Site Santa Fe has announced its 12th International exhibition, titled "Once Within a Time," opening June 27 and running through January 2026. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, who previously curated the 59th Venice Biennale, the show draws its name and dreamlike logic from a 2022 film by Santa Fe artist Godfrey Reggio. Featuring over 70 artists and more than 300 works—including new commissions, archival interventions, and contemporary selections—the exhibition uses 20 figures with ties to New Mexico as narrative catalysts, among them Navajo code talker Chester Nez, novelist Willa Cather, and the Fire Spirit from local folklore. For the first time, the International will be fully embedded within Santa Fe's urban fabric, activating sites such as a historic foundry, a toy store, and a dispensary alongside traditional cultural partners. Participating artists include Simone Leigh, David Horvitz, and Dominique Knowles, with contributions from writers Tommy Orange, Lucy R. Lippard, and Estevan Rael-Gálvez.
This edition matters because it reimagines the biennial model by grounding a global curatorial vision in hyperlocal mythology and community spaces, directly engaging with the complex regional narratives of New Mexico—from Indigenous folklore and alien invasion lore to the legacies of artists like Agnes Martin and Georgia O’Keeffe. By embedding the exhibition throughout the city and commissioning an experimental opera reworking the La Llorona folk tale, Site Santa Fe positions the International as a platform for storytelling that is both deeply rooted and ambitiously expansive. The show also continues Cecilia Alemani's trajectory of innovative, inclusive curation following her acclaimed Venice Biennale, signaling a growing trend of biennials that prioritize place-based, participatory approaches over traditional museum-bound formats.