Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
The National Hispanic Cultural Center is taking the art outside.
The center’s latest exhibit, “¡Mira! Nuestra Arquitectura: An Architectural Journey” – an architectural history of NHCC’s past, present and future, will open Oct. 23.
It will be displayed in the outdoor exhibition space called the Bosque Gallery. This new open-air gallery will consist of 31 panels measuring 48 inches by 60 inches each, mounted on 730 feet of fencing along the western border of the NHCC campus, facing the Paseo del Bosque Trail.
“You’ll have natural daylight, which will be amazing for the panels to be seen,” said Anna Uremovich, archivist at History & Literary Arts. “We will have the blueprint drawings. People will be able to see it at their own pace. The space is big enough for everyone to socially distance.”
The exhibit chronicles the creation of the NHCC through text, sketch drawings, blueprints, maps and photographs, exploring Hispanic/Latinx culture and heritage as expressed through the buildings and landscape found throughout the NHCC.
It addresses how the concept for the NHCC came to fruition, and shows the original designs for the center’s campus, the subsequent redesign, as well as the challenges and triumphs in building this prominent institution.
Inspiration for Bosque Gallery comes from Las Rejas de Chapultepec in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City.
“The Bosque Gallery is a purposeful engagement initiative that goes beyond the temporary access limitation,” NHCC Executive Director Josefa González Mariscal said. “It comes from the intent of maximizing opportunities to interact with the local community. We want the NHCC to be present with those who haven’t even thought about connecting with us. It’s important for us to engage with the public where the public is.”
The panels used for the new Bosque Gallery are made from Alu-Panel, a reusable thin polycarbonate metal substrate that can be peeled off and re-printed for each new project. The panels will be protected with an anti-graffiti coating.
Uremovich worked for months diving deep into the center’s archives to create the exhibit.
“The exhibit is 100% from our archival record,” Uremovich said. “Doing the research was motivating because I got to see firsthand how it started as just a dream. Twenty years later, it’s a part of the community.”
