You Can Make a Difference in Your Community with Kara Bobroff
Release Date: 07/12/2023
Connecting People Through Time - Makowa: The Worlds Above Us with Misha Pipe and Kaela Waldstein
Encounter Culture
For as long as humans have been on this earth, we have looked to the cosmos for information and direction. The Indigenous people of North America used the skies to make sense of their environments and to guide them in planting crops, building villages, and conducting ceremonies. The new exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Makowa: The Worlds Above Us, showcases a wide range of art, photographs, videos, and more to center the wisdom and longevity of Native astronomy and to remind us that we are all interconnected. On this episode of Encounter Culture, guest consultants for...
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Uplifting Cultural Knowledge with Navajo Picture Book Author Daniel Vandever
Encounter Culture
On the surface, Diné author Daniel Vandever’s picture books might appear to be straightforward stories, but the messages about the power of imagination and adventure in his books are imbued with layers of meaning. In his book Fall in Line, Holden!, a little boy breaks free from the constraints of rules and discipline by using his imagination. On a deeper level, the book speaks to the history of Indian Boarding Schools in pushing cultural assimilation. Likewise, in his wordless picture book Herizon, a girl goes on a magic scarf ride to find her lost sheep. This book is imbued with...
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Time Travel: From Giant Millipedes to Modern Landscapes with New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
Encounter Culture
A long, long time ago, the region that is now New Mexico was part of a giant land mass, and it was located on the equator. The climate was warm and tropical and much of the present-day state was covered in shallow seas. This was long before humans or even dinosaurs existed—252 to 541 million years ago. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science has recently opened a new permanent exhibition, The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life, that covers the vast geologic history of ancient life in the state. Piecing together the story of ancient life in New Mexico can...
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BONUS: Ancient Life (There's No Shame In Extinction)
Encounter Culture
What did New Mexico look like before the time of the dinosaurs? The 3,000-square-foot Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science tells the story of 300 million years of evolution featuring never-before-seen fossils from ancient fish, amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, and more uncovered across the state. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit being contructed in the weeks before its grand opening with Spencer Lucas, Curator of Paleontology, and Matt Celeskey, Curator of Exhibits. (Then go see the exhibit fully...
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Exhibition Design, 3-D Modeling, and Clown Chess Sets at New Mexico Highlands University with Lauren Addario and Becca Sharp
Encounter Culture
The Media Arts & Technology department at New Mexico Highlands University is a one-of-a-kind program. Students not only learn about technology and design, but they get to implement their ideas, working from brainstorming and mind mapping to exhibition design and installation, interactive displays, and so much more. NMHU professors Lauren Addario and Becca Sharp join Emily Withnall to talk about their program and their 20-year partnership with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, including their exhibition design at many of DCA’s Historic Sites. This partnership and internship...
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The American Mystique of the Cowboy Boot with Deana McGuffin and Jes Márquez
Encounter Culture
New Mexico Arts runs a Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program that pairs masters in a particular art form with apprentices so that a wide variety of arts unique to New Mexico can be passed on. In this episode of Encounter Culture, host Emily Withnall chats with bootmakers Jes Márquez and Deana McGuffin about their experience with the Apprenticeship Program and the wonderful challenge of making beautiful cowboy boots. Mentioned in this Episode: We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a...
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La Virgen de Guadalupe: Photographing a Cultural Icon with Delilah Montoya and Katie Doyle
Encounter Culture
The Virgin of Guadalupe is a cultural icon with deep roots in Mexican and Chicano communities across the United States and Mexico, among other places. Artists in New Mexico often reference Guadalupe in their work—including Chicana artist Delilah Montoya. A mixed-media piece, “La Guadalupana,” by Montoya features a large photograph of the Virgin of Guadalupe as tattooed on the back of an incarcerated man. It is one of the many works of art on display at New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary as a part of their “identity” theme in Off-Center. Katie Doyle, assistant...
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Boots, Books, and the Vast Unknown: Season 8 Preview with Emily Withnall and Andrea Klunder
Encounter Culture
Join host Emily Withnall and producer Andrea Klunder for a preview of the upcoming 8th season of Encounter Culture. This season features diverse topics, including an interview with artist Delilah Montoya, a tour of the brand-new Ancient Life exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, a conversation about children's books with author Daniel Vandever, and a deep look inside the art of bootmaking. “It's cool to think about art in that way, you know, to create beauty from nothing. It starts as an idea and then all of a sudden you have this beautiful object that you've...
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The Oryx and the Bomb: Colonial Legacies at White Sands Missile Range with Marcus Xavier Chormicle
Encounter Culture
Roughly six thousand large antelopes native to Africa live on the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. Once small in number, these oryx have proliferated and make for an unexpected sight with their giant bodies, striking black and white faces, and long, spear-like horns. What are the oryx doing in New Mexico? Las Cruces-based photographer, Marcus Xavier Chormicle’s research of the animals has informed his oryx photography series. The oryx series was the focus of Chormicle’s work during his New Mexico Arts residency at Lincoln Historic Site in the spring of 2024. He joined...
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The Beaded Nun, Haunted Exhibitions, and Other Museum Stories with Nick Waddell and Michelle Rodriguez, Museum of International Folk Art
Encounter Culture
How many times have you visited the same museum? Whether your answer is “one” or “hundreds” this episode of Encounter Culture invites listeners behind the scenes to hear about the rewards of visiting and revisiting the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Longtime security guard Nick Wadell and docent and customer service rep, Michelle Rodriguez, share stories about works of art, mysteries, and memorable visitors that will give listeners a deeper experience of the museum—and hopefully, entice them back again. Mentioned in this Episode: The Art of Survival: The...
info_outlineIn this episode, Encounter Culture host Charlotte Jusinski and series co-host Stephanie Padilla, a member of Isleta Pueblo, trace a throughline from Miguel Trujillo to their guest Kara Bobroff (Diné /Lakota), an educator honored by President Barack Obama as one of the best emerging social entrepreneurs in the country. Kara’s exceptional career achievements include her current role as executive director of One Generation (One Gen) and founder of the Native American Community Academy (NACA) and NACA Inspired School Network (NISN).
If knowledge is power, access is the key to unlocking its potential. Kara has made it her life’s work to provide every Native child a way in. “I think at the center of how I was raised is really being of service to others and understanding that anything is possible.
The trio discusses Kara’s incredible personal journey, her commitment to supporting Indigenous youth, and how culturally competent education provides Native communities the tools they need to continue their fight for equal rights and protection.
This season, Encounter Culture is sharing the story of Miguel Trujillo, an unsung hero of voting rights activism for Native Americans in New Mexico. His legacy forms the foundation for every conversation in our series. If you haven’t already, we urge you to catch up on episodes one, two, three, and four.
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Visit https://newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.
Enter to win a package of four CulturePasses and a one-year subscription to El Palacio magazine all valued at $145 by visiting https://podcast.nmculture.org/giveaway
Whether you’re a local resident, or you’re visiting us on your travels, CulturePass is your ticket to each of our 15 museums and historic sites.
Enter by August 31, 2023. You must be 18 years or older to apply and there is no purchase necessary. This opportunity is made possible by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.
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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Hosted by Stephanie Padilla (Isleta, Laguna, Cochiti) & Charlotte Jusinski, Editor at El Palacio Magazine
Technical Director & Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann
Consulting Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)
Associate Producer & Editor: Alex Riegler
Show Notes: Lisa Widder
Social Media Design: Caitlin Sunderland
Theme Music: D’Santi Nava
Instagram: @newmexicanculture
For more, visit podcast.nmculture.org.
Special thank you to Clark Tenakhongva, along with Gary Stroutsos and Matthew Nelson, for the incredible Hopi music featured throughout all 6 episodes of this season. Their new album Hon Muru is set to release in August 2023 and will be available for purchase along with their other recordings on Bandcamp and at ongtupqa.com.
This season was made possible due to the generosity of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the family of Miguel and Ruchanda Trujillo.