Jemila MacEwan
New York, NY
“Sun Seeds” | 2023 Paseo Project Artist in Residence
For the month of April, Jemila MacEwan will be in Taos to present “Sun Seeds” a community project that celebrates the forces of nature that shape our environment and sustain life.
“My work lives in the emotional complexity of humanity’s destructive impact, to the planet and to itself. I create mythological narratives around meteorites, volcanoes, fault-lines and melting glaciers, where conversations with landscapes mirror specific emotional states brought on by a world in change. Understanding these natural phenomena is only possible through vast time-scales and the elemental and material forces capable of dramatically reshaping the environment. In my work, these forces act as a counterpoint to the unconscious and intentional impacts that humans have on the planet. Shedding the layers of denial that separate humans from the natural environment reveals nature as a diverse network of powerful and animated forces that deserve our attention, trust and respect.”
For this project I will work with children within the community of Taos to collectively create many small, silver, light-catching kites. Once the kites have been created we would come together at a site within the surrounding desert landscape of New Mexico to fly them. The kites will catch and reflect the sun back to earth, appearing as though the stars had suddenly come out in the day. The kites are like seeds in that they depend on the light of the sun and the power of the wind to come ‘alive’. Each individual kite flyer holds a string tethers their Sun Seed to the earth and is responsible for taking care of it. The collectivity of all of the kite-flyers together creates the possibility of a whole shimering spectacle of light.
April 27th, 5:30pm | Artist Talk @Harwood Museum of Art: Live from the Arthur Bell Auditorium at the Harwood Museum of Art, this artist talk featuring Paseo’s April Artist in Residence, Jemila MacEwan discussing the artist's project Sun Seeds and their greater body of work.
Schedule of Events
Throughout April | Youth Kite-Making Workshops @Various Schools
MacEwan will visit classrooms across the county working with students in the creation of kites. STEAM Programming is planned around the workshops. FREE!
Learn more: www.paseoproject.org/youthprogramsApril 22nd, noon - 4pm | Invent Event @Enos Garcia Gymnasium
The community is welcome to join us at Twirl’s annual Invent Event, held at the Enos Garcia Gymnasium. The Paseo Project will be on site with a Silent Disco and Kite Making Station with Jemila MacEwan. All supplies are provided. FREE!
Learn more: www.twirltaos.org/invent-eventApril 27th, 5:30pm | Artist Talk @Harwood Museum of Art
Join us in the Arthur Bell Auditorium at the Harwood Museum of Art for this artist talk featuring Paseo’s April Artist in Residence, Jemila MacEwan. The artist will talk about their project Sun Seeds, and their greater body of work. FREE - donations suggested
Learn more: www./harwoodmuseum.orgApril 28th, 5-7pm | Kites & Flights @The Lounge by Rolling Still Distillery
Kite making isn’t just for kids! Join us for happy hour at the Lounge as we set up kite making stations. Meet Paseo’s Artist in Residence, Jemila MacEwan, and enjoy discounted flights and cocktails.
This is a 21+ event. FREE!
Learn More: www.rollingstill.comApril 29th, 11 - 2pm | ArtNM Day @Taos Art Museum
The community is welcome to the annual ArtNM Day by Creative New Mexico, hosted by the Taos Art Museum. Dozens of local art organizations will be on site sharing their creativity with the community. The Paseo Project will have a booth featuring a kite making station. FREE!
Learn More: www.creativenewmexico.orgApril 29th, 1 - 5pm | Community Kite Flying Day @Fred Baca Park
Come fly a kite with us! We’re celebrating the last weekend in April with Jemila MacEwan with a community kite flying day. This all ages event will feature the youth kites created over the four weeks, as well as kites from the entire community. Kite making stations will be set up. FREE!
Learn More: www.paseoproject.org/jemila-macewan-air22
The Artist in Residence Program is generously sponsored by the LOR Foundation & NM Arts.
Additional support is provided by Revolt Gallery, Harwood Museum of Art, The Lounge, Taos Inn, and Cindy Atkins.
The Paseo Project worked with local schools to bring the science of kites to the youth of Taos.
Classrooms across Taos County joined environmental interdisciplinary artist Jemila MacEwan in building, exploring and creating a joyous celebration of kites that intends to light up the natural landscape and experience a tangible physical relationship between nature and human impact. Over 200 students participated in the month of April at the following locations and events:
Participating Schools:
Taos Cyber Magnet
Roots & Wings
Taos Charter School
Aspen Song
Youth Events and Organizations:
Twirl Taos -Invent Event
Los Alamos Art Council - After School Program
NM Art Day
Embudo Library
The Los Alamos Arts Council After School Program
The Los Alamos Arts Council kicked off Kite Festival Season and welcomed The Paseo Project to bring Jemila to their afterschool program on April 19. The project was offered free for their after school students. Jemila conducted kite making workshops and a group kite flying experience!
Twirl Presents Invent Event at Enos Garcia Gym
The Paseo Project joined Twirl for their annual Invent Event. This free event invited the community’s youth to explore, play, and learn. Jemila was there with a kite-making booth, and outside we had a Silent Disco to move and groove to.
Kites & Flights
Kite making isn’t just for kids! The Lounge by Rolling Still Distillery hosted Jemila and The Paseo Project team for happy hour at the Lounge. We set up kite making stations and welcomed the 21+ set for discount cocktails and flights - and some kite making.
Community Kite Flying Day!
We rounded out the month with a community kite flying day on Saturday, April 29 at Fred Baca Park. It was a beautiful and windy day for the community to gather and fly a kite.
Jemila MacEwan
About the artist: Jemila MacEwan is known for their intimately interwoven earthworks, created through slow acts of physical endurance and meditation. MacEwan has performed and exhibited extensively internationally including at; ARoS Museum (Denmark), The Australian Consulate-General (NYC), Pioneer Works (NYC), The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (NYC), NYCXDESIGN (USA), Skaftfell Center for Visual Art (Iceland) and Castlemaine State Festival (Australia). In 2022 MacEwan was awarded the NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship in Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design, The BigCi Environmental Art Award and was invited by TEDxBoston to give a presentation as a Planetary Fellow. They have been invited to attend many residencies notably; Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (USA) BANFF Center (Canada), NARS Foundation (NYC), and Ox-Bow School of Painting (MI). Their work has been published in Art in America, Boston Globe, SFMoMA Open Space, MONDO Arc and Artist Profile Magazine. MacEwan has been generously supported by Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Australia Council for the Arts, The New York Foundation for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, The Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, The Ian Potter Cultural Council and is a recipient of The Marten Bequest Traveling Scholarship.
