Gallery Talk: Marisa Cruz Branco on Teresa Montoya's Tó Łisto /Yellow Water

explores the enduring consequences of the Gold King Mine spill through photography, sound recordings, water samples, and cartographic data. This gallery talk by Marisa Cruz Branco, Terra Curatorial Fellow, will consider the exhibition in the context of the history of extraction and contamination in Navajo Nation.

Participation level – medium, participants are encouraged to share thoughts and questions during the tour.

Programs are open to all, on a first-come first-served basis. RSVPs are not required, but are appreciated.

About the Speaker

Marisa Cruz Branco (she/her, Isleta Pueblo/Portuguese) is the Terra Foundation Curatorial Fellow at the Block Museum. Her curatorial practice is guided by subjectivity, empathy, and curiosity. Marisa has a BA in Art History from Pitzer College, where she focused on surrealism and post-humanist philosophy. While at Pitzer, she received a Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and spent a year working under the curator of South and Southeast Asian Art. Since moving to Chicago, Marisa has continued to work in the arts, engaging with Indigenous artists and learning from the city’s Native community. In her free time, she likes to draw comics, read, write, and cook.

Image credit: Teresa Montoya (Diné, born 1984), Tó Łisto #22 (Yellow Water #22), from the series Tó Łisto (Yellow Water), 2016, printed 2024. Photograph, 16 × 24 in. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Block Board of Advisors Endowment Fund purchase.

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