The 12th International takes the title Once Within a Time, after a recent film by Godfrey Reggio, the legendary experimental filmmaker who has long resided in Santa Fe. Known for his Qatsi trilogy—comprising the movies Koyaanisqatsi (1983), Powaqqatsi (1988), and Naqoyqatsi (2002)—and his decades-long collaboration with composer Philip Glass, Reggio has remained one of the most singular voices in independent cinema. His most recent film, Once Within a Time (2022), which was shot entirely in studio during the Covid-19 pandemic, is a surreal tour de force through a world of handcrafted vignettes and miniature sets. The film intertwines fairytale atmospheres with apocalyptic landscapes, presenting an allegory of human nature and its conflict with technology.

Through its hypnotic vortices of images—in which children seem trapped, like broken ballerinas in a music box—the film Once Within a Time pursues a form of storytelling that blends the fantastical and the mundane in a moving portrait of the existential condition. As the title seems to suggest, the stories Reggio tells are both exceptional and endlessly repeatable.

Inspired by Reggio’s circular narratives, the 12th International places storytelling at its heart, with the aim of highlighting the lived experiences of several characters connected to the history of Santa Fe and its surrounding region. Conceived as a vast family album, Once Within a Time takes cues from the lives of a vibrant collection of Santa Feans, bringing together figures both historical and current, real and imagined, whose existential adventures step into dialogue with works of contemporary art.

Read the full Curatorial Statement

This iteration of the International will create dialogues and collaborations between SITE SANTA FE and a broad range of cultural institutions around Santa Fe. SITE SANTA FE’s galleries will serve as the nexus of the International, with arms of the exhibition extending to other parts of the city, including both partner institutions and non-traditional spaces like vacant storefronts and warehouses, open-air parks, toy shops, and haunted hotels. The artworks that each venue hosts will range from site-specific sculptures and large-scale installations to subtle disruptions and participatory actions, intertwining and interacting with the city’s unique environs. Among the many partnering institutions are the Museum of International Folk Art, The New Mexico History Museum, including the Palace of the Governors, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and the New Mexico Military Museum. By scattering these installations throughout the city, visitors will be prompted to explore Santa Fe through the eyes of the artists and the figures who have inspired them.

Participants

Korakrit Arunanondchai
1986, Bangkok, Thailand. Lives in New York, NY, United States and Bangkok.

Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal)
1898 San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico Territory of the United States (present-day NM, United States) – 1955, San Ildefonso Pueblo, NM, United States.

Patricia Ayres
1975, New York, NY, United States. Lives in New York.

Donald Beauregard*
1884, Fillmore, Utah Territory of the United States (present-day UT, United States) – 1914, Fillmore, UT, United States.

Louise Bonnet
1970, Geneva, Switzerland. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Tejal Boor*
Dates unknown [future], present-day Southeast New Mexico, United States.

Willa Cather*
1873, Gore, VA, United States – 1947, New York, NY, United States.

Autumn Chacon
1987, Corrales, NM, United States. Lives in Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Ali Cherri
1976, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives in Paris, France.

Helen Cordero
1915, Cochiti Pueblo, NM, United States – 1994, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Minerva Cuevas
1975, Mexico City, Mexico. Lives in Mexico City.

Santiago de Paoli
1978, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lives in Stamford, NY, United States.

Omari Douglin
1992, New York, NY, United States. Lives in New York.

Esteban / Estebanico*
c. 1500, sub-Saharan Africa – disappeared 1539, Hawikuh (present-day NM, United States).

The Fire Spirit, archenemy of Zozobra*
Originated by dancer Jacques Cartier and artist Will Shuster, 1933, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Cristina Flores Pescorán
1986, Lima, Peru. Lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Guillermo Galindo
1960, Mexico City, Mexico. Lives in Oakland, CA and Roswell, NM, United States.

Ximena Garrido-Lecca
1980, Lima, Peru. Lives in Mexico City, Mexico.

Maureen Gruben
1963, Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. Lives in Tuktoyaktuk.

Raven Halfmoon
1991, Norman, OK, United States. Lives in Norman.

Frederick Hammersley
1919, Salt Lake City, UT, United States – 2009, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill
1979, Comox, British Columbia, Canada. Lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

Sky Hopinka
1984, Ferndale, WA, United States. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Lilli Hornig*
1921, Aussig, Czechoslovakia (present-day Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic) – 2017, Providence, RI, United States.

David Horvitz
1980, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Lives in Los Angeles.

Maryam Hoseini
1988, Tehran, Iran. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Archbishop Nitten Ishida*
1901, Hiroshima, Japan – 1996, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Saodat Ismailova
1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Lives in Paris, France and Tashkent.

Claude James*
1919, Nice, France – 1985, Santa Fe, New Mexico United States.

Joanna Keane Lopez
1991, Albuquerque, NM, United States. Lives in Galisteo, NM, United States.

Heechan Kim
1982, Seoul, South Korea. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Karla Knight
1958, New York, NY, United States. Lives in Redding, CT, United States.

Dominique Knowles
1996, Nassau, the Bahamas. Lives in Paris, France.

Terran Last Gun
1989, Browning, MT, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Louise Lawler
1947, Bronxville, NY, United States. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

D. H. Lawrence
1885, Eastwood, England – 1930, Vence, France.

Dionne Lee
1988, New York, NY, United States. Lives in Columbus, OH, United States.

Mire Lee
1988, Seoul, South Korea. Lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Seoul.

Simone Leigh
1967, Chicago, IL, United States. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Candice Lin
1979, Concord, MA, United States. Lives in Altadena, CA, United States.

Looking Glasses*
Conceived by writer Ted Chiang, 1998.

Greg Mac Gregor
1941, La Crosse, WI, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Doña Mala*
Created by artist Gustave Baumann, c. 1940, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

La Malinche*
c. 1500, Anahuac (present-day Mexico) – 1529, Mexico City, New Spain (present-day Mexico).

Diego Marcon
1985, Busto Arsizio, Italy. Lives in Italy.

John McCracken
1934, Berkeley, CA, United States – 2011, New York, NY, United States.

Diego Medina
1993, Las Cruces, NM, United States. Lives in Taos, NM, United States.

Sidsel Meineche Hansen
1981, Ry, Denmark. Lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Na Mira
1982, Lawrence, KS, United States. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, United States.

N. Scott Momaday*
1934, Lawton, OK, United States – 2024, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Hira Nabi
1987, Lahore, Pakistan. Lives in Berlin, Germany.

Vladimir Nabokov*
1899, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (present-day Russia) – 1977, Montreux, Switzerland.

Nora Naranjo-Morse
1953, Kha’P’o Owenge, NM, United States. Lives in Kha’P’o Owenge.

Chester Nez, and the so-called “Original 29” Navajo Code Talkers*
Nez: 1921, Chi Chil Tah, NM, United States – 2014, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Ni-hual*
2492, present-day Valley of Fires in Carrizozo, NM, United States – death date unknown.

Amol K. Patil
1987, Mumbai, India. Lives in Mumbai.

Agnes Pelton
1881, Stuttgart, Germany – 1961, Cathedral City, CA, United States.

Florence Miller Pierce
1918, Washington, DC, United States – 2007, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Pop Chalee (Merina Lujan)
1906, Castle Gate, UT, United States – 1993, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Eliot Porter
1901, Winnetka, IL, United States – 1990, Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Daisy Quezada Ureña
1990, Anaheim, CA, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Will Rawls
1978, Boston, MA, United States. Lives in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY, United States.

Godfrey Reggio
1940, New Orleans, LA, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Maja Ruznic
1983, Brčko, Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). Lives in Placitas, NM, United States.

Rebecca Salsbury James
1891, London, England – 1968, Taos, NM, United States.

Agnes Scherer
1985, Lohr am Main, Germany. Lives in Salzburg, Austria.

Francis Schlatter*
1856, Ebersheim, France – c. 1896, Casas Grandes, Mexico.

Max Hooper Schneider
1982, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Lives in Los Angeles.

Marilou Schultz
1954, Leupp, AZ, United States. Lives in Mesa, AZ, United States.

Katja Seib
1989, Düsseldorf, Germany. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Wael Shawky
1971, Alexandria, Egypt. Lives in Alexandria.

Penny Siopis
1953, Vryburg, South Africa. Lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Luis Tapia
1950, Agua Fría, NM, United States. Lives in La Ciénega, NM, United States.

Doña Tules (Maria Gertrudis Barceló)*
c. 1800, Sonora, New Spain (present-day Mexico) – 1852, Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory of the United States (present-day NM, United States).

Nora Turato
1991, Zagreb, Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia). Lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ultima*
Conceived by writer Rudolfo Anaya, 1972, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Uman
1980, Mogadishu, Somalia. Lives in upstate New York, NY, United States.

Ana Vaz
1986, Brasília, Brazil. Lives in Paris, France and Brasília.

Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan)
1918, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, United States – 2006, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Gisèle Vienne
1976, Charleville-Mézières, France. Lives in Paris, France.

WangShui
1986, Dallas, TX, United States. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Charisse Pearlina Weston
1988, Houston, TX, United States. Lives in New York, NY, United States.

Emmi Whitehorse
1957, Crown Point, NM, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM, United States.

Will Wilson
1969, San Francisco, CA, United States. Lives in Santa Fe, NM and Austin, TX, United States.

Joseph E. Yoakum
1891, Ash Grove, MO, United States – 1972, Rock Island, IL, United States.

Norman Zammitt
1931, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 2007, Pasadena, CA, United States.

ZHANG Ruyi
1985, Shanghai, China. Lives in Shanghai.

ZHANG Yunyao
1985, Shanghai, China. Lives in Paris, France.

ZHANG XU Zhan
1988, Xinzhuang, Taiwan. Lives in Xinzhuang.

* = “figure of interest”
Updated: February 18, 2025

Partner Venues

In a first, this iteration of the International will extend beyond SITE SANTA FE to more than a dozen locations across the city. These partner venues comprise cultural institutions such as the New Mexico History Museum including the Palace of the Governors, the Museum of International Folk Art, the New Mexico Military Museum, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and the St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art, as well as spaces in a local park, a former foundry, a movie theater, empty storefronts, the lounge of a cannabis shop, and more. Visitors to each venue will encounter the stories of various characters, who are incarnated in the exhibition through a collection of texts, documents, images, and objects. The locations set the tone for novel dialogues between figures, artists, and places, prompting visitors to explore different corners of Santa Fe.

Thank you!

Once Within a Time is made possible by the generous support of the SITE SANTA FE Board of Directors, the SITE SANTA FE Exhibitions Fund, and the following foundations, individuals, government agencies, and institutions:

Lead Support

The Ford Foundation, Rubio Butterfield Foundation, and The Hearthland Foundation.

Visionary Support

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; New Mexico Tourism Department; Joan and Mitchell Markow, Two Sisters Foundation; Marti Meyerson and Jamie Hooper; Nancy Parker Magoon; Andrew Rudnick; and Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation.

Generous Support

Arison Arts Foundation; Agnes Gund; Thornburg Investment Management; Maria and Edward Gale, Gale Family Foundation; Marleen De Bode and Marc Olivié; Jeanne and Michael Klein; Henry R. Muñoz III; Shah Garg Foundation; Courtney Finch Taylor and Scott Taylor; and Rosina Yue.

Once Within a Time was produced in collaboration with Phileas - The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art.