Race, History & Healing Project

The Race, History & Healing Project was launched in response to community concerns about the Oñate statue and La Jornada public art installation on the grounds of the Albuquerque Museum.

The Oñate statue, one figure in La Jornada installation memorializing the late 1500s and early 1600s in New Mexico, was temporarily removed from view in June with the consent of the artist and in the interest of public safety. The Race, History & Healing Project invites public participation and input that result in community-led recommendations for the future of the Oñate statue and La Jornada public art installation.

A section of the La Jornada sculpture featuring bronze statues of a woman and child in front of various livestock

The City remains committed to the important work of equity and inclusion in partnership with the community.

Community members discussing and working together can find thoughtful solutions for difficult and complex issues. The Race, History & Healing Project supports community-centered dialogue and input to inform community-led recommendations for the Oñate statue and La Jornada public art installation to City of Albuquerque staff, boards, and City Council.

We want to have as many people as possible engage in this process. We invite you to participate by attending a series of online group conversations, completing the survey linked below, viewing informational videos, and reading public documents about the statue and La Jornada.

View the Race, History & Healing Project community process report.

View the supporting documents.

View a preliminary summary of the public input.

View the Race, History & Healing Project update. A more extensive summary will be available to the public after the community process is complete.

A recording of the October 31 special Arts Board meeting can be viewed here. Please note: due to a technical outage approximately 10 minutes of the meeting were lost between 12:30 and 12:40 p.m. There was no vote taken during this outage.

Participate in Community Dialogue Sessions

As these are challenging conversations, we request that community members commit to participating in three sessions, each of which builds upon the previous session.

Sessions include: 1) Looking inward, 2) Building relationship, and 3) Community.

Participants are asked to follow these guideposts.

Be a Convener

If you would like to volunteer to host a community session with one of our facilitators, please email your name and contact information to [email protected]. We will provide all of the logistical support, just reach out to your network and bring 8-10 people together.

Complete the Community Input Survey

Share your opinion about the Oñate statue and La Jornada with the City of Albuquerque today.

Take the Survey

Check out our updates about the Race, History & Healing Project via email.

We are committed to sharing updates directly with you! Email [email protected] to sign up for future updates.

Watch videos about public art, monuments, the Oñate statue and La Jornada.

What is a monument?

How is public art selected?

Search public records related to the Oñate statue and La Jornada installation.

The Oñate statue and La Jornada installation are public art created as part of the City of Albuquerque’s Cuarto Centenario Project celebrating the 400^th anniversary of the founding of New Mexico. There are over 1,000 pages of documents spanning more than 10 years related to La Jornada and the Cuarto Centenario Project. The Project files include artist contracts, minutes from City meetings, news articles, letters and correspondences, and planning documents.

View the Cuarto Centenario Project files here.