Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) presents Bound by the High Desert: Contemporary Fiber Art, opening May 15, 2026, at El Zaguán. The exhibition features New Mexico-based artists who transform local materials and time-honored wisdom into modern forms. These artists employ enduring hand-craft traditions, ensuring that regional fiber arts remain a vibrant, living practice today.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The works in Bound by the High Desert represent a diversity of makers who utilize traditional techniques. While the artworks in this exhibition are contemporary, they serve as echoes of the past, drawing on heritage crafts born of utilitarian necessity. Today, these artists find new freedom to explore fiber as a medium for fine art, looking back at material and process while also looking forward.

By showcasing these tactile, handmade works against the 1854 handmade adobe walls of the El Zaguán compound, Historic Santa Fe Foundation celebrates the evolution of these traditions. This exhibition is a testament to how preservation and artistic creation work together to keep our shared cultural heritage alive.

Featured Artists:

• Nancy Kozikowski is a tapestry artist whose work explores the intersection of ancient and contemporary subconscious language. Born in Albuquerque, she utilizes painting and weaving for their universal, timeless nature to communicate patterns moving through space and time. A prominent figure in the global fiber art community, Kozikowski’s practice is defined by a pursuit of the "new" through the lens of the ancestral, stating: “I’m exploring new territory, but the new territory is ancient.”

• Pando Speer and Dain Daller are Abiquiu-based weavers who create unique textiles from hand-dyed natural fibers. Their work specializes in complex multi-harness pattern designs paired with traditional Ikat dye techniques. Since learning to weave at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center in 2013, they have remained deeply involved with the organization as both artists and advocates. Internationally recognized for their mastery, Speer and Daller represented the United States at the World Ikat Textile Symposiums in India (2016) and Thailand (2017). They currently live and work from their handmade Earthship home in Northern New Mexico. 

• Benita Ortega-Rael is a Northern New Mexico-based artistspecializing in Colcha Embroidery, a Spanish Colonial tradition dating back to the early 1700s. Mentored by master artists Connie Fernandez and Annette Gutierrez-Turk, Ortega-Rael is a vital figure in the contemporary revival of this regional art form. Her work is distinguished by its adherence to traditional materials; she weaves her own sabanilla (churro wool backing) and uses hand-spun, hand-dyed yarns to execute the historic stitch. Currently an artist-in-residence at Futuros Ancestral Studio, she mentors future generations to ensure the preservation of this heritage craft. Her award-winning work has been exhibited at the Hacienda de los Martinez and the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art.

• Andrea Dupree is a Northern New Mexico-based interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work transforms wool, plant fibers, and gathered materials into expressive fiber sculptures. Her work explores the relationships between ecology, care, and spiritual symbolism, and has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts along with various regional arts and environmental organizations. In late 2026, she will present Gathered and Felt—a large-scale felt, found object, and video installation—for the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary Window Box Project. A recipient of the 2026 New Mexico Creative Industries Business Expansion Grant, Dupree also operates Curious Bluebird LLC, where she integrates creative inquiry and ecological attention into art and social practice.

Contact: Anne Kelly at anne@historicsantafe.org or call 505.983.2567 for more information.

ABOUT THE ARTIST CONVERSATION

What does it mean to create in fiber art today? Gallery Director Anne Kelly moderates a conversation with exhibiting artists Andrea Dupree, Nancy Kozikowski, Pando Speer, and Dain Daller, exploring the tactile journeys and techniques featured in our current exhibition. This conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from the creators about the intersection of ancient heritage and modern vision.

Free and open to the public. Space is limited, so advance registration is required to guarantee seating.

SIGN UP FOR THE ARTIST CONVERSATION HERE

ABOUT THE FELTING WORKSHOP

Mindful Making: Creating Wet-Felted Vessels

Saturday, May 23rd, 2026, 1-4 pm

$125 (includes materials)

Join artist and educator Andrea Dupree for a hands-on wet felting workshop that blends fiber art techniques with mindfulness practices and creative exploration. Participants will learn to make wool vessels using water, natural soap and wool. Wet felting is an ancient fiber art technique that transforms loose fibers, such as wool, into a dense, durable, non-woven fabric.

The class begins with a short grounding practice to help participants attune to breath, body, and materials. Throughout the session, Andrea will guide you through the wet-felting process to create hollow vessels. We’ll explore the rich sensory elements of these materials and engage in a slow, thoughtful process that honors the meditative nature of felting.

No prior experience is needed and all materials are provided. Come ready to work with your hands and leave with a one-of-a-kind felted vessel and a deeper connection to fiber and form.

Advanced registration if required. Limited spaces are available. SIGN UP HERE