SaveArtSpace presents Soul of a Nation, a public art exhibition in Albuquerque, NM starting October 24, 2022!

The Soul of a Nation selected artists are Erin Currier, Adri Norris, and Christine Sullivan.

Soul of a Nation exploring social justice issues that center BIPOC Womxn, transgender and non-binary peoples and our fight for equity, justice, and liberation.

“Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become the soul.” - Coretta Scott King

Curated by Jodie Herrera.

During the week of October 24, 2022, SaveArtSpace launched public art installations for each selected work on billboard ad spaces around Albuquerque, NM. The public art will be on view for at least one month.

Selected Artists

Location: Broadway Blvd NE & Odelia Rd NE

My artistic practice has taken me on a lifelong “shoestring” adventure—packed with action and magic—that has variously found me training in Beijing with Kung Fu masters; tango dancing in Buenos Aires; in riots in Chile; eating dinner on dirt floors with Tibetan exiles in Nepal and at the dinner tables of famed filmmakers in Italy; on the couches of Panthers and Weather Underground; in medicinal ceremonies in the Amazonian jungle; at Tahrir Square with a million Egyptians... I am a humanist artist: unapologetically narrative, and for whom art and the social world are inseparable. I use the proceeds of the sales of my art to witness the world firsthand—i.e.-when I sell a painting, I buy a plane ticket and go!

It all began with a natural integration of my sociopolitical beliefs with a sheer joy of art-making, and has since developed into an artistic praxis by which I integrate the human realm- its individuals, cultures, and struggles- with its refuse, in order to address the issues I feel most passionate about. I have been to more than 50 countries, immersing myself, to the best of my abilities, in the daily life of countries like Nepal and Nicaragua, cities such as Istanbul and Caracas, studying languages, getting around on foot or by bus, sketching, making friends, and collecting disinherited commercial “waste”. Inevitably I return to my studio in Santa Fe, NM, to create series of works that are exhibited and collected internationally.

Statement: What compels my artistic practice is the desire to convey that which I have found to be true in all of the countries I have traveled to: that our commonalities as human beings far outweigh our differences. The bond between brothers, the love between mother and child, the kinship shared through creative endeavors; these run like threads in the great fabric of generations.

The reasons behind my use of recycled material are multilayered. First, artists have always used materials close-at-hand; I use what is most readily available to my era—waste from our globalized consumer culture.

Secondly, my use of trash is a spiritual practice in the sense that it is re-transfigured into something of beauty.

Finally, using post-consumer waste is a socio-political act: it is a form of recycling that expresses our interconnectedness as human beings—in what we value, share, consume, and cast away.

Connect with Erin on Instagram at @erincurrierfineart.

Location: Old Coors Dr SW & Gonzales Rd SW

At an early age, I knew I wanted to be an artist. Throughout all my life's changes, moving from Barbados to New York, to New Mexico, then joining the Marines, art was the one thing that persisted. I was raised to be a leader, to see myself as someone who could help people and improve lives. It was only in the last few years that I figured out how I would do that. 

The Women Behaving Badly series was born out of a desire to educate people about women from the past. Their stories have been lost over time and this loss is a disservice to those women, to the women and girls living now and to society as a whole. Sharing these stories through my art inspires young girls with role models they’ve never seen before. These stories make adults think more about what they have and what they have yet to gain by listening to the voices of the unheard. 

I feel as though I am at the beginning of my journey. My list of women numbers in the hundreds and I have barely scratched the surface. I intend to be in it for the long haul. 

Connect with Adri on Instagram at @afrotriangle.

Location: Wyoming Blvd NE & Chico Rd NE

Christine Sullivan is a Santa Fe artist and graphic designer originally from NYC. Her design practice specializes in arts/community projects. Her clients include Museum of Indian Arts, Guggenheim Museum, The New Press and others. She also taught design at City College, New York.

Sullivan’s mixed media artworks play with messaging and imagery found in newspapers, advertising, protest posters and church banners. She works with felt banners or uses other material, like newspaper, as a sort of placard foundation, incorporating unexpected messaging in felt letters.

Oftentimes her artwork illustrates hidden messages — sometimes good, sometimes bad — in our daily lives and she encourages the viewer to ask questions about the mores they readily follow in religion, work and community.

Perhaps having attended parochial school as a child and worked in advertising as an adult, Sullivan has developed a keen eye and sensitivity to this notion.

Connect with Christine on Instagram at @cstudionyc.

Curator

Location: Washington St & Central Ave SE

Jodie Herrera was born and raised in New Mexico and has identified and worked as an artist her whole life. She received formal training at the University of New Mexico where she graduated with a BFA Honors and a focus in painting in 2013. She currently resides in Taos, where she works as a full time Photo Realism Oil Painter, Muralist, Illustrator, Mixed-Media Artist and Curator.

She works locally on her main project, where she creates semi-photorealistic oil paintings portraying women that have persevered through trauma. Herrera takes great care with each story, building personal and supportive relationships with each of her participants. She uses symbolism from their culture and personal interests to visually narrate the painting and accompanies each piece with a write up that explains it in detail. She strives to celebrate the beauty and resilience of these women and hopes that they can provide inspiration for others.

Women Across Borders, is an International Arts and Activism project. She specifically works with refugee and immigrant women and creates paintings that illustrate their personal journeys. She provides monetary and emotional support for all her participants and hopes to bring attention to the issues they face and have overcome, as well as to educate and activate others around the subject.

Her Murals are meant to reflect the culture, history or mission of the space in which they inhabit. They are also meant to create awareness around certain people of impact or social justice issues that are relevant to space and the time it’s created in.

Ultimately Herrera aims to connect and uplift marginalized people, like herself, while providing a platform for important issues around social justice and intersectional feminism and hopes her work can be a catalyst for positive change.

Herrera was awarded “Best Visual Artist” of 2017, 2018 and 2019 by Albuquerque The Magazine, and her art has been featured in such settings as Art Archives of America in the Smithsonian Washington DC, The American Art Collector Magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, In seven Museums including the Denver History Museum-Denver CO, in numerous distinguished galleries including Stone Sparrow Gallery in New York, Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles, Gallery Fritz in Santa Fe NM, among many others.

Connect with Jodie on Instagram at @Chromaj.

Participating Organizations

Founded in 2015, SaveArtSpace is a non-profit organization that works to create an urban gallery experience, launching exhibitions that address intersectional themes and foster a progressive message of social change. By placing culture over commercialism, SaveArtSpace aims to empower artists from all walks of life and inspire a new generation of young creatives and activists.

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