BeyondTaos post – September 17, 2016
The PASEO 2016 will fill the streets of Taos Historic District on Friday and Saturday evenings, September 23 and 24, from 5:00 to 10:00pm. “Be prepared so you can make the most of the few short hours you have to see 21 temporary, participatory and 100%-free artworks,” advise PASEO co-directors, artist-educator Agnes Chavez and artist-architect, Matt Thomas. Here is their advice for navigating The PASEO 2016.
“When you arrive in Taos, start at one of the convenient PASEO Info Centers to pick up a map and PASEO Festival Program Guide. Or download the map and guide in advance from paseoproject.org. Then, set your mind to full-acceptance mode so you can experience all things new, different and unexpected – and keep your eyes open for the big orange PASEO X’s that mark each art installation.”
Become one with the art. Virtually all the PASEO art is participatory in some way. Your movement will light up a nontraditional Navajo sand painting wired with LED lights. Feel free to protest, confess, pontificate then watch your words become part of the art – blasted onto short-wave FM radios or projected on to adobe walls. Other installations will recolor, resize and respond based on audience interactions.
Let your smartphone be your partner in The PASEO experience. Several installations use online integration and PASEO partner, LiveTaos.com, has developed a GPS-enabled map to all the installations. Don’t forget to take pictures and post to Instagram: #paseotaos2016 and #newmexicotrue.
Wear your running shoes and bring your water bottle so you can sprint along with the moving art. Four roaming artworks will dance, cycle, or bring light and sound to hidden corners of the town.
Bring the kids, become a kid again doing special activities at Twirl Discovery Space and at a STEAM-inspired makers space set up outside The Toolbox on Civic Plaza drive. Twelve of the 21 installations will include youth from Taos schools so your kids will see Taos kids participating in the art process.
Soak in silence. On the Plaza, dancers in high tech headphones will move to the rhythms of three DJs. Their colored LEDs tell which channel they are grooving to, though the audience hears nothing. A surreal experience for the audience, all of whom are welcome to try on the headphones and enter the dance floor.
Meet the artists. Every PASEO invited and juried artist will be in Taos for the festival. This year, Daytime@ThePaseo gatherings on Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 to 5:00pm, will allow the audience to meet the artists and hear them talk about their work. Three workshops will let the audience try doing it themselves.
About The PASEO
In its third year, The PASEO 2016 is held in conjunction with the 42-year-old Taos Fall Arts Festival (September 23 through October 2), a Taos tradition that exhibits works by over 160 painters, sculptors and photographers in two major exhibitions. The two art events combine with numerous gallery openings, a film festival, and an arts and crafts fair to make September an exceptionally creative time to visit Taos. The PASEO is a New Mexico True event, sponsored in part by the Town of Taos, Taos County Lodgers Tax Funds, and many individual businesses and donors. More information is available at paseoproject.org
