The Place Where Clouds Are Formed artist panel

Join us for a panel discussion about The Place Where Clouds Are Formed, a collaborative project initiated in 2018 that explores the intersection of spirituality, migration, and historical policies affecting the Sonoran Desert borderlands. Moderated by poet Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O’odham), panelists include artists Amber Lee Ortega (Hia Ced O’odham and Tohono O’odham), Su:k Chu:vak Fulwilder (Onk Akimel O'odham, Xalchidom Piipaash, Tlingit, Aleut, and Pomo), Monica Martínez, Gareth Smit, and Martín Zícari.

The fifth iteration of The Place Where Clouds Are Formed opens on April 6, 2024 as a single exhibition across two venues: the University of Arizona Poetry Center and the Center for Creative Photography’s Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery. It features photography created in partnership with traditional O’odham leaders and communities in Sonora, Mexico, and Southern Arizona, alongside poems in O’odham and English translated into Spanish.

Artist panel

10:00-11:30 a.m.

CCP Auditorium

Register today

Bios

Dr. Ofelia Zepeda is an O'odham poet and Regent's Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona, where she is also the director of the American Indian Language Development Institute. She is a founding collaborator of The Place Where Clouds are Formed.

Gareth Smit is a photographer and cinematographer based in New York City. Originally from South Africa, he is interested in collaborative approaches to documentary storytelling. He is a founding collaborator of The Place Where Clouds are Formed. 

Martín Zícari, Ph.D. is a writer, poet, and performance arts producer based in Brussels, Belgium. Originally from Argentina, his research deals with aesthetic representations of enforced disappearances in Mexico. He is a founding collaborator of The Place Where Clouds are Formed. 

Amber Lee Ortega is a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation and descendant of Hia-Ced O'odham. A spoken word poet and photographer, her work reflects efforts to reconnect with the lands sacred to Hia-Ced O'odham.

Su:k Chu:vak Fulwilder is Akimel O’odham, Xalchidom Piipaash, Tlingit, Aleut and Pomo from the Salt River Community. A poet, photographer and musician, she approaches art as a means of survival and visibility. 

Monica Martínez is a visual artist who uses photography, video, design, and installation to create conceptually based work focused on the hyper-normalization of violence in Northern Mexican society. Raised in the US-Mexico border area, she is also a photography educator.