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ripple effect

ripple effect is a dedicated space for site-specific art installations, located on the campus of Santa Fe Community College. Part laboratory, part public venue, part teaching tool, the space hosts a range of local and regional artists. Launched in spring 2018 by Cary Cluett with the support of SFCC and Meow Wolf, ripple effect provides a desperately needed platform for creative exchange in a learning community suffering from a loss of funding and a dearth of young students.

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OPEN HOURS

6401 Richards Ave., Room 723D

Santa Fe, NM 87508

ripple effect primarily serves the SFCC community but is open to the public. Access hours are Monday - Friday 7am - 10pm, Saturday 8am - 8pm, and Sunday 12pm - 5pm. There is no admission fee. 

ABOUT THE SPACE

Built inside of an disused sculpture studio ripple effect is a 10.5’ x 8.5’ x 6.5’ room which features a hardwood floor set at a diagonal, wood-backed walls, and recessed track lighting. It also features a weight-bearing metal ceiling with acoustical treatment, speakers and ventilation. Outside the room are three small niches behind safety glass that face the hallway; each approximately 20” x 16” x 17”. A defining element is the lack of a door, which has been intentionally removed; thus, the space is open to all with the stipulation that nothing harmful or of inherent value can be placed inside. Another distinctive feature is the room’s curved corners that have been constructed with a 5” radius to remove visual space definition.

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Each installation runs on a 5-week cycle, allowing a few days for install and a few days for de-install on either side of a month-long exhibition. Each exhibition involves an opening reception, an artist talk, and the option to visit with SFCC students and faculty. Artists are scheduled through February 2019.

Proposals are now being accepting, prioritizing the work of installation and emerging artists.

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NOVEMBER 2022

Hills Snyder: Steam

ARTIST TALKS: Wednesday, November 9 at 11am and Saturday, November 12 at noon

OPENING RECEPTIONS: Wednesday, November 9 at noon and Saturday, November 12 from noon - 6pm *

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Visitors to this interactive work are invited to don headphones and recline blindfolded for 74 minutes within an audio environment derived from sounds gathered in Amsterdam. The recordings were made while walking through the city, scanning the streets for lost bicycle parts. Several dozen of the found parts were used to create wooden cut-outs mounted prints of sky and passing clouds. These objects populate ripple effect and its adjacent spaces, which will also feature the audio for those not currently in the chair. The experience invites vulnerability, trust, relaxation, and drift into an alternate terrain. 

 

This project was made possible by an Artpace Travel Grant and a residency at Banff Centre for The Arts. The project has appeared in several different versions in Amsterdam, Miami, San Antonio, and San Marcos, Texas.

* 74-minute appointments will be available Wednesday, November 9 through Saturday, November 12 from noon to 6pm as well as Wednesday, November 16 and 30 from noon to 6pm. 

NOVEMBER 2019

Hisa Ota: Awakening

OCTOBER 2019

Cary Cluett: Parthenogenesis

The first installation by ripple effect creator Cary Cluett explores the space as a receptacle for his latest bread crumbs in New Mexico. With a background in sculpture, he’s inspired by concept, content, and context. His approach to sculpture utilizes both environment and materials to engage the viewer. He says that “Materials have a nature that becomes part of the narrative; the materials need to support the concept.” Incorporating materials as diverse as zip-ties, forged steel, push pins and found objects his minimalist wall constructions playfully evoke linear poems through the use of light and shadow.

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As the title suggests, this installation plays with the idea of reproduction without fertilization, especially as it relates to a normal process in some invertebrates and lower plants, as this relates to the materials and their use.

SEPTEMBER 2019

Shirley Klinghoffer: Choice

Gently swaying twisted wire hangers cast sinister shadows…ghosts from the past…while a giant gavel with far-reaching roots, sits on a pedestal readied for viewers to show their rage against the face of injustice.


“It is with profound sadness that I have to revisit work which I did decades ago. But revisit I must! The subject of Choice is a very personal concern as I have experienced what happened to my friends who were blocked from legally choosing their own destiny before Roe v. Wade was passed by a US Supreme Court decision.” Says artist Shirley Klinghoffer.

SUMMER 2019

Jessica Bryce Holland: Estuary Reliquary