Fires of Change Opens in Albuquerque
The groundbreaking exhibition Fires of Change, which originated and opened at the Coconino Center for the Arts in 2015, continues to travel the southwest.
The exhibition opened this past weekend at 516 Arts, a non-profit art gallery in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. Seven of the ten participating artists attended the opening. Fires of Change remains open at 516 Arts through July 22, 2017 (open Tuesdays-Saturdays).
Fires of Change opened at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff in August 2015. Thereafter, the show was on display at the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona, from November 2015 through April 2016.
The exhibition asks viewers to rethink what wildfire means in the West; fire, in its own unique way, is as essential to a healthy forest as is water. Participating artists spent a week in Fire Science Bootcamp before they begin creating art for the exhibition. They learned from scientists, land managers and firefighters about the realities and science of fire ecology. In this way, the exhibition was steeped in accurate science and sound principals. Fires of Change was curated by Shawn Skabelund.
The eleven artists in Fires of Change are: Bryan David Griffith (Flagstaff), Helen Padilla (Flagstaff), Bonnie Peterson (Michigan), Craig Goodworth (Oregon), Jennifer Gunlock (Los Angeles), David Chorlton (Phoenix), Saskia Jorda (Phoenix), Kathleen Brennan (Taos), Steven Yazzie (Phoenix), Katharina Roth (Sedona), and Julie Comnick (Flagstaff – Julie did not have work in the 516 show).
Panel discussion with artists and scientists about Fires of Change
The title wall for Fires of Change at 516 Arts
A patron takes in Kathleen Brennan’s short film, The Matter of Life and Death
Bryan David Griffith talks at the reception about his work
From left: Bonnie Peterson, Kat Roth, Helen Padilla, Claude Smith (of 516 Arts), Jennifer Gunlock, Bryan David Griffith, Saskia Jorda
Jennifer Gunlock’s Urban Interface
Saskia Jorda speaks at the reception about her piece, 100% Contained
Helen Padilla addresses patrons about her two works, Bang Mirror and Red Flag
Bryan David Griffith’s Severance, a piece made with wax and smoke
Craig Goodworth’s piece in Fires of Change
Helen Padilla’s Bang Mirror and Red Flag
Bonnie Peterson’s On the Nature of Fire
An advertisement in downtown Albuquerque promotes the show
Kat Roth with her piece, Nineteen
From left: Kat Roth, Jennifer Gunlock and Bonnie Peterson
