“In these uncertain times…” The La Quinta Museum has invited local artists to explore the questions we’ve all been grappling with: anxiety and peace, scarcity and abundance, solitude and connection, bleakness and beauty, confusion and clarity.
Each of us is experiencing these uncertain times in a different way, and through this exhibition, we can connect with the insights of others, delve into their expression, and weave a network of experiences that add to our own.
Coachella Magazine interview with Marian Moctezuma, Museum Associate at La Quinta Museum
Hi Mariana, tell us a bit about your background and duties at the La Quinta Museum.
Hi! (: I am Mariana Moctezuma (she/her/hers) a museum professional who is lucky to call both the Coachella Valley and Mexico City her home. After graduating I worked in the Museo Franz Mayer and the Museo del Objeto del Objeto MODO in Mexico City, and in 2018 I started my job at the La Quinta Museum.
La Quinta Museum is a free admission community-focused museum which mission is to preserve the past, enrich the present and enhance the future for all generations. Since we are a small museum, Museum Director Sharla Fox and staff members Kim Richards, Ann Wolfe and myself work together on planning, creating and installing our temporary and permanent exhibits as well as running the programs we offer to the public. I would say my favorite part of the job is designing and installing exhibits and also managing our social media platforms.
Many businesses were forced to close due to the covid-19. What impact did the pandemic have on the museum in 2020? What obstacles has it overcome?
The museum has been closed to the public since March, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At first It was challenging to adapt to new modalities because the museum used to be a space to meet for social interaction before pandemic times; nonetheless, we were able to learn and create a virtual space where we could still connect with our community through virtual programing. We are currently working on planning new exhibits and how visits will work once we are able to re-open, but definitely keeping our virtual-programing game strong.
How did “Uncertain Times: creativity amidst pandemic and protest” come together – from planning to going live on YouTube? How were you involved?
Before the Covid-19 pandemic we were exhibiting Salton Sea Stories and planning the exhibit that we would have called “Desert Views, 2020.” We had this vision of putting together an exhibit where a diverse group of community members of the Coachella Valley would participate with their story and thoughts about our valley, accompanied with a series of photographs. We didn’t know what was coming… We stopped all our planning during the lockdown. However, this idea helped us come up and create the Uncertain Times exhibit.
This exhibit is an insightful exploration of the questions we’ve been grappling around during this extraordinary year that has been 2020, going through a pandemic and social injustices, really uncertain times. When we went back to work after the quarantine we invited local artists to share their art and insights under the theme “Something I Realized” to be displayed in the museum, but the opening dates were and still are as uncertain as ever so we decided to share their artwork online. We were excited to see such a good response from artists and from poets! (37 artists and 14 poets) The exhibit profiles each of them and their piece in a short video in our YouTube channel and the exhibit website: uncertaintimeslqmuseum.art
For the exhibit I focused mainly on curating the art videos and creating the website where our exhibit can live and probably be more impactful as it reaches people in other countries too. Now I just make sure everyone is featured on our social media platforms. I’m not sure I can say for sure how many hours have gone into this project because it’s still going as we speak, but we have been working on it since June when we went back to work.
What was the response to the call for artists?
We always have a great response from our local artists whenever we put art exhibits/ projects together and this case was not the exception! I was very excited and honestly moved by everyone’s pieces, words and reflections about these uncertain times. I feel very grateful for that. This exhibit is possible because of them.
You submitted a piece titled “Love In The time of Covid.” Tell us about the artwork and the meaning.
Art has always been my passion and it helped my sanity during these times. The title it’s a take on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel Love in the Time of Cholera which basically is about love as an emotional and physical plague. Different types of emotions filled me during the quarantine. Self-portraits and family portraits led me to a deep journey of self-reflect that changed my perspective on life in a positive way. This time of Covid has taught me a lot more about love and how to value relationships, life and also death.
In lieu of an in-person show, La Quinta Museum also launched an outdoors exhibit in December. Tell us about that.
When we put our call for artists, we were looking forward to showing the artwork and poetry on the walls of the La Quinta Museum, but then, of course 2020 has had different plans. So, if we can’t show the art IN the museum we thought to feature it ON the museum! We’re calling it Uncertain Times: Illumination, and we’ll be projecting the artwork, large scale and lit up, onto the front of the museum. We are projecting every Saturday of the month of December for people who may want to drive by or walk by the museum from 5pm to 9pm. Follow the social distance guidelines. Plan to wear a facemask.
What do you hope the public comes away with from the online and illumination experience?
We hope our community can still enjoy their museum even if it’s not open to the public, yet. We want to show our museum’s still alive!
WEB: https://uncertaintimeslqmuseum.art/
