United We Stand Now Open for Booking!
1 Nov 2023
Please visit our new and improved catalog of Speakers to learn about the United We Stand Speakers' programs and book one today! To find the United We Stand Programs, click “Browse Programs”,...
Cuadernos Vol II
30 Aug 2023
Request materials HEREFree resource for classroom teachers, librarians and individuals to reflect on the personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while exploring archival information celebrating food...
Annual Report and Financial Statements
9 May 2023
To review our 2020 and 2021 Annual Report click HERE.To request a hard copy of the current annual report, please send your mailing information to info@nmhumanities.org.
Wildfire Needs Assessment for Cultural Recovery
1 Apr 2023
New Mexico went through the most destructive fires in its history in 2022. Read the report on the cultural impacts of New Mexico's recent wildfires. Learn about a needs assessment survey funded by the...
Pasa Por Aquí - Open Call for Submissions
27 Jan 2021
The New Mexico Humanities Council is seeking contributors for its new blog! Let us take this opportunity to introduce Pasa Por Aquí – the NM Humanities Council’s...
National Arts and Humanities
A Proclamation on National Arts And Humanities Month, 2022 For centuries, American arts and humanities have been a beacon of light and understanding, recording our history and advancing new ways of thinking. This National Arts and Humanities month, we celebrate our Nation’s visionary artists, scholars, and creators whose work touches and reveals the soul of America. My Administration is committed to making the arts and humanities more accessible to people of every age and background, uplifting more voices, inspiring new generations, and showing the full power of our example as a great Nation. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in strengthening the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and our American Rescue Plan allocated over a billion more to help museums, libraries, theaters, concert halls, and other venues recover from the pandemic. This critical support comes on top of a historic Executive Order....
Nikolaus and Krampus in Austria. Unknown Author. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Krampus is Coming: Why Halloween is Actually Just the Start of Spooky Season
Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 3:22pm | By Monika Dziamka
Krampus is Coming: Why Halloween is Actually Just the Start of Spooky Season Winter nights and cold weather invite more opportunities to stay at home, something I look forward to every year. As a native...
Bread for the departed on family altar.
Bread of Death and Life: A Short History of Pan de Muertos
Wed, Nov 1, 2023, 9:27am | By Vanessa Baca
For me, it’s not truly El Día de los Muertos until I read the following quote by the Mexican author Octavio Paz from his masterpiece El Laberinto de la Soledad: “Para el habitante de Nueva York,...
Photo courtesy of Cottonbro Studio.
Send in the Clowns: Funeral Humor
Tue, Oct 31, 2023, 8:59am | By Liz Hamilton
The funeral home I used to work at was SOOO busy. Since we offered the lowest cremation price in town, we helped many families take care of their deceased loved ones. And to keep our costs low, we...
Dressed in her matriarch garments, Venaya’s later maternal grandmother Jane Werito Yazzie sits in her childhood home at Dziłnaodiłthe (Huerfano) NM on the eastern region of Navajoland.
Pre-pandemic grief, ancestral memory, mourning the world in 2020 and healing in the present
Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 11:22am | By Venaya Yazzie
here desert girl emerged – she stumbled on to surface chaos where – rain bowed earthdwellers pouredpowdered turquoise on to ant hills… My late maternal...
El Chicano Youth Center- A photo donated by CHHP participant Yolanda Martinez. El Chicano Youth Center was built in 1970 in Chihuahua Hill.
Nuestra Voz: The Chihuahua Hill Story and the importance of community, self-representation, and remembrance.
Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 11:20am | By Javier Marrufo
“Aye, como pasan los años.” This was a phrase that my maternal grandmother’s adopted tia, Rosa V. Castillo, would voice in bittersweet reminiscence as my generation, unbothered and uninterested...
Southwest Word Fiesta 2023
Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 8:57am | By Catalina Claussen
Sprung from our wildest imaginations, the Southwest Word Fiesta, originally known as the Southwest Festival of the Written Word, was established in 2010 to honor and celebrate writers who live and work...
Blog contributor and student at Western New Mexico University. Dillon Pacheco. -- Photo not provided by blog contributor and WNMU student, Andrea Galindo.
Censored Voices: Banned Book Project Co-written by Dillon Pacheco and Andrea Galindo
Thu, Sep 28, 2023, 2:35pm | By Dillon Pacheco
In the realm of intellectual freedom, censorship emerges as a contentious force, stifling vital narratives, limiting awareness, and creating huge knowledge gaps. One of the most conspicuous manifestations...
NEW MEXICO HUMANITIES COUNCIL
Who we were
Who we are and
Who we aspire to be
We seek out, fund and conduct quality humanities programs for presentation to public audiences throughout the state. We support a wide variety of programs, projects and organizations-- topics can range anywhere from local history and culture to international affairs. Explore our website to learn how we support public programs in New Mexico communities which inspire inclusive conversations that strengthen our civil society and celebrate diverse human experiences.
Statement on Diversity and Inclusion from the New Mexico Humanities Council
1 Jul 2020
“Seeking to understand who we are, who we were, and who we aspire to be.” This statement is more than a pithy tagline for the New Mexico Humanities Council; we actively seek to provide New Mexicans with opportunities to cultivate mutual understanding and respect through its programming and grants.
Over the past weeks and months, our nation has experienced tremendous upheaval, particularly in response to the persistence of individual, institutional, structural, and systemic racism in our society. In the interest of addressing these social barriers, the New Mexico Humanities Council pledges to continue to develop, nurture, and fund programs and grant partnerships that use the tools of history, ethics, literature, and the examination of the arts to bridge gaps of culture, knowledge, and experience between New Mexicans. Our aim is to help each of us determine who we aspire to be both as individuals and members of larger communities. By helping to build these bridges of understanding and respect, we hope to play our part in working towards a more just society.
In the past year, we partnered with representatives from diverse communities to amplify the many voices and perspectives that make up New Mexican society. Some examples of this collaborative work include:
- 400 Years (1619-2019): Knowing our African American Past and Creating our Future, an art exhibit and discussion program that brought together artists and community members to discuss the resiliency of the African American community in the wake of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of ships carrying enslaved Africans to America (with the New Mexico African American Artists Guild).
- Bright Spaces, Welcome Places, a community-created art exhibit and public programs celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and queer resiliency and health (with Fierce Pride).
- A concert and post-performance discussion led by the members of the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble, which preserves the ancient Filipino musical tradition of kulintang (with the Filipino American Community Council).
While we are proud of the work we have done, the current moment demands reflection on what more we can do. In addition to continuing the cultivation of community partnerships alongside our funders and collaborators, the New Mexico Humanities Council is committed to creating and supporting opportunities and spaces for dialogue and expression. Please join us as a donor, partner, scholar, or engaged citizen in the important and meaningful work of building a better New Mexico. Don’t hesitate to contact Brandon Johnson (bjohnson@nmhumanities.org; 505-633-7376) to talk about how you’d like to be involved. We look forward to hearing from you!
