Ruben Olguin
Fort Myers, Florida
Ruben Olguin (right) with Paseo Project Youth 2023 Interns (left to right: Kalila, Luna, Sawyer, Carsyn - not pictured: Darien & Josefina)
“Viñetas de Aguas” | 2023 Paseo Project Artist in Residence
For the month of May, Ruben Olguin will be in Taos to present “Viñetas de Aguas” a community video projection project that that reveals the hidden histories of water.
The hidden histories of how water shaped Taos are not plainly visible to a casual observer. Throughout the indigenous and colonial settlements of the Taos valley water has been at the center of development. Viñetas de Aguas, is a project that reveals the hidden histories as video projection vignettes throughout the Downtown area. Incorporating local community members and expert historical input from local partners, small snippets of media will activate the historic district. Lighting up the night and displaying these histories telling the story of water and the people of Taos. Small videos may be hidden on a sidewalk break, a broken piece of stucco, or the wall of a building, unveiling historical images, maps, and the landscapes concealed by time.
Schedule of Events
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Meet Ruben and learn more about his work exploring our relationship with water. Ruben and our team of youth interns will be collecting stories about our community’s relationship with water. Stop by and say hi!
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The Paseo Project is pleased to feature 2023 Artist in Residence Ruben Olguin for this open discussion of his work while in Taos. For the month of May, Ruben Olguin will be in Taos to present “Viñetas de Aguas” a community video projection project that reveals the hidden histories of water through the stories of our community.
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Explore the concepts of “Vinetas de Aquas.” This free event for the kids, will be assisted by Paseo’s Education Director, Amber Vasquez. Explore water and earth through hands on activities. FREE. Contact Amber for more information: amber@paseoproject.org
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Join at the Taos Public Library for this special afternoon of art and research.
Ruben will be in the Special Collections room sharing his role as a researcher/artist and how he uses libraries in the creative process.
Ruben will be talking about the resources at the library and how to collect info and the historic documents available right here in our town - all for free.
With the help of our youth interns, Ruben will be asking the community how we are connected to the water, and through this listening, explore where water resides in our stories (hint - it’s everywhere!). Bring your stories about water or just hang out with us and discover the hidden stories of the water in our lives.
The community is encouraged to bring documents from their own archives. Ruben will have a document scanner and a laptop and share aspects of digital collections to be scanned and emailed back to you.
Join us for this fun afternoon in the library as Ruben meets and greets our community, hearing their stories and collecting perspecitves that would be research for the final pop up at the end of his residency.
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(Cancelled due to Rain ) Join Ruben for this community event. Find him set up to share more about the project Vinetas de Aquas, and share your story! Free.
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Join us for this wrap up experience! For three weeks Ruben’s been collecting stories and documents on how our community connects with water. For this final pop-up projection performance he will have nine projectors located downtown, exploring water, space, and storytelling. Save the date - More information coming soon!
Water, Community, & Stories
During Ruben’s residency he visited community events, like the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Pictured here with our 2023 Paseo Project Interns, they captured audio, drawings, and other descriptions of how our community relates to water. The results of these tabling events would then be used for the final projection experience at the end of the residency.
Artist Talk:
Paseo Project Artist in Residence, Ruben Olguin, shares his past work and current project while in Taos for three weeks. "Viñetas de Aguas" is a community video projection project that that reveals the hidden histories of water. Recorded at the Encore Gallery, TCA, Taos. May 22nd, 2023.
View the full presentation below.
Art Studio Youth Workshop
Ruben held a hands on workshop with our friends over at Twirl. Exploring aspects of earth and water, our community explored the hidden stories - and creativity - of participants of all ages. Learn more about the Twirl programs below.
Final Pop Up Projection Event
Viñetas de Aguas
The Artist in Residence Program is generously sponsored by the LOR Foundation.
Additional support is provided by Revolt Gallery and Kathy Sanders.
Artist Bio:
A New Mexico based artist working in ceramics, adobe, sound, video, and electronic media. His work draws from his mixed Indigenous American and Spanish (mestizo) heritage. He incorporates traditional hand processes of earthen materials with modern elements. “My practice focuses on spending as much time in the desert as in the computer lab”. He has exhibited internationally in the U.S., Spain and Germany. A Graduate with an MFA from The University of New Mexico Department of Fine Arts in Electronic Arts, and holds a B.A. in Media Art from The University of New Mexico. His goals are to make and teach new media art along with socially engaged art practices. He is currently Professor of Digital Arts at Florida SouthWestern State College.