The Maxwell Museum opened the Ortiz Center Gathering Space on Friday, which intends to make anthropology more accessible to UNM students and community members.
"In public anthropology, we take anthropology out of the academy and into the community," said Elena Ortiz, daughter of the late Alfonso Ortiz, for whom the center is named.
Phillip Gonzales Sr., Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, said cultures can meet at the Ortiz Center Gathering Space. Gonzales was standing in for James Dixon, director of the Maxwell Museum.
"The opening of the Ortiz Center is a cornerstone of cooperation, collaboration and partnership between the multicultural communities and the University of New Mexico," Gonzales said. "It is a passport-to-people family program. This free program offers families opportunities to explore museum exhibits and participate in hands-on learning activities. Families learn directly from community members, who help them interpret the exhibits and events and demonstrations."
Ortiz said the center was inspired by her father and has been in the works for two years.
"It was a way to honor my father's intention to open up anthropology to the greater community instead of isolating it," Ortiz said.
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She said anthropologists should learn from communities and teach present and future generations about lesser-known cultures.
"Now is the time for anthropology to stop observing," Ortiz said. "The beauty and challenge of the public anthropology are to be able to step back from the confines of academia and simply learn from those around us."
She said the center will emphasize local cultures, beginning with the inaugural exhibit, "Elements of the Earth: Potters from Ohkay Owingeh Past and Present," which features artifacts from New Mexican pueblos.
"The treasures we have in the Southwest alone are immeasurable - our stories, our oral traditions, our elders, everything that has been passed down from generation to generation," Ortiz said.
She said the center will be useful in broadening the horizons of future generations and aiding indigenous and local communities.
"All over the world, there are communities that need assistance to protect their culture and preserve oral tradition and preserve native languages," Ortiz said. "I think the Ortiz Center is the first of its kind designated to create that kind of a dialogue between academia and communities."
Kathryn Klein, ethnology curator for the Maxwell Museum, said the exhibit at the Ortiz Center will change every year, incorporating many cultures and communities.
"Every time we do the exhibit, we'll have somebody represented from their own community do the phonetics on that exhibit," she said.
Clarence Cruz, guest curator and member of Ohkay Owingeh, said the Ortiz Center is a good way for communities and cultures to be shared.
"My hopes are that with my reviving certain aspects of the pottery from the past and bringing them to present that some of our (future) generations will be able to pick it up and keep the history alive," Cruz said.
The pottery displayed at the museum, Cruz said, has been collected from across the state. Some pieces are Maxwell's own artifacts and others have been borrowed from the Santa Fe Museum of Anthropology Research. Cruz said four of his own pieces are featured at the exhibit.
Klein said the exhibit will have a public opening on Oct. 11, with a pottery demonstration from Cruz and hands-on activities.
