SITElines
A Reimagined Biennial Exhibition Series
with a New Focus on Contemporary Art
from the Americas
July 13, 2014–January 2015
SITE Santa Fe
1606 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
SITE Santa Fe announces SITElines, its reimagined biennial exhibition series with a new focus on contemporary art from the Americas. The first edition of SITElines, titled Unsettled Landscapes, will open July 13, 2014 and will be on view through January 2015.
SITElines: New Perspectives on Art of the Americas is a six-year commitment to a series of linked exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art and cultural production of the Americas. The exhibitions will take place in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and will be organized by a different team of curators, from locations throughout the Western Hemisphere. Through SITElines, SITE will establish a new programming hub called SITEcenter to generate connectivity between and during the exhibitions.
SITElines signifies a radical rethinking of SITE’s signature exhibition: when SITE Santa Fe opened in 1995, it launched what was then the only international biennial of contemporary art in the United States, and one of only a handful of biennials around the world. In the 18 years since, the landscape of the international contemporary art world has expanded, bringing a proliferation of biennials worldwide.
Looking to reinvigorate the biennial model, in 2011, SITE began to build a new network, from which it identified a group of contemporary art experts, including artists, curators, and educators from North, Central and South America, to help test and refine ideas, and further define the structure of the work. SITE’s advisors represented two generations of curators and a range of cultural backgrounds and perspectives. In fall of 2012, SITE convened a roundtable discussion of these advisors to test the proposal: reimagining SITE’s biennial exhibition to focus on the Western Hemisphere.
The result—SITElines—renews SITE’s mission of presenting the most daring, innovative art of today, with a new focus on the Americas. Each edition of SITElines will be linked by a geographic focus on the Americas, metaphorically unearthing multiple layers of Santa Fe’s rich culture and history.
“SITElines reestablishes our focus on experimentation and risk-taking in contemporary art and our commitment to the Santa Fe and greater New Mexican community,” says Irene Hofmann, Phillips Director and Chief Curator of SITE Santa Fe. “We aim to pursue a new model for the international contemporary art exhibition—a multi-year investigation into a specific region, with culturally rich Santa Fe as our starting point for exploring unique perspectives in the Americas.”
Layers of history and culture are embedded in Santa Fe and visible in its present-day population. First Native American land, then a Spanish Kingdom, a Mexican Province, and an American Territory, all before statehood, New Mexico is a rich microcosm of the Americas. SITElines will present and illuminate new and under-seen art practices and build a deeper engagement with SITE’s Santa Fe community.
SITElines will be a dynamic part of SITE Santa Fe’s year-round museum exhibition and public programming.
About SITElines.2014: Unsettled Landscapes
SITElines.2014 is curated by independent curator Candice Hopkins, independent curator Lucía Sanromán, with SITE’s Assistant Curator Janet Dees serving as Curator of Special Projects, and SITE’s Phillips Director Irene Hofmann serving as SITElines Director.
SITElines.2014: Unsettled Landscapes will look to the urgencies, political conditions, and historical narratives that inform the work of contemporary artists across North, Central and South America. Through three themes—landscape, territory and trade—the exhibition will illuminate the connections among representations of the land, movement across the land, and economies and resources derived from the land.
Further information on SITElines.2014 will be announced throughout 2013 and 2014.
SITElines.2014 Curatorial Team
Candice Hopkins, Curator (b. Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada; lives in Ottawa and Albuquerque) / Lucía Sanromán, Curator (b. Guadalajara, México; lives in Boston and Mexico City) / Janet Dees, Curator of Special Projects (b. New York; lives In Santa Fe) / Irene Hofmann, SITElines Director (b. New York; lives in Santa Fe)
SITElines.2014 Satellite Curatorial Advisors
Christopher Cozier (b. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; lives in Port of Spain) / Inti Guerrero (b. Bogota, Colombia; lives in Costa Rica and Singapore) / Julieta Gonzalez (b. Caracas, Venezuela; lives in México City) / Eva Grinstein (b. Buenos Aires; lives in Buenos Aires) / Kitty Scott (b. St. John’s, Newfoundland; Canada; lives in Toronto)
SITElines Advisors
Ana Paula Cohen (b. São Paulo; lives in Sao Paulo and San Francisco) / Luis Croquer (b. El Salvador; lives in Seattle) / Douglas Fogle (b. Chicago; lives in Los Angeles) / Rosa Martinez (b. Soria, Spain; lives in Barcelona) / Gerald McMaster (b. Saskatchewan, Canada; lives in Philadelphia) / Ryan Rice (b. Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada; lives in Santa Fe) / Osvaldo Sanchez (b. Havana, Cuba; lives in México City)
SITE Santa Fe nurtures innovation, discovery, and inspiration through the art of today.
Media contacts:
For more information on SITE Santa Fe, images, or to arrange interviews please contact:
Anne Wrinkle, Director of External Affairs, SITE Santa Fe
T 1 (505) 989 1199 x22 / wrinkle [at] sitesantafe.org
Elizabeth Reina-Longoria or Rachel Patall-David, Blue Medium
T 1 (212) 675 1800 / elizabeth [at] bluemedium.com or rachel [at] bluemedium.com
