News Release

Deborah Jojola of Isleta Pueblo and Jemez Pueblo Is Mesa Verde’s Next Artist in Residence

Date: May 7, 2019
Contact: Mesa Verde Museum Association, 970-529-4445
Contact: Cristy Brown, 970-529-4608

Printmaker, painter, and art installation artist, Deborah Jojola, is Mesa Verde National Park’s next Artist in Residence, from May 13-25. During her residency, Deborah will explore the theme, "A Living Link between Past and Present Ways of Life.” Being from Isleta Pueblo and Jemez Pueblo, Deborah is looking forward to the opportunity to be immersed in her ancestral lands. A free public presentation will occur Friday, May 24 at the Far View Lodge Library, Mesa Verde National Park, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Deborah will discuss her artwork and research with a PowerPoint presentation.
 
Deborah will also be teaching a class on Saturday, May 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the Mancos School of the West. Go to www.schoolofthewest.org/ to learn more.
 
Deborah’s fascination is with traditional Pueblo frescos used many centuries ago in Kiva walls for ceremonial healing, rituals, seasonal changes, and celebrations. This form of storytelling is no longer being used by most Pueblos today. Why? Who were the fresco mural artists of that time? Men, women, special people within the clanship? These are some of the questions influencing her art, research, and curiosity. Deborah states, “It is very exciting to discover and explore age-old traditions and revive them through my art work.”
 
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 is managed for the park by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association. Learn more at www.nps.gov/meve/getinvolved/artists_in_residence.htm and at www.mesaverde.org.
 

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