Axle Contemporary
a mobile artspace based in Santa Fe, New Mexico
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The Renga Project
POETS
Britta Andersson, Helena Andolsek, Erin Bad Hand, Will Barnes, Amy Beeder, Hakim Bellamy, Sherwin Bitsui, Sonja Bjelić, Chee Brossy, Paige Buffington, Chuck Calabreze, Lauren Camp, Deborah Casillas, Ungelbah Davila, Jon Davis, Matt Donovan, Joanne Dominique Dwyer, Jamie Figueroa, Ann Filemyr, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Greg Glazner, Lise Goett, Veronica Golos, Gabe Gomez, Richard Greenfield, Renée Gregorio, Joy Harjo, Elizabeth Jacobson, Christopher J. Johnson, Stephanie N. Johnson, Donald Levering, Dana Levin, Jane Lin, Monty Little, Joan Logghe, Jessica Helen Lopez, Valerie Martinez, Dora McQuaid, Carol Moldaw, Malena Mörling, Sawnie Morris, dg nanouk okpik, Margaret Randall, Jamie Ross, Miriam Sagan, Henry Shukman, Jonathan Skinner, James Thomas Stevens, Catherine Strisik, Leslie Ullman, Connie Voisine
ARTISTS
Terry Allen, Ernest Bell, Jeff Benham, Charlie Carrillo, Claire Coté, Lisa de St. Croix, Luke Dorman, Nina Elder, Alexandra Eldridge, Betsy Emil, Danny Green, Fran Hardy, Karina Hean, Bart Johnson, Juan Kelly, Caity Kennedy, Celeste LaForme, Katherine Lee, Joanne Lefrak, David Leigh, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Nina Mastrangelo, Elizabeth McNitt, Eliza Naranjo Morse, David Nakabayashi, Joel Nakamura, Timothy Nero, Gene Newman, Lara Nickel, Larry Bob Phillips, Ron Pokrasso, Prakash, Gail Rieke, Janet Stein Romero, Sam Scott, SCUBA, Rose Simpson, Gerry Snyder, Mark Spencer, Rick Stevens, Linda Swanson, Gina Trujillo & Sonya Gonzales, Peter Voshefski, Erika Wanenmacher, Jerry Wellman, Kappy Wells, Jerry West, Todd Ryan White, Robin D. Williams, Cedra Wood, Debby Young, Greta Young
One year: 100 artists and poets
The Renga Project began on the summer solstice, 2013. It's a new take on an ancient traditional collaborative form of Japanese poetry. 52 weekly stanzas were written by a diverse group of New Mexico poets. We also invited 52 New Mexico artists to create a linked drawing with each artist responding to a writer's stanza. The poem has been displayed on a large sign in the Santa Fe Railyard all year, with new stanzas added weekly.
During the weekend of the 2014 summer solstice we celebrated this year-long project. In June and July, Axle Contemporary presented an exhibition of the drawings in our mobile gallery, and presented the book with the entire collaborative poem and linked drawings.
On June 22 Axle Contemporary presented a group reading by the poets of the entire poem, a roundtable discussion, booksigning, and renga writing workshop at The New Mexico Museum of Art. The New Mexico Museum of Art's curator of education, Ellen Zieselman moderated the panel which includes poet Miriam Sagan and Axle Contemporary project organizers and curators Matthew Chase-Daniel and Jerry Wellman.
Listen to the roundtable discussion at the New Mexico Museum of Art with Miriam Sagan, Ellen Zieselman, Jerry Wellman, and Matthew Chase-Daniel.
Listen to the Christopher Johnson with Matthew Chase-Danirel and poets on Collected Words
Listen to the Jon Davis and Matthew Chase-Daniel on the Radio Cafe with Mary-Charlotte Domandi
Purchase the Renga Project book
A special handmade book is available: An accordion-style with 4 seasonal sections and fifth w/essays and artist bios.
Individual season: $50
Full set w/ handmade clothbound case: $250
Made to order.
Stop by the gallery to see and order
or call 505-670-5854
or e-mail info@axleart.com
(Sold Out)
Between SITE and W21 in the Railyard Park in Santa Fe, is the Renga Project. Each week we hang a new stanza. Renga is an ancient traditional collaborative form of poetry from Japan. Poets write short stanzas which respond to what has come before. Our Renga is being written by 50 New Mexico poets. Santa Fe’s Poet Laureate Jon Davis will start each of the four seasonal sections. The other stanzas will be written by 24 poets selected by him and an additional 24 poets selected by them. There will be 6 stanzas at a time on the sign. As each new stanza is added, the oldest will be removed. We experience, over the course of a year, a changing and evolving 52 stanza collaborative poem. In addition, we’ve invited 52 New Mexico Artists to create a linked drawing which illustrates the poem. We’ll publish a book at the close of the project with the full poem and the full linked drawing. There are 3 versions of the book, an affordable paperback, a series of four seasonal miniature japanese-style folded books, and a beautiful limited edition handmade accordion book. All of this culminated with a reading of the poem with the poets at the New Mexico Museum of Art and an exhibition of the drawings in the Axle Contemporary mobile gallery in the summer of 2014.
The Renga Project is made possible by the generous support of Baglione Custom Woodworks, Santa Fe Jin, New Mexico Literary Arts, Artisan Santa Fe, The Railyard Art Project, The New Mexico Museum of Art, Ellsworth Gallery, Collected Works Bookstore and Coffeehouse, OpCit, La Montanita Co-Op, THE magazine, David Richard Gallery, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, The New Mexico Humanities Council, and individual donors.
