The BEST Mural Project: Indigenizing Public Art at NMSU is a faculty/students/artists driven relational project that will lead a collaborative process of re-representation of indigenous peoples and their culture on campus. This project aims to transform the campus aesthetics to truly reflect NMSU’s sincere respect to Indigenous Peoples’ lands it is on and pay them back for all the losses they endured since the start of settler colonialism here. It also aims to reflect Native American and local indigenous tribes’ students who are longing to see themselves on campus in beautiful and truthful ways rather than be depicted as slaves, disappeared and violent. We are also aiming to demonstrate how relational art may impact the success of students and faculty, especially Native American and people of color.
This project is co-created by Tiwa-Piro-Manso artists, students and BEST faculty. It is one of BEST’s endeavors to indigenize and decolonize curriculum through public art on campus.
The “pilot” of this project is An Ode to the Language of the Land. It is a mural drawn on the walls of the BEST Department at the historical building of Fabian Garcia Memorial Hall (Center). It is conceptualized and led by Piro-Manso-Tiwa artist/historian, and NMSU alumni, Diego Medina. This first mural will serve as inspiration for other constituents around campus to work with us and co-create other murals in their own spaces.
