Slaney Retires

Slaney Retires Curator of history had an impact.

LEFT: Deb Slaney curated many exhibitions, including the Route 66 exhibition (right).

ABOVE: Radio artist Jules Allen in front of the Firestone service building, ca. 1931. Photographer: Brooks Studio. Albuquerque Museum Photo Archives. Gift of Channell Graham, PA1978.151.327.

ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE CHANGE CAREERS multiple times in their lives, Deb Slaney has had only one: museum professional. It was all she ever wanted to do.

Slaney retired in January from the Albuquerque Museum after eighteen years as curator of history. Slaney’s curatorial philosophy can be seen in the interactive, story-telling nature of the Only in Albuquerque exhibition, in the artifacts she acquired, and at Casa San Ysidro: The Gutiérrez/Minge House. Slaney curated or coordinated thirty-six exhibitions at the Museum.

“My greatest joy is to create original research and make it visual,” she says. Some of her proudest work stems from telling stories through differing lenses. For example, Route 66: Radiance, Rust, and Revival on the Mother Road, which ran in 2016, told the story of the Mother Road through the eyes of migrants and African Americans, as well as the route’s early history as told by Hispano travelers. “I think we brought a dimension of Route 66 the people didn’t expect, and that it also had a serious side—and an aspect of diversity that made it unique.”

Other notable exhibitions include Dreamscape Desperado: Billy the Kid; The Leekya Family: Master Carvers of Zuni Pueblo; Hollywood Southwest, and The Artistic Odyssey of Higinio V. Gonzales, which she either curated herself or collaborated with guest curators to bring to life.

Some of Slaney’s projects have taken years to come to fruition. The history catalogue, chronicling the Museum’s collection, took almost two decades. Casa San Ysidro now has a new strategic vision that Slaney hopes will see it into the future with more resources for programs and collections. She also worked to acquire items for the permanent collection that fill gaps in the Museum’s ability to present historical themes and narratives, including a forty-seven-star flag, an early nineteenthcentury bulto of San Felipe de Neri, and a Jemez black-on-white jar made around the time of Diego de Vargas’ return to New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt.

Although she’s leaving the Museum, it’s likely she won’t stray far from her career roots. Her retirement plan? She plans to relax, research, write, and consult for museums around the Southwest.