In this episode we talk about the importance of environmental mindfulness with exhibition curators Kim Garrison Means and Mikayla Whitmore.
Go behind the scenes in an art museum. Join the crew from the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art as we chat with artists, curators, and everyone else who helps us bring our galleries to life. New episodes will be posted in selected months after the program has aired on KUNV 91.5.
The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art is located on the campus of one of the most racially diverse universities in the United States, we strive to create a nourishing environment for those who continue to be neglected by contemporary art museums, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ groups. As the only art museum in the city of Las Vegas, we commit ourselves to leveling barriers that limit access to the arts, especially for first-time visitors. To facilitate access for low-income guests we provide free entry to all our exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and community activities. Our collection of artworks offers an opportunity for researchers and scholars to develop a more extensive knowledge of contemporary art in Southern Nevada. The Barrick Museum is part of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV).
Kevin Krall 0:00
The following is special programming aired in collaboration with the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art on the campus of UNLV. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and More, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Manny Muñoz 0:22
Hello, my name is Manny Muñoz. I work at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. I am in educational outreach and programming.
LeiAnn Huddleston 0:30
Hello, my name is LeiAnn, and I am the programming manager at the Barrick Museum of Art. We are here to talk about the Spirit of the Land exhibition on view at the Barrick Museum until July 23. This exhibition draws attention to the ongoing efforts to pass legislation to federally protect the land known as Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain. Located an hour south east of Las Vegas near the town of Searchlight, this mountain and the surrounding land is held sacred by 12 tribes in the area. Spirit of the Land is a group exhibition curated by Kim Garrison Means, Mikayla Whitmore and Checko Salgado.
Manny Muñoz 1:10
We are joined today by two of the curators. Would you two like to say hello?
Mikayla Whitmore 1:15
Hi, I'm Mikayla Whitmore.
Kim Garrison Means 1:16
And I'm Kim Garrison Means.
LeiAnn Huddleston 1:19
Welcome. We're so glad you're here.
Mikayla Whitmore 1:21
Excited to be here.
Manny Muñoz 1:23
Very excited. So thank you for joining us. We kind of would like to start with the beginning, just to get some context about the exhibition, and then all the efforts that are going into this purpose. So can you guys just start by speaking about the process? How did this exhibition come together? What is Avi Kwa Ame? And what role you two have with the exhibition?
Kim Garrison Means 1:51
I'll answer that, Mikayla, yeah? Okay, so I'm, I'm a third generation Searchlight resident; my grandparents moved there in the 1960s. And for me, that process has been lifelong, enjoying the beautiful landscape and the cultural aspects of mining, ranching, the recreation in the area. But in recent years, our landscape has been the center of a number of land issues that kind of have culminated in a more recent discussion about creating a national monument to better protect the area. So one of the things that we've been dealing with and that the country is dealing with in general is how do we use our landscape as we're looking for sites for energy projects, for industrial projects, and landscapes outside of cities are sites that get picked for that. And so our area has so many beautiful, scenic places and ecological value that a lot of work has been done in the past three decades to save parts of it. But then other parts right in the middle of the safe parts are unprotected. And for the past 15 years or so, those have been areas that have been targeted for industrial development. So as a resident, I've seen our communities struggle to have our voices be heard. And and so as we started to find out that there was an idea to protect this area as a national monument, just as a community member, I wanted to get involved and find out if this was a fit for our community. And then at the same time, Mikayla and Checko approached me with the idea of using the arts to tell the story, the many stories about the land issues in this area and just beyond the monument, it's the idea itself, but just the issues that our area is facing. So do you want to add to that, Mikayla?
Mikayla Whitmore 4:22
Thank you, Kim. I couldn't say it better myself. To give a little bit of background to the listeners. I'm a fourth generation Nevadan. And I'm a artist and photo journalist and have long connections within my community, and various communities that when the opportunity for this exhibition came about and to be able to protect and honor certain lands and stories and legacies. So how I came about in my connection to this project is I'm a fourth generation Nevadan, who's an artist and photo journalist working within the region. And our other curator, Sergio Checko Salgado, actually was a professor and friend of mine for the last decade. And so right around the pandemic, I had acquired some land out in Searchlight, which happened to be the neighbor to the Mystery Ranch, which you'll learn more about later and connects with Kim. And as soon as that came to fruition, I got a call from Checko who said, Hey, there's this monument project that might be happening. Can I get in touch with Kim? And I said, Absolutely. And by the way, let me tell you about myself. And Checko has been a long time community member, artist, teacher, wearer of many hats, and has experience in the past, working with different environmental projects and did a show, I believe around 2015, about Gold Butte National Monument. And so had some prior experience engaging in this kind of context.
LeiAnn Huddleston 6:22
Yeah, that was wonderful. I am, since you both talk about this idea of legacies. Since you both have a heavy legacy here in Nevada. What was it like getting the local community involved within the exhibition? Was it initially difficult? Or was it like we're all in? We're here? What was it like?
Mikayla Whitmore 6:44
You know, there has been no shortage of support once people understood what was being asked. You know, I think one thing, when we started talking about this project for all three of us was it was very important that we represented many voices and lives, and histories of the communities that are involved. So for myself, I know I have been working within the arts for over the past decade, and I have a lot of connections within Las Vegas. And then Kim has many connections and actually also went through UNLV. Earlie in the time warp that we are all in now. And so I think when we started this process, we sat down and brought a list of different people in the sense of their backgrounds. We have a collection of artists, scientists, community members, expressing their ideas and love for these public lands. So it was very important to us that we didn't just have contemporary artists talking about these issues, or outsiders only talking about these issues, that we really were connecting on all levels and facets. And once we got into that engagement, every artist and most people that were involved within the community, including y'all, the staff of the Barrick, going outward had to be actively involved in the curation and the process of this. So we all took tours to the area and engaged on outings to really try to also build community. What about you, Kim?
Kim Garrison Means 8:47
Well, it was very exciting to see how much enthusiasm there was for this project as far as the arts community. The community of artists who have visited the region by coming to the Mystery Ranch. But for me, the most exciting part was that we reached out to regular people on this project. And part of the Spirit of the Land exhibition is a postcard project, where we just asked anyone from the Searchlight, Cal-Nev-Ari, Nelson, Laughlin, Boulder City region who lived there or enjoyed visiting there to send us art, or photographs of the region, of all of our beautiful plants and animals and landscape and sunsets. And I got to see some of my neighbors, you know, participate in their first art show and help turn their beautiful imagery of what they care about in this area into postcards and to bring that I should say, not just into the Barrick Museum, but into two satellite spaces one at the Searchlight Community Center, which is seeing its very first art show ever, and one at the Laughlin Library. So I'm really excited about the participation within the communities and also the kind of the cross pollination of our communities where we're encouraging people to come up here and enjoy the campus and the museum and the city and people from the city to go out there and enjoy that space.
Manny Muñoz 10:41
That's, that's amazing. I was just listening to both of you talk, I was just thinking of how like, symbolic it is. In relation to the desert, you know, I'm sure you know, Mikayla, like a lot of people think, you know, when you go out into the desert, you're not expected to find anything. It's, it's a deserted wasteland, and there's no life. But as soon as you know, a drop of water or stream, you know, enters the landscape, you just see this flourishing of, of life out of nowhere, basically. And I feel like that's kind of what happened with Spirit of the Land. It's quite impressive how this idea has taken hold in three distinct locations. And so many people kind of came together all at once, who believe in this and made something so special. And now, with legislation moving forward, I think it's, it's moved forward more than any other time, right. Like, we're at a point where it's like, past what it's been able to get for the monument.
Kim Garrison Means 11:47
Yeah, it's actually a bill in Congress right now. And that's after, you know, really strong community support with all of our rural communities, with Henderson, and the county, Clark County, all the way down to Laughlin and Boulder City. You know, Nevadans really are supportive of this effort to protect this beautiful landscape. And it's exciting that it's now a national issue to, to think about, you know, these issues and for our, for our small community, like Searchlight, it's, you know, it's very special too to have our rural communities highlighted in the context of a fine art museum at the Barrick. I think that's a really special thing that you guys do is to present stories from all over the southern Nevada landscape, not just the city and to, to put our art out there in a non hierarchical way. So I'm really impressed with working with all of you too.
Manny Muñoz13:11
Well, thank you, that makes us feel like we're doing a good job.
Kim Garrison Means 13:17
You are.
Mikayla Whitmore 13:20
I would just want to add, because I know, you hinted on the the notion that the desert isn't a wasteland. And that was a big talking point from Kim, myself and even others involved within this exhibition and other exhibitions currently at the Barrick because just like you said, the desert is anything but a wasteland. And normally when you go out there the first color, once you start your eyes adjust, you see is green, and there is lushness and life. You just have to know how to look for it, and how to regard it and interact with it. And I think a lot of those notions or, or messages have been gaining traction over decades and generations of life times and work and histories and so it is a really culminating effect to see right now. And see this ushering of that yes, the desert isn't a wasteland and there is many different ways to show your love and express and interact with our environment and, and those who inhibit it, inhibit it in all forms.
Kim Garrison Means 14:35
And it's a rich environment. It is a rich and giving place and also we need to have a light footprint and one of respect for it.
Manny Muñoz 14:47
So kind of speaking about that respect and light footprint, we did have something specific about the land. So some of the themes in Spirit of the Land deals with ideas of desecration of sacred environments, and the ecosystems that make up the desert, one of them being Christmas Tree Pass. And we were wondering if you could tell us more about the issues surrounding Christmas trees, Christmas Tree Pass?
Kim Garrison Means 15:14
Well, Christmas Tree Pass is a area of Spirit Mountain that in during the mining era, it was named Christmas Tree Pass because it had timber trees that could be used for mines and buildings. And in the late 70s, early 80s, a culture developed where around the holidays, families going up and camping there would start to decorate the trees with ornaments. And what started out probably very innocently led to something that spiraled way out of control. And those ornaments got left there all year long. They, they started decorating all year long. Not just ornaments, but all kinds of trash and garments. And, you know, just obvious trash was left all over the trees in this environment. And what people also probably didn't know, was that this environment up on top of the mountain was on Spirit Mountain, that is probably the most sacred mountain in Nevada as far as our local tribes. And it's the place of creation for all 10 of the Yuman speaking tribes. So the littering of holiday trash all around that landscape is not just horrible to the ecosystem where we're leaving bright colored things in an arid environment that the animals are going to be attracted to as food or water sources. They're shining in the sun and glittery, and the desert tortoise and the birds and all the animals are literally ingesting those plastics and metals. And then the wind is blowing them around the landscapes, but also that all of this is happening in a very sacred area. So that is the background. Mikayla made a very poignant piece. We actually have two pieces in the exhibition that talks about that.
Mikayla Whitmore 17:43
Yes. So for my work as an artist in the exhibition, I did a photo series of for this instance, it was called Sunrise Sunset. And I documented a juniper tree that had been vandalized after Christmas or decorated with a ton of tinsel and ornaments. And so I went out there right before clean up and spent three days documenting this tree. And at the end of it, I removed all the items and then I went back about three weeks to a month later and rephotographed and checked in on the process of it. And in the exhibition if you go visit, you'll also see another piece that is utilizing all the tinsel and ornaments in trash that we, I collected, Kim collected, over the course with others, environmental groups, artists, when we would go out, y'all helped pick up trash, every tour we would take to the region. And so it was a big community effort that we took all, a big, massive amount of trash that was cleaned and able to be salvaged and ended up doing a display in the Marjorie Barrick over your Art Bar, which is a representation of Spirit Mountain made and depicted out of all this Christmas tree trash. And it is a very glitzy but very.
Kim Garrison Means 19:25
Disturbing.
Mikayla Whitmore 19:26
Disturbing. Yes, thank you, piece to look at. And I think it really holds a lot of weight when you do see it and it engages all of these avenues of Christmas Tree Pass in a lot of different ways.
Kim Garrison Means 19:41
And when you do see it, it's nowhere near all the trash that we actually collected and that conservation groups and OHV groups and the Fort Mojave tribal members collected over the last year. And it looks like a lot.
LeiAnn Huddleston 20:03
I mean, within the Art Bar, it looks like just a sea of glitz and glam. And it is just just a small portion of what is actually happening in this area. So it's I've always loved how you have talked about it because it's always something that I don't think people are always aware of, how they think it's like this thing like, oh, it's pretty, it's cute. It's. Look how amazing it is. And then they just don't think past that. And you've always been very open about, Yes, it is. But also, this is really bad for the environment and the ecosystem as well as the complete disrespect and desecration of a land that is held so, so sacred. But I think that's what I love most about the exhibition is it is, I mean, at least at the Barrick as well as in the other locations, how it draws attention to areas that are not often seen by those that live at least in Las Vegas, as well as outside of Nevada, and not paid as much respect or attention as they should to that land.
Kim Garrison Means 21:04
Yeah, I think we want to propose through that piece, in particular, the idea that we should tread lightly out there, and you can bring all your glitz and glamour to the desert or your camping trip or your hiking experience. But then pack it back out with you and leave no trace. And it's not that that tradition of celebrating a holiday in the landscape is inherently bad. But we can do better about respecting our, every landscape that we enter.
Mikayla Whitmore 21:42
And honoring the memories in the past of those people's lives or reasons why we're doing it in the first place.
Manny Muñoz 21:51
Very well said, I really like, I really like that idea. And I encourage everyone to come to the Barrick and see, see those two pieces, and yours specifically Mikayla because I agree it's very, very strong, very layered as well.
Mikayla Whitmore 22:06
Thank you, it took a community of everyone, you know, and that's I think, what is just, once again, so beautiful about this whole project is the normal hierarchies that I have tended to experience in past workings or sometimes art exhibitions had really ceased to exist in a lot of regards in the aspect of, I think the hat that I was wearing, Kim, Checko, of not only being artists, organizers, community members, just living as residents to be able to do that. And then mix that in with so many others doing the same thing. And then all just share our ideas, and work together on the same issues, really, in a big way has helped spread the awareness of everything that we're trying to do.
Kim Garrison Means 23:08
Yeah, it's like one big love letter that we're all creating together. And it's been really beautiful to think about this show as a tapestry that everyone contributes some threads to. And, and it's been different than other group art shows in that way. Because it's the artists and all of our own egos have to come second to each of us. You know, delivering, like the land speaking through us, the land can't tell its own story. But but, you know, that's what the arts is great for is is storytelling.
Manny Muñoz 23:55
There was a very great piece in Southwest Contemporary written about Spirit of the Land. And Hikmet, the author for the piece, she's a local resident here in Nevada, started off with a quote which reads, it's the artist's job to teach us to see. Can you guys kind of talk about what that means to you? And you kind of hinted at that in your answers. I feel like what do you guys take from that quote? Especially with the community aspect of how, you know both of you are the curators, but also artists and members of the community that is putting this together. How does that, how does that relate?
Kim Garrison Means 24:41
I think that art can allow us to speak to people in more than just a direct manner that an article would give us and give us some facts about how many animals are out there or or what the ramifications of our actions might be in the landscape. And facts and figures and science and direct communication are valuable tools. But but art can help us to see like to take on the mantle of some other perspective to really wear it. And to, to be it for a moment and to feel it. And you know, that land is able to speak its stories through the artists and musicians, and writers who've all come together to let it speak to us. And then we can speak those stories and you, you guys seeing the show, you know, not everybody can get out to that landscape. And now this, the future of this landscape is now a national issue. And so it, the the art can also help us communicate about these things. And I think that's that ability to help us see is like those perspectives.
Mikayla Whitmore 26:17
Yeah, very well said I would agree with with everything and just go back to the idea that art is another way of communication. And so just within our own exhibition, and bringing in such a vast variety of community members, that that gave so many interpretations to different and similar stories. And so as a viewer, or as someone walking throughout this world, you're able to have now a whole plethora of ways to engage or think about something, and art has that power to change what you're exposed to, or the ways you think about interacting. So.
Kim Garrison Means 27:07
Yeah, for for Searchlight. This is helping us see together our landscape as this beautiful valued place. And, and so by by everybody coming together, by by professional artists showing it and the community itself. It's very special for our community to be able to see its self depicted as something special and valuable and worth protecting.
Mikayla Whitmore 27:45
And to participate back into it.
Kim Garrison Means 27:46
Yes, to be able to give.
Mikayla Whitmore 27:47
To see, to actually actively watch changes, to help engage within the arts, the artist, community and community members, all of it. It really is a full circle project, I would say. And I think that has been something that's really interesting is the work that the exhibition has just culminated into is, in a way, just the beginning. It's not the ending. There's a lot more community and work that needs to be done, but we are off to a very strong and loving start.
Kevin Krall 28:33
You've been listening to special programming aired in collaboration with the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art on the campus of UNLV. The content of this program did not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and More, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai