Artist Returns To Downtown Gallup To Complete A New Mural Project
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By Kara Q. Smith, Executive Director Gallup MainStreet Arts & Cultural District arlier this year, Gallup MainStreet Arts & Cultural District was the recipient of a grant from the New Mexico Resiliency Alliance (NMRA), in partnership with New Mexico MainStreet and the McCune Charitable Foundation, in support of a project being developed with gallupARTS to bring art to one block of alleyway in Downtown Gallup. The block is located between First and Second Streets and Coal and Aztec streets. After a selection committee reviewed proposals, Albuquerque-based artist Marina Eskeets was chosen to complete a new mural on the back of the building owned by Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments. Her piece, titled “Óódááł (Everyone Moving Forward),” will present a colorful depiction of two young Diné (Navajo) girls walking behind a flock of sheep. They blow bubbles with their gum and wave their hands in the air to keep the heard moving. They walk past a twisted cedar tree with geometric patterns framing them. In the far background are four wind turbines, mimicking a corn field. Blue gramma grass grows at their feet. Having grown up in Gallup, this narrative is central to Eskeet’s personal story, but also resonates widely with many folks in the area. As part of her project, she is working with art students at Miyamura High School. Instructor Tine Hayes says of the collaboration: “Marina is a former student of mine, who graduated from MHS in its second year of existence. She got a full ride art scholarship to SFUAD and has blazed a trial, from Gallup to art school, that many other students have followed. This project has a similar value, she is a role model for my students and her strength and ability give quality to her voice and validation to their perspectives. My students get to see Marina, a successful artist from the same area and culture as them, making a strong public artistic statement about what it means to be a contemporary Native person. This communicates to them that their voices matter, also.” Eskeets is also working on a community storytelling component to the piece, inviting others to share their own stories. The artist answered a few questions while she was in the middle of painting the work:
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December 2019
