Lucha
by Gael Luna
September 26 - November 2, 2024
ABOUT HARWOOD ART CENTER’S RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Each fall for thirteen years, Harwood’s galleries are devoted to artists working at the intersections of creative expression and social justice. In 2021, for the occasion of Harwood’s 30th Anniversary, we expanded this offering and formally established our first official annual Residency Program.
Harwood’s Residency Program supports the creation of new, original, and experimental projects and their culminating public exhibitions, by artists who work at the intersections of art and social justice. The resident is resourced with a private studio at Harwood for the duration of their 10 month residency, a six week exhibition, project, promotional, and professional support from our staff, and honoraria to support their time, materials and creative work.
Lucha Libre Trans Queer Espectacular: uplifting the lives of transgender and
Athletes: Zane Stephens, JP, Ash Sena, Alexandria Savage, Ocelotl Mora and Gael Luna.
Collaborators: Katharsis Media; Cabrini Martinez, Printer; Ocelotl Mora, Installer
Contributors: UETF Resiliency Residency, New Mexico Highlands University Media Arts Department
Espectacular: queer athletes in new mexico
The Lucha Libre Trans Queer Espectacular is a series of Luchador mask and cape designs that reflect the stories of Ocelotl Mora, Ash Sena, Xan Savage, Ash Sena, Zane Stephens, and Gael Luna. Trans and queer athletes that live in New Mexico.
“This project uniquely responds to our existence as trans and queer people, as athletes, and our other identities. This installation is built upon a series I developed centering on Trans Luchadores, a diverse group of trans-Mexican wrestler superheroes. Lucha Libre is a wrestling style that originated in Mexico. As a Mexican immigrant and former wrestler, Lucha Libre is close to my heart.
I’m excited to continue reimagining a flamboyant sport that has unfortunately harbored machismo and homophobia into something explicitly trans and queer.
“In New Mexico, community leaders have worked over generations to make our home a welcoming place for queer and trans people. As other states propose laws that cause harm to LGBTQ+ communities, New Mexico is a beacon of hope. These attacks disproportionately impact trans people, and trans athletes continue to be a consistent target. Yet, sports have been a way for many transgender and queer people to feel connected to their bodies and gender identities. We must create a dialogue on trans bans in sports and the discrimination they perpetuate.
“This installation celebrates transgender and queer athletes of New Mexico while challenging people’s existing beliefs about gender-diverse people in sports.” -Gael Luna
Sunrise Zane Stephens
Morning Monster Xan Savage
I’m Xan and I was born and raised in Farmington. Though I never planned for it, after moving around a bit I’ve called Albuquerque home for 14 years. I’ve moved through a lot of identities as I’ve evolved and settled into myself.
In terms of my queerness, I’ve seen how lesbian, bi, pan, and asexual have all fit, before settling into queer because I’m somewhere in the middle of all that. I’ve laid claim to other identities that mean so much to me and have changed who I am: biracial, New Mexican, mama, nurse, mentor, educator, chosen family, and athlete.
Growing up I was put into dance by my grandma and I danced from the ages of 3-17. She inadvertently directed me to a space that in my teens housed a group of queer teens (and some who didn’t realize it yet) and gave a place to feel safe and be our selves. I was lucky in that my sport growing up was naturally welcoming to queer people as a sport and at my studio.
My gender didn’t really factor into for me at the time, I wore pointe shoes and tutus because that’s what girls did and I just liked dancing en pointe. The main connection I recall was being fascinated by an Osage prima ballerina. While I am Chickasaw, I adored her and felt a connected to my heritage through her when I so often felt that I didn’t deserve to claim since I am white passing and grew up 800 miles from my tribe.
I spent a lot of time away from sport from the end of high school until I was nearly 40. I tried out my gym because they are queer friendly and I enjoyed lifting for a brief period. I found a welcoming community, friends and a sport that is so challenging and that I love. Being in a place where everyone’s achievements are celebrated we are all taken as we are has been healing and comforting in way I hadn’t felt in the queer community before. Even when we lost Eric, our coach, friend, and incredible human, it hurt so much, but was easier because of the community our gym has built up. As these terrible laws are being passed against trans athletes I want our trans youth to know they aren’t alone. There are a lot of us who will fight this together and when they find a place isn’t safe for them we will work to fix it. In the meantime, there are generations of queer people that build spaces that trans youths are welcome and their athleticism and the work they put into sports they love is respected is held dear. Also, I know it hurts to be told you don’t belong in a space and hope they can feel confident to at least think to themselves about the bigots and fear mongers “fuck ‘em” because I hope trans youth know their worth.
My dream for trans youth and all queer kids is that they don’t have to fight for their rightful place, they feel good taking up space, and they don’t have to fight like we are now for the generations that follow after them.
Mi Vida Trans
Ocelotl Mora
I grew up in sports. My father boxed, played basketball, and soccer. Every Sunday we were at one of his games. Sports were also the place I noticed many changes in me that I didn’t understand. It was the place where I could prove to the boys that I could hang and even be better than them. It was the place I realized my body was broken. The moment I was told that I could no longer take my shirt off making me now entirely different from the boys.
As I worked on my story for my Chest project. I realized that it was through sports where I noticed that my chi chis were a big issue for me. I wasn’t big but I had them and they moved. Without knowing what I was doing I had been binding since I was in my early teens wearing triple sports bras that eventually I tried duct tape and ace bandages. I was 22 years old the first time I heard that people like me had a name and existed. And that was thanks to Loren Cameron and their Body Alchemy book. I was 23 years old when I got my first compression vest which was a game changer for me.
Sports for me was what kept me alive as a teen, a way of escaping from the trauma I kept reliving everyday at home which had nothing to do with my transness.
Sports continues to be my medicine and what keeps my mental health stable, and it’s how I first notice something is off with me and what I first focus on to get myself moving again. Movement brings out the inner child in me who loves to play and what continues to show me how I still struggle with the body shaming I have held on to.
Sports continues to be an issue for trans people and yet its also a beautiful reminder that sports may be a person’s only way of coping to keep going and that we are more than just our bodies!
Trans Immigrant Gael Luna
Growing up, I loved lucha libre, WWE, and wrestling with the boys on the trampoline in my apartment neighborhood.
I did not know, yet somehow I knew, so I joined the boy wrestling team in middle and high school to be part of the “boys.”
I am glad I trusted myself at a young age to be part of something that felt good to me and my body. Being part of the wrestling team, I had to constantly navigate feeling affirmed in my gender/body and yet dealing with challenging gender dynamics in the sport.
My love for running came when I moved to Albuquerque in 2014.
I started to run because I did not feel comfortable or connected to my body. There was a lot of shame and feeling like I was not enough. Pretty enough. Small enough. Just enough.
Running made me feel connected to my body, mind, and spirit. Running has helped me expand my awareness and be in control of my life. It makes me think and believe that nothing is impossible.
Around 2 years ago, I stepped into Evolution Strength & Conditioning to work on my strength so I could get faster. Little did I know I would find the missing piece to my life.
Evolution is a queer own gym. A community of athletes of all genders, racial/ ethnic identities, experience levels, and body sizes. Working out and being in a community with other trans and queer athletes has transformed my relationship with sports and other people.
Strong Person Ash Sena
Ash was born and raised in New Mexico. She has trained in strongman since 2020 but only started competing in 2022. Before training in strength sports, she had no connection to sports. Ash has overcome significant challenges related to addiction, trauma, and mental health. Finding her community with Evolution Strength and Conditioning, where she trains, has been a life-changing experience that has taught her discipline, mental toughness, and how to be comfortable being vulnerable. Ash has found refuge in music, her gym community, and the life she has built with her wife, Sarah.
Being an athlete does not come easy to someone who has had to detach from their body for survival. For so long, I was detached from my body because my body is where the trauma began. I abused my body with substances to be numb and avoid feeling vulnerable. When I train, I must be present in my body and fight through the pain, emotions, and discomfort. I never saw myself as someone who could call myself an athlete. Athletes are tall, thin, and gender-conforming icons, right? I saw no place for a gender-nonconforming lesbian who was uncomfortable in her own body. Evolution provided the space for me to become an athlete.
I hold my intersecting identities of being an addict in recovery, a musician, a member of the queer community, and an athlete in high esteem.
My Blood is Warrior JP
J P, 48 [s(he), (he)r / he, him / they, them]
Sports or form of athleticism: Tree Climbing, Boxing, Roller Derby (retired)
My primary internal identities are being a truthseeker and spiritual person. Warrior spirit and ancestors defend and guide me. Externally, I am read as Asian, female bodied, and queer.
I am a migratory and diasporic person from the west coast and Albuquerque is my home. I am rooting and belonging with the land by climbing trees and tracing lines on trail walks in the Bosque and mountains in Korea.
I am attracted to activities that allow me to walk (or climb) up to an edge and discover what happens when I’m beyond the edge. Tree climbing and boxing put me in a space that is in and out of my body all at once - the edges fray and something changes. It’s a trans state of being.
I was active as a young person and often playing outside and climbing trees. My first participation in organized sports was cross country and track in high school. In my teens and 20s I felt intense discomfort as I developed. Looking back from the distance of my late 40s - I see I was uncomfortable in my body and felt trapped in a gender box. I survived this volatile and confusing time by disassociating from my body. Things started to shift and organized sports came back into my life in my 30s through roller derby. Being part of a team helped me develop camaraderie and a sense of community. It felt wonderful to be in a group of strong, physically aggressive women. Other skaters from my league also now identify as non-binary or trans. Derby has been co-ed from its inception and there were times we skated with and against men. I also loved having the opportunity to knock a dude down.
I crave aggressive contact sports and now go to a boxing gym. The biggest challenge I encounter in boxing is around gender - both the generalized misogyny and the way I am (mis)read at the intersection of my genders and racial background. I am strongly bi-gender - both masculine and feminine - all at the same time. Fewer AFAB (assigned female at birth) and queer people attend my gym these days and sometimes I am the only one who is not a cis dude.
I encounter misogyny and transphobia and became more vocal about its inappropriateness and effects on me. I want to train, and I don’t like feeling that my access to training depends on how much toxicity I can tolerate while attempting to change the gym’s culture. It’s a tremendous amount of labor with few allies. I just want to be a bro and spar with the guys. I’m tired of toxic culture that prevents me from doing that safely, and people assuming (in and out of the gym) that an Asian AFAB person should sit quietly and accommodate bullshit behavior. There is deep historical trauma and ongoing expectation embedded into Korean AFAB bodies around providing comfort and accommodation. This does not belong to me.
I have a trans nephew and he plays sports. I am concerned about the obstacles he will encounter as he enters high school. I want the cis-dominant world to realize that especially at younger ages, everyone of all genders has the right to a
About Gael Luna
Gael Luna (they/them) is a trans-queer immigrant artist and community organizer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, they migrated to the U.S. at age seven.
They received a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts from New Mexico Highlands University in 2014. In their senior year, they were awarded the Seabury Fellowship and created their body of work, Joteria Undocumented. They got to exhibit across the states of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, including being featured artists in Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambios Social (MALC) and inaugurations, Fwd: Museum Journal.
In 2021, they received the Tipping Point residency with the City of Albuquerque and Tamarind Institute. Most recently, they were awarded the 2024 UETF Artist Resiliency Residency and Residency for Art & Social Justice from Harwood Art Center.
My identities have profoundly shaped the way I create art. Coming from communities directly impacted by the lack of healthcare access, immigration statutes, and economic disparity, I have found work most meaningful when I build toward the needs of communities.
“I am a visual artist who utilizes digital art, design, and photography to convey stories of New Mexicans, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrant communities. I capture people’s lives in connection to their sexuality, gender, culture, and the places they make home.
“I use art to mobilize communities as we create change together. Art is powerful, sparking conversations that shift hearts and minds and inspiring transformation.” - Gael Luna
All artwork was created by Gael Luna Installation photos were taken by Aziza Murray & Harwood Art Center, All Rights Reserved
Harwood Art Center is dedicated to providing exhibition, audience expansion and professional development opportunities to artists working in any media and from diverse creative fields. Featuring established, emerging, and youth artists, our Galleries Program engages a supportive process from concept development through installation and public opening. For more information visit: harwoodartcenter.org
JAN
JANUARY
18- FEBRUARY 24
Illumination: The Artists of ArtStreet, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Harwood Art Center and ArtStreet of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless co-present Illumination, a collection of works by the artists of ArtStreet that center around a desire to invite you into their inner world. This marks the 27th anniversary of this annual exhibition partnership.
Reception: Saturday, February 3 | 4:30-6:30pm
MAR
MARCH 7- APRIL
13
ENCOMPASS: Embodiments of Wonder
An annual celebration that is both a reflection of and an offering to our community, Encompass features Open Studios, art making activities, installations by student artists, and five invitational exhibitions including Embodiments of Wonder commissioned installations by Adrian Martin, Adrian Pijoan, Audrey Montoya, Monika Guerra, Sallie Scheufler, and Shawn Turung and Ithacan Mythologies/Whose Home? by Harley Kirschner.
Reception: Saturday, April 13 | 4:30-7:30pm
APR
APRIL
25 - JUNE 1
Plein Air Collaborations: PALs (Plein Air Landscapers)
Demonstrates the inspirational benefits provided by the practice of plein air painting, as well as the significance of group activities to better physical and mental health and creative output.
Jordan Caldwell: A Moments Time
A Moments Time shows the everyday hidden beauty of this cold isolated developed world we live in. In situations that people would normally overlook or see as aimless, Caldwell chooses to find comfort and contentment. This exhibition appreciates small moments like leaving for school at dawn, being stuck in traffic, waiting for a bus, coming home at dusk, or walking on a rainy day.
Reception + Artist Talks: Saturday, May 18 | 4:30-6:30pm
JUN
JUNE
13- JULY 27
SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico
SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico is the annual juried exhibition, endowed awards and professional development program presented by Harwood Art Center, to support the creative and professional growth of emerging artists and to expand their visibility and viability in our community.
Zuyva Sevilla: Surface 2023 Solo Exhibition Award Winner
Reception + Artist Talks: Saturday, June 22 | 5:00-7:00pm
Harwood offers four capstone exhibitions annually:
1 ENCOMPASS A multi-generational art event
2 SURFACE Emerging Artists of New Mexico
3 RESIDENCY for Art & Social Justice
4 12x12 Our annual fundraiser; all proceeds support our free community arts education, outreach and professional development.
AUG
AUGUST 8 - SEPTEMBER 14
Southwest Black Arts Collective: (BE)LOVED
In a world marked by injustice, inequity, and pain, how do we embrace the (BE)LOVED?
Centered in the experiences of the artists as people of African heritage, this exhibition explores how (BE)LOVED exists within and extends beyond the personal realm.
Lauren Dana Smith: Recall: Sculptural Myth and Memory
This exhibition asks, "Where does the earth end and my body begin? Where does your body begin and where does it end?"
Sarah Aziz: Tumbleweed Rodeo Tumbleweed Rodeo reconstitutes tumbleweeds into an inhabitable landscape drawing and positions the question of invasive species (what came first, and what’s truly invasive?) not as disasters but as displays of the majesty of nature and life.
Reception: Saturday, August 24 | 4:30-6:30pm
SEPT
SEPTEMBER 26- NOVEMBER 2
Residency for Art & Social Justice
Harwood’s Residency for Art & Social Justice features and supports artists working at the intersections of creative expression and social justice. The ten month program includes a private studio at Harwood, artist and material honoraria, project support and public exhibitions. Resident Artist, Gael Luna: Lucha Libre Trans Queer Art Espectacular Uplifting the lives of transgender and queer athletes in New Mexico
Reception + Artist Talks: Saturday, October 19 | 4:30-6:30pm
DEC
DECEMBER 6-13
12x12: Harwood’s Annual Fundraising Exhibitions 12x12, 6x6 and The Shop at Harwood features original work by established, emerging and youth artists from New Mexico. This event includes ~200 works that remain anonymous until sold, for the flat rates of $144 (12”x12”) or $36 (6”x6”). The Shop highlights the intersections of art, design and daily living with works by notable New Mexico artists.
Exhibition Reception: Friday, December 6 | 5:30pm-7:30pm 12x12 Online Store Opens: Saturday, December 7 | 6:00pm
Image Credits: (Left, Top to Bottom): Harley Kirschner, Lotus Morning on Lake Cayuga; Thomas Carney, 9.5x6.5; Zuyva Sevilla, Hyperlux 6; Gael Luna, Sky Ancestor; (Center): Audrey Montoya, ICE CREAM CONE; (Right, Top to Bottom): Alanna Airitam, Take a Look Inside; Sarah Aziz, LEMB, and CO-OPt, Tumbleweed Rodeo Drawing Workshop; Anna Escamilla, Liam's Pond Paint Around; Lauren Dana Smith, Obedience Plaster; Jordan Caldwell, Traffic Over the Rio Grande; The Shop Image Credit: Caitlin Carcerano, Asteraceae Risograph Card
Shop at
Shop: harwoodstore.square.site
The
Harwood is a boutique gallery currently representing the following artist for a calendar year: Kristin Anchors, Carrie Botto, Caitlin Carcerano, Jen DePaolo, Diego Medina, Linda Montagnoli, Gloria Olazabal, Emily Silva and Mark Weaver.
ABOUT HARWOOD ART CENTER
HARWOOD ART CENTER’S GALLERIES
is dedicated to providing exhibition, audience expansion and professional development opportunities to artists working in any media and from diverse creative fields. Our gallery program is curated and managed by our Chief Programs Officer and Associate Directors of Opportunity and Engagement. Artists are invited to exhibit during three of our annual capstone events, Encompass, Residency for Art & Social Justice & 12x12, the rest of our exhibitions are awarded to individuals and groups through a competitive application process. Most of our applications are free to apply, any collected fees allocated to replenishing Harwood’s endowed cash awards for the program. Each featured exhibition is a supportive process, we work with the artists from concept development to installation in the galleries. For our 2021 exhibiting artists, we have developed a hybrid offering of both in person and virtual programming. For each exhibition we create comprehensive outreach and digital materials including exhibition catalogs, virtual galleries and artist talks to support the unique visions and voices of our gallery artists.
Seeded in 1991, Harwood Art Center blooms the philosophy of our parent organization Escuela del Sol Montessori, with recognition that learning and expression offer the most resilient pathways to global citizenship, justice and peace. Harwood engages the arts as a catalyst for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment and social change, with programming for every age, background and income level. We believe that equitable access to the arts and opportunities for creative expression are integral to healthy individuals and thriving communities. In all of our work, we cultivate inclusive, reflective environments where everyone feels cared for. We nurture long-term, multi-faceted relationships with participants, building programs with and for diverse communities of Albuquerque. We integrate the arts with social justice, professional and economic growth, and education to cultivate a higher collective quality of life in New Mexico.
HARWOOD ART CENTER’S OFFICIAL GALLERY & EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHER
We are so thrilled to have an official Harwood Photographer for our galleries program this year! We are able to present the SURFACE Emerging Artists of NM Award and Microgrant of $250 to each of this year’s artists thanks to the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, New Mexico Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the McCune Foundation.
Aziza Murray is a New Mexico based artist working primarily in photography. In 2015 she graduated with an MFA from the University of New Mexico where she also worked as a pictorial archiving fellow for the Center for Southwest Research. Since then, Aziza has worked in different capacities in the film industry in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, further piquing her interest in cinematography. Much of her work stems from a well of nostalgia for objects and moments, the materiality of photography, and her personal history—from experiencing tragic loss at an early age, to her multilayered experiences as a biracial person growing up in Washington, DC. She has shown her work in DC at Connersmith and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Albuquerque at the Harwood Art Center, the UNM Art Museum and the National Hispanic Cultural Center and, at MASS Gallery in Austin, TX.
azizamurray.com azizamurray@gmail.com
Many thanks to our genrous supporting partners: Albuquerque Art Business Association / ARTScrawl, Albuquerque Community Foundation, Downtown Neighborhood Association, McCune Charitable Foundation, New Mexico Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, US Bank, and A Good Sign. Special thanks to Nusenda Foundation and Sandia Foundation for support of our Creative Roots program and to Fay Abrams and to Debi & Clint Dodge for support of our exhibiting and commission artists. As well as to Marion & Kathryn Crissey and Reggie Gammon for establishing our endowed awards for this program, and to Meghan Ferguson Mráz and Valerie Roybal for their unwavering support and constant inspiration – and for whom we named new annual awards in 2019. SURFACE would not be possible without our extraordinary local collaborators.