SITE Santa Fe’s Young Curators are pleased to present Kaboom!, on view January 18-February 09, 2020 at SITE Santa Fe. The public is invited to join the Young Curators for a free opening event on Friday, January 17, 2020 from 5-7 pm at SITE. The exhibition is free and open to the public in the SITElab on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10am-5pm; and Sundays from 12-5pm. For the Railyard Arts District’s Last Friday Art Walk on Friday, January 31, SITE will be open until 7 pm with free admission.

The Young Curators are worried for the world. This exhibition, Kaboom!, 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. The Young Curators want people to be concerned so that we can accept the deeply devastated environment and those responsible. Kaboom! includes artwork from artists age 10-30, thus giving a platform to those that are most victimized by the current crisis. The works depict the threats these artists/curators see to their own lives and futures. They hope to utilize the rising momentum of youth advocating for climate change to inspire viewers. The title refers to the impending destruction of our world, but there is hope: people are the problem, but they can (and must) also be the solution. 

Kaboom! participating artists: Jessica Allen, Lucas Aspen All-Stier, Mitchell Bauer, Darío G. Cuesta-Ray, Jack Dunn, Isabella Fairchild, Ellena Flores, Mamie Hess, Avis Kerns, Hyrum Lamborn, Phat Le, Emily McClintock, Blaise Miller, Sean Montoya, Ethan Nelson, Natalia Payne, Wyatt Pottorff, Nathan Roberts, Julia Ross, Erik Sanchez, Casey Savage, Emma Eaton Sobel, and Amy Zhang.

Now in its 20th year, The Young Curators is the only program of its kind in New Mexico. The Young Curators Program is a free, after school program that teaches high school students the curatorial side of the art experience, providing alternative ways for teens to connect with art while giving them a glimpse of possibilities within museum careers. Participants in the Young Curators program make empowering decisions about their exhibition’s theme, art selection, PR and marketing, fundraising, installation, and opening events. The exhibitions give young artists from throughout the region the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting. To learn more about the Young Curators Program, or about upcoming exhibitions, please contact SITE’s Education Manager, Amanda Lee Formby, at 505.989.1199, ext. 14 or email at formby@sitesantafe.org.

This project is made possible by the Stranahan Foundation; the Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission, Santa Fe County Community Services Department – Teen Court Youth Program Grant, Dr. and Mrs. Richard Carson in memory of Jodi Carson; City of Santa Fe Arts Commission and the 1% Lodgers’ Tax; New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment of the Arts; and two anonymous family foundations.