ART123 Gallery in downtown Gallup is opening its first-ever Guest Curated show, “Walking in Gallup” by  Diné artist Armond Antonio, on April 9. 

“Walking in Gallup” will address the community-based social justice issue of homelessness through a mixed media show that puts a human perspective on a dehumanizing and often overlooked experience and that spotlights its systemic causes and conditions. The show will feature original work by Antonio, including a series of photographs and paintings depicting sights and scenes from the artist’s walks in Gallup that visualize issues such as criminalization and the reality of difficult choices, and a found object sculpture created from refuse collected by the artist on those walks. The show will also feature work by street artist Shandiin Degroat.

“I hope people come away from my show with a sense of morality, of being aware of the hardships within our community that shouldn’t just be ignored or pushed out,” says Antonio. 

“What Armond is doing with this show is literally and figuratively inviting gallery visitors to take a walk in another’s shoes, to experience Gallup from the point of view of someone living on the streets, to see the unseen, to acknowledge the unacknowledged,” says gallupARTS Executive Director Rose Eason. “It’s a really powerful concept: the Diné prayer of ‘Walking in Beauty’ has been so exploited. But by playing on that trope with the title ’Walking in Gallup,’ Armond is bringing us back to the truth of the matter, forcing us as a community to confront the ways in which we have betrayed the essential concepts of valuing life, honoring each other, and living in harmony.”

“Walking in Gallup” will open on Saturday, April 9 from 7 – 9pm (during ArtsCrawl), with a virtual preview earlier in the day at 11:45am live-streamed on the @gallupARTS Facebook page. Antonio will give a Guest Curator Talk on Thursday, April 14 at 6pm, which will be in-person at ART123 Gallery and simultaneously broadcast on Facebook. “Walking in Gallup” runs through May 7.  

About Armond Antonio: Antonio is a Diné artist working in pencil, acrylic, oil, watercolor, mixed media, and block printing who often turns his eye for raw beauty to the landscape, animals and people. From Gallup, Armond lives in Pueblo Pintado and works as horseman. Armond regularly participates in the Sovereign Santa Fe exhibition, and has exhibited his work across the Southwest. Find him on Instagram @antonio_studioarts.

gallupARTS’ Guest Curator program is supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (www.arts.gov). 

To learn more about gallupARTS, visit www.galluparts.org. Find gallupARTS on Facebook and Instagram @gallupARTS. Find ART123 Gallery on Facebook @ART123Gallery.