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BY DANIEL KOSHAREK Willie Anne Wright’s interest in early photography led her to the work of British photographer Roger Fenton. Famous as the creator of the first iconic photograph of war— his controversial Valley of the Shadow of Death, depicting a road littered with skull-like cannonballs during the Crimean War—Fenton also captured lush still-life photographs of fruits and flowers in the mid-nineteenth century.
Categories: Framework, Visual art
Among the many pots at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, one in the cooking section of the exhibition Here, Now and Always calls to me. The women of Acoma have long produced awe-inspiring ceramics, especially the tall, thin-walled ollas that they traditionally carried on their heads, bringing water from the springs below Sky City. But “my” Acoma pot is a large, heavy bowl for kneading dough, with stunning painted decorations that extend to the interior, while most other dough bowls are plain inside.
Categories: Visual art
BY STACIA SPRAGG-BRAUDE The farm these harvest days is gold and earthy, a ten-year-old at the end of summer, all tanned and callused and rule-free. Fruit isn’t so much picked from the trees as it simply surrenders. (more…)
Categories: Uncategorized
Every spring arts organizations and individual art lovers nominate their favorite artists and art supporters for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, administered by New Mexico Arts, the state arts agency and a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. (more…)
Categories: Visual art
BY MEREDITH DAVIDSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY BLAIR CLARK When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality. – Stuart Brown, founder, National Institute for Play (more…)
Categories: Uncategorized
BY DEBORAH MADISON Just as chiles might be regarded as the iconic food of New Mexico, micaceous pots are the region’s iconic cookware. While at heart they are utilitarian, micaeous pots are often treated as precious objects to display and handle with great care. (more…)
Categories: New Mexican cultures, New Mexican history, Southwestern history
BY PATRICIA CROWN I was asked to submit a recipe for the FUZE.SW food + folklore conference, taking place on Museum Hill September 12–14. I’m an archaeologist, not a chef, so I thought I’d share my professional secret for keeping that youthful glow you so often see on archaeologists. (more…)
Categories: New Mexican cultures, New Mexican history, Southwestern history
BY MATTHEW J. BARBOUR When most people think of people living in caves, they think of ancient hunters killing mammoths and discovering fire. While this is not a misconception, people have lived in caves throughout history. (more…)
Categories: New Mexican cultures, New Mexican history, Southwestern history
DAMIEN FLORES There was no wind the day Juana battled the machine. Smoke rose from the stacks of the downtown tortilla factory slow as the wrinkled and steady hands, las viejitas. (more…)
Categories: Poetry
BY CYNTHIA BAUGHMAN The New Mexico Association of Museums (NMAM) is composed of a couple hundred curators, conservators, registrars, museum administrators, volunteers, and other folk who toil in museums across our state to collect, preserve, and exhibit New Mexico’s cultural treasures. We here at El Palacio and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs enjoy being part of the organization and hobnobbing with our buddies from such wonderful sites as the Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center, the Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos, and Salmon Ruins Museum near Bloomfield.
Categories: Editor's Letter
![A variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and small figurines arranged outdoors on a table next to a wooden fence with greenery in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Willie-Anne-Wright_2-400x225.jpg)
![Adobe-style building with wooden accents, two flags (USA and New Mexico) on the roof, blue sky, and landscaping in front. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/moa_entrance-400x225.jpg)
![A person leans on a hoe in a field under a cloudy sky; text reads, “If There’s Squash Bugs in Heaven, I Ain’t Staying” by Stacia Spragg-Braude. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cover-400x225.jpg)
![Large abstract metal sculpture with curved and radiating beams set outdoors on a hill, surrounded by green trees and a distant forested landscape. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2004-Parallax-400x225.jpg)
![A collection of vintage marbles and wooden spinning tops scattered on a wooden surface. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/4-Toys_TopsAndMarbles-400x225.jpg)
![A set of five clay pots and bowls of varying shapes and sizes displayed against a neutral gray background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FUZE-Micaceous_Pottery-400x225.jpg)
![A feathered dance stick, a length of rope, and several coils of grey-brown feathered garland are arranged on a brown surface. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Turkey_Feather_Boa-400x225.jpg)
![A woman standing in a kitchen holds a round, flat food item, possibly a tortilla, in front of her chest. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Annie-Lopez-Make-Tortillas-400x225.jpg)
![Adobe home with hanging red chilies, wooden structures, and a person standing outside; snow-capped mountains and clear sky in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Parkhurst_HP.1974.10.97-400x225.jpg)