ortiz library. The library was built with assistance from the Mata Ortiz Foundation and the Friends of Mata Ortiz and became operational last September. On Sunday morning for those who care to stay over, a brunch at the MacCallum’s restored adobe in Casas Grandes. Invitation to the Gathering is automatic for traders and those who have attended in previous years. Others who may be interested are encouraged to contact Walter and Betty Parks (951-684-4224), 6154 Hawarden, Riverside CA 92506. wparks909[at]charter.net
October 8-15 Cultural Arts Workshop (See under Tours/Classes)
October 10-17 (dates not yet firm)
MATA ORTIZ, CHIH.: UNM Semester course on Southwest art
Assoc. Prof. Bill Gilbert, Department of Art & Art History, University of New Mexico and Chris Taylor, Design Chairman, Department of Art & Art History, University of Texas at Austin, will conduct a joint fall semester course, "Arts of the Southwest," visiting sites on both sides of the border and including a week in Mata Ortiz. Contact Bill Gilbert (505-473-2819), Art Department, University of New Mexico. Gilnel[at]earthlink.net
October 11-15 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
October 15-17 Fiesta Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
October 17-20 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
October 19-21 Fiesta Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
October 20-22 Gavilán Tour(See under Tours/Classes)
October 25-27 Ames Travel Group Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
October 27-30 Mimbres Region Arts Council Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 7-10 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 10-13 Cultural Arts Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 10-13 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 12-15 Fiesta Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 15-18 Las Cruces Voyagers Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
November 26-27
ALTA LOMA, CA: Private craft demonstrations & benefit sale
Legendary art furniture maker Sam Maloof and his wife Beverly will host at their home on Saturday (10-6) and Sunday (12-5) demonstrations and sales by a gathering of noted Mexican artists: Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua potter Jorge Quintana; Oaxaca animalito carvers Jocobo Angeles Ojeda and wife María; traditional Oaxaca fine needlepoint garment makers Roberta Angeles and Tomasa Ojeda (sister and mother of Jocobo); Teotitlán la Valle, Oaxaca rug weavers Antonio Mendoza and Alicia Batista; Ensenada, Baja California muralist/painter Elvia Tadejo; Tonalá ceramist Angel ________; and Santa Clara de Cobre coppersmith Angel Punzo. Jerry Boyd will offer a selection of pottery, carvings, and textiles. The Maloofs will serve a complimentary lunch Saturday 12-2 p.m. There will be a five-dollar fee (ordinarily $15) to tour the historic home. 25% of proceeds from sales will be divided between the Mata Ortiz Foundation and the Secondary School in Mata Ortiz. Attendance is by invitation (but anyone interested should inquire). Contact Nick D. Brown (909-792-2894), Box 128, Redlands CA 92372 NBrown[at]aol.com
December 5-8 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
December 8-11 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
January 9-12 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
January 12-15 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
January 26-29 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
February 5-11 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
February 6-9 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
February 23-26 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
March 5-11 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
March 6-9 Gray Line Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
March 16-19 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
April 2-8 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
April 13-16 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
April 23-29 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
May 11-14 Elderhostel Tour (See under Tours/Classes)
ALERT ALERT: Always confirm dates of events before finalizing
plans to attend. Kindly notify the Calendar of mistakes or changes.