Silver City Museum Wilderness Exhibit: Gila Wild
Silver City Museum
312 W. Broadway, Silver City
Dodge Gallery
Exhibit dates: May-December 2014
Museum hours:
Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 – 4:30
Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 – 4:00
Closed Mondays
The Gila became one of the original areas included in the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964 with the passage of the Wilderness Act, signed into law on September 3, 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This historic bill established the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and set aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wildlands for the use and benefit of the American people. Over the past 50 years, and as a result of America’s support for wilderness, Congress has added over 100 million acres to this unique land preservation system.
Visitors to the Gila Wild exhibit can explore the passage of these events, the land, the people, places and things that have ventured in and out of our neighboring wilderness areas. The exhibit features engaging hands-on discovery stations with activities for children and adults, including Leave No Trace principles.
Wilderness
Photographs by Michael P. Berman, Anthony Howell & James Hemphill
Silver City Museum, 312 W. Broadway
Tu–Fri 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Sat–Sun 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., closed Mondays
Exquisite photographs from nationally renowned artists complement “Gila Wild.” Each photographer has a unique focus on the sublime nature of wilderness. Meet and speak with Michael Berman, Saturday Sept. 20, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Silver City Art Association Gila River Art Tour
Thursday thru Sunday (September 18-21)
10:00am-4:00pm Thursday thru Saturday, 11:00-3:00pm Sunday
The following galleries on the tour will feature works inspired by the Gila River. For more information on participating galleries, visit www.silvercitygalleries.com
Anthony Howell Photography: 200 W. Market St. Large-print photography of the Gila by Anthony Howell.
Four Directions Weaving: 106 W. Yankie St. Weaving by Donna Foley using natural fibers and dyes.
Leyba & Ingalls Arts: 315 N. Bullard St. Art by Diana Ingalls Leyba, Paul Hotvedt, Patrick Rogers, Phillip Parotti, and more.
Lois Duffy Studio: 211C N. Texas St.Features art & photography of Gila Wilderness and the Gila River by Lois Duffy and Ann McMahon. www.AnnMcMahon.com
Molly Ramolla Arts: 201 N. Bullard St. Art of the Gila and Southwest New Mexico by Molly Ramolla.
Silver Spirit Gallery: 215 W. Broadway Features Luanne Brooten’s “Upper Loop 2014 Project”–photography and paintings of the Gila
Wynnegate Gallery & Studio: 110 W. Yankie St. Jane Grant & Roy Adams feature art of the Gila River & mountain wilderness
San Vicente Artists’ Gila River and New Mexico Landscape Juried Art Show: September 19-21. The Artists’ Lair Gallery, Old Elks Building at Texas and Market Streets. Opening Friday, 5:00-7:00 pm. Prizes awarded & refreshments. Saturday 11:00 am-5:00 pm, art yard sale in the patio. Sunday, 11:00 am-4:00 pm.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Sidewalk Photography Exhibit in Bullard St. storefronts
Downtown Silver City
Ongoing throughout the festival
Along the Upper Gila River, New Mexico’s last free-flowing river, it’s common to encounter enchanting scenes of thick streamside willows and cottonwoods, native fish darting about, animals stopping by for a cool drink, and families playing in the water.
But this refreshing ribbon of green fades to brown as water is removed from the Gila. In Arizona, the river is trapped behind concrete dams, and forced into pipes and canals. The streambed features not water, but sand, invasive tamarisks and discarded rubbish. No one visits the Gila River here; it’s uninviting, ugly, desolate.
The Upper Gila River is threatened by a major water development project under the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA) that would cause it irreparable harm. It is difficult to imagine how the wild Gila here in New Mexico could be reduced to an industrialized zone with diversions, canals, access roads, reservoirs and fences, like it is downstream in Arizona.
To view the Gila River in its glory and its squalor and the infrastructure proposed for the Gila under the AWSA, visit Bullard St. storefronts in downtown Silver City, courtesy of Southwest New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce.