News Release

Artist in Residence Chris Eaton to Host Free Program and Workshop at Mesa Verde National Park

Date: August 25, 2017
Contact: Cristy Brown, 970-529-4608

Mesa Verde National Park invites you to join us on Friday, September 15, 2017 at the Morefield Campground Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. for a presentation by photographer Christopher Eaton. This event is free and open to the public.

Photographer and Coloradoan Christopher (Chris) Eaton joins us in early September for his artist in residency at the park, September 4-16. Chris says, “My primary goal is to capture the essence of the natural and cultural history of the landscape.” At Mesa Verde his focus will be on documenting the night skies through still and time-lapse photography. Mesa Verde National Park is well situated in the Four Corners region to offer dark night skies. The Ancestral Pueblo people inhabited the mesa for hundreds of years, and though it is impossible to document the exact night sky they would have experienced, the dark sky conditions on the Colorado Plateau offer a way to come close. Go to www.pinyonridgephoto.com to view more of his work.

As a highlight of his residency, Chris will present a PowerPoint about his work and discuss his residency at Mesa Verde beginning at 7:30 p.m. Following the presentation at the amphitheater, Chris will lead a night sky photography workshop from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Workshop space is limited, and reservations are required. For reservations for the workshop, please call 970-529-4642.

Mesa Verde National Park’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides professional artists the opportunity to become part of a long established tradition of artists creating art in our national parks. The AIR program offers professional writers, composers, and visual and performing artists the opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the inspiring ancient architecture of the Ancestral Pueblo people and the sweeping natural landscape of the park. This year’s artists were selected from over 45 applicants by a jury of five consisting of the Chief of Interpretation, MVMA staff, and three local professional artists. Other 2017 artists include painter Carol Chamberland, photographer Kit Frost, painter Larry Hughes, and ceramic artist Brad Bachmeyer. Applications for the 2018 Artist in Residence program at Mesa Verde National park will be accepted beginning November 1, 2017. To apply and to learn more go to www.nps.gov/meve/getinvolved/air_artists.htm and www.mesaverde.org.

The AIR program is managed by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association (MVMA), the park’s innovative educational partner that inspires life-long stewardship of the Mesa Verde region’s cultural and natural heritage. Through MVMA’s operation of park bookstores, free or low-cost seminars, workshops, and special programs, visitors of all ages gain a new, behind-the-scenes understanding of Mesa Verde. Proceeds from all association programs support Mesa Verde National Park. Learn more at www.mesaverde.org or by calling 970-529-4445.
 

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