Memories of Migration: New Mexico, Part 2

Exhibit Design Class

To create a Memories of Migration model for rural education and outreach, an Exhibit Design Class at New Mexico Highlands University was enlisted to prototype concepts. The community partner was the Las Vegas Citizens' Committee for Historic Preservation (LVCCHP). The students were media arts majors specializing in graphic design, photography, videography, and physical computing. The majority of the students in the class were Las Vegas  natives descended from some of the town’s founding families, who wanted to make sure that their work would have appeal to their relatives and friends. Their enthusiasm was also grounded in their pride in the community and desire to share that pride with visitors. For the students who came from other places, the project provided new ways to connect to the community that they live in but don’t really know.

The class divided into teams, and each team assumed responsibility for one or more aspects of the project. Exhibit Design Class members included: Ashley Arellanes, Kendra Alderete, Mario Griego, Christopher Killion, Nickolas Lormand, Gloria Lovato, Mariam A. Perez, Jacobo Rael, Natasha Rudolph, and Andrew Shepard. The instructor was Mimi Roberts, Director for Media Projects, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, with design assistance from AmeriCorps Cultural Technology intern Eli Menchaca. Martha McCaffrey, LVCCHP board member and retired school librarian, advised  the students with research and served as liaison to LVCCHP.

Funding and In-Kind Contributions

In addition to the grant from NewMexico Humanities Council, support has come from LVCCHP thanks to a private donation, the Susan and Conrad De Jong Fund/Santa Fe Community Foundation, the New Mexico Makerstate Initiative of the NewMexico State Library, and  the AmeriCorps Cultural Technology Internship Program.

The Theme: Migration

Currently, the theme of migration is receiving a lot of attention from cultural institutions because the flood of people moving from one place to another has created a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions. According to the most recent figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 60 million people, about half of whom are children, have been dislocated from their homes by conflict, persecution, and economic hardship—more than at any other time in human history. This is placing an immense burden not only on the refugees themselves but also on the communities and countries absorbing them.
In New Mexico, several museums are participating in the National Dialogues on Immigration, a consortium of leading history museums and cultural centers across the country presenting local public dialogues on immigration, including (Ex)Change at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, and in Santa Fe the New Mexico HistoryMuseum (Routes and Routes) and Museum of International Folk Art (Imagining Home). The resources for all the program models are downloadable here. 

Humanities Scholarship

Most of the research for Memories of Migration: Las Vegas involved consulting with family and community members. In addition, the class included guest lectures from four nationally recognized humanities practitioners: Jon Voss (Historypin); Candace Kanes (Maine Memory Network); Meredith Davidson (New Mexico History Museum); and Estevan Rael-Galvez (former New Mexico State Historian).
A mid-point presentation by the students provided the opportunity for feedback from Professor Jon Hunner, interim director of the New Mexico History Museum at the time, as well as community historians and LVCCHP board members. Finally, a field trip to Santa Fe to see the exhibits Unsettled Landscapes at SITE Santa Fe and Between Two Worlds at the Museum of International Folk Art provided the students with the opportunity to see how others had dealt with related themes in museum exhibits.