Exhibition Catalog - Alexa Wheeler / Jewelry Uplift

ECHOES OF CARE: VESSELS OF THE FUTURE

Echoes of Care: Vessels of the Future

“What will remain of care, labor, and memory in 100 years? Echoes of Care: Vessels of the Future envisions a speculative archive where acts of nurturing, witnessing, and transformation persist beyond a century. This exhibition builds upon my interdisciplinary practice in printmaking, digital media, and community-engaged art to examine how personal and collective histories are carried forward—through objects, ritual, and the evolving role of women as vessels of survival and connection.

“The works presented are a synthesis of print-based installation, textile works, and experimental digital media, creating a bridge between past and future. In this imagined future, what we make and leave behind— both tangible and intangible—holds the imprint of care.Through layered prints on fabric, interactive digital pieces, and a participatory community element, this exhibition explores themes of sustenance, resilience, and remembrance as they shape a future landscape.”

alexa wheeler

Alexa Wheeler is an artist, educator, and Master Printer whose work explores the intersections of printmaking, digital media, and communal storytelling. Born in Minnesota, she has lived in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas, and Brooklyn before settling in New Mexico 25 years ago to study at Tamarind Institute. Her practice spans traditional and emerging technologies, engaging themes of care, resilience, and transformation. She earned a BFA in Printmaking from Pratt Institute, followed by a Master Printer Certificate from Tamarind, and later completed an MFA in Electronic Art at the University of New Mexico. She has collaborated with artists worldwide and teaches as a Principal Lecturer in Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico–Valencia. Her work often invites participation, fostering connections between personal history, collective memory, and future possibilities.

Re.Connection

“How can the art of jewelry making become a bridge that tells our personal stories and strengthens the bonds within our community?

“Jewelry making ignites storytelling and community connection! The Jewelry Uplift initiative promotes creativity and teaches new skills, builds relationships, and creates stronger communities. Jewelry Uplift opens a wellspring of inspiration that brings the hands, minds, and spirits of our Albuquerque community closer together. We are dedicated to enhancing educational experiences by providing and encouraging sustainable community partnerships, alumni mentorship, exploratory theme based workshops, art show participation, professional jewelry opportunities and so much more! Jewelry Uplift is an example of what is possible for students, teachers, families and communities. Jewelry Uplift is ALL of us!”

jewelry uplift

Jewelry Uplift is a Community School program that represents an innovative approach to arts education that transcends traditional classroom boundaries. Founded in 2023 by Lisa Gillett, Jewelry Instructor at Albuquerque High School, and Eddie Donato, an AHS alumnus and artist, Jewelry Uplift exemplifies how educational initiatives can serve as catalysts for community engagement and student empowerment. The Jewelry Uplift program operates on the principle that innovative educational opportunities and project based learning serve as “synapses”—creating vital connections between students, educators and the broader community, highlighting that learning occurs most effectively when multiple pathways of knowledge and experience intersect. Lisa and Eddie began with a classroom transformation, which reflected the evolving jewelry program by bringing students, families and community partners together to help fund and breathe a vibrant energy into Jewelry Uplift. In the Spring of 2025, Lisa and Eddie, with the support of Rio Grande Jewelry and volunteer instructors, began offering free community jewelry classes that give people of all ages an engaging space to learn new skills, nurture their creativity and forge authentic connections.

Featured Artists

Abby Perce, A. Kader, A. Hartman, A. Quinones, B. Rivera, Ben Barreres, Bowie Parnall, Brooke Steiger, C. Silva, Carol Sinor, Cathryn Cunningham, D. Hernandez, D. Rodgers, D. Candelaria, Eddie Donato, EJ Montana, Elena Dunn, G. Candelaria, Grace Hawkins Perce, I. Alvarado, I. Soroos, J. Lucero, Jessica Mills, K. Hardeman, K. Bonson, K. Watkins, Kaya Perce, Keely Mackey-Gonzales, L. Lopez, L. Esquival, Lelia Smith, Lisa Gillett, Lorelei Candelaria, L. Cok,

Mack Farel, M. Madrid Larranaga, Maya Suazo, MB Ramos, Michelle Holdt, Michelle Sanchez St. Andre, Miranda Chun, Noell Stone, O. Munoz, O. Brosco-Seaman, P. Moran, Paul Deblassie, Ron Ortiz, S. Bloise, Sasha Custer, S. Chavez, Taylor Traub and Suzanne Oakdale.

ABOUT HARWOOD ART CENTER

HARWOOD ART CENTER’S GALLERIES

is dedicated to providing exhibition, audience expansion and professional development opportunities to artists working in any media and from diverse creative fields. Our gallery program is curated and managed by our Chief Programs Officer and Associate Directors of Opportunity and Engagement. Artists are invited to exhibit during three of our annual capstone events, Encompass, Residency for Art & Social Justice & 12x12, the rest of our exhibitions are awarded to individuals and groups through a competitive application process. Most of our applications are free to apply, any collected fees allocated to replenishing Harwood’s endowed cash awards for the program. Each featured exhibition is a supportive process, we work with the artists from concept development to installation in the galleries. For our 2021 exhibiting artists, we have developed a hybrid offering of both in person and virtual programming. For each exhibition we create comprehensive outreach and digital materials including exhibition catalogs, virtual galleries and artist talks to support the unique visions and voices of our gallery artists.

Seeded in 1991, Harwood Art Center blooms the philosophy of our parent organization Escuela del Sol Montessori, with recognition that learning and expression offer the most resilient pathways to global citizenship, justice and peace. Harwood engages the arts as a catalyst for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment and social change, with programming for every age, background and income level. We believe that equitable access to the arts and opportunities for creative expression are integral to healthy individuals and thriving communities. In all of our work, we cultivate inclusive, reflective environments where everyone feels cared for. We nurture long-term, multi-faceted relationships with participants, building programs with and for diverse communities of Albuquerque. We integrate the arts with social justice, professional and economic growth, and education to cultivate a higher collective quality of life in New Mexico.

HARWOOD ART CENTER’S OFFICIAL GALLERY & EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHER

We are so thrilled to have an official Harwood Photographer for our galleries program this year! We are able to present the SURFACE Emerging Artists of NM Award and Microgrant of $250 to each of this year’s artists thanks to the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, New Mexico Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the McCune Foundation.

Aziza Murray is a New Mexico based artist working primarily in photography. In 2015 she graduated with an MFA from the University of New Mexico where she also worked as a pictorial archiving fellow for the Center for Southwest Research. Since then, Aziza has worked in different capacities in the film industry in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, further piquing her interest in cinematography. Much of her work stems from a well of nostalgia for objects and moments, the materiality of photography, and her personal history—from experiencing tragic loss at an early age, to her multilayered experiences as a biracial person growing up in Washington, DC. She has shown her work in DC at Connersmith and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Albuquerque at the Harwood Art Center, the UNM Art Museum and the National Hispanic Cultural Center and, at MASS Gallery in Austin, TX.

azizamurray.com azizamurray@gmail.com

Many thanks to our genrous supporting partners: Albuquerque Art Business Association / ARTScrawl, Albuquerque Community Foundation, Downtown Neighborhood Association, McCune Charitable Foundation, New Mexico Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, US Bank, and A Good Sign. Special thanks to Nusenda Foundation and Sandia Foundation for support of our Creative Roots program and to Fay Abrams and to Debi & Clint Dodge for support of our exhibiting and commission artists. As well as to Marion & Kathryn Crissey and Reggie Gammon for establishing our endowed awards for this program, and to Meghan Ferguson Mráz and Valerie Roybal for their unwavering support and constant inspiration – and for whom we named new annual awards in 2019. SURFACE would not be possible without our extraordinary local collaborators.