Curator Cecilia Alemani has organized the latest edition of the SITE Santa Fe International, titled "Once Within a Time," inspired by Godfrey Reggio's 2022 film of the same name. The exhibition, which opened in 2025, centers on storytelling and features Reggio's trippy 55-minute film alongside works by over a dozen artists, including Helen Cordero, D.H. Lawrence, Louise Bonnet, Norman Zammitt, Joseph Yoakum, John McCracken, Karla Knight, and Ali Cherri. The show extends beyond SITE Santa Fe to multiple venues across New Mexico, such as the New Mexico Military Museum, a hotel, and a cannabis shop, weaving together themes of eros, energy, the military, and the state's archetypes like UFOs, Land art, and Native spirituality.
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant return for SITE Santa Fe's biennial, now rebranded as the SITE Santa Fe International, under the direction of a curator who recently helmed the acclaimed 2022 Venice Biennale. Alemani's focus on New Mexico as a protagonist—highlighting writers, artists, and historical figures associated with the state—offers a deeply regional yet globally resonant narrative. The show's inclusion of rarely seen censored works by Norman Zammitt and its engagement with military themes at the New Mexico Military Museum demonstrate how contemporary biennials can challenge institutional boundaries and address complex histories, from censorship to war.