12th SITE SANTA FE International: Once Within a Time

12th SITE SANTA FE International: Once Within a Time
Curated by Cecilia Alemani
June 27, 2025–January 12, 2026
Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the 12th SITE SANTA FE International: Once Within a Time
places works by local, national, and international artists in dialogue with a cast of
regional figures and local characters to probe the power of storytelling. The 12th
International will extend beyond SITE SANTA FE to over a dozen partner institutions
and unconventional venues across the city. Taking its title from Santa Fe-based
experimental filmmaker Godfrey Reggio’s latest film, Once Within a Time will include
more than 300 artworks made from 1926 to the present. Nearly half of the seventy
participating artists will present new commissions that engage directly or indirectly with
the experiences and lore of the twenty figures of interest. These new productions will be
shown alongside contemporary and historical works from around the world, inspiring
new narratives when viewed in dialogue with New Mexico’s rich artistic and literary
history.

When it launched in 1995, the International (formerly known as the SITE SANTA FE
Biennial) was the first community-wide biennial or triennial in the United States and one
of only a handful of such exhibitions anywhere in the world. Since its creation, it has
served as a model for regularly occurring, large-scale, contemporary art exhibitions of
its kind globally. In keeping with SITE SANTA FE’s artist-centric approach, the
International provides a platform for artists and curators to realize work they would not
be able to make elsewhere and creates opportunities for artists from around the world to
respond to the unique geography, history, and cultures of New Mexico while connecting
the diverse communities of Santa Fe with the global art world.