On September 10, UNM Rainforest Innovations hosted its third installment of Creative People, Creative Place – Creative Technologies on the Mother Road seminar series, which featured museums in Albuquerque on and around NM Route 66.
In honor of the Route 66 Centennial, the seminar series aims to build connections and bridges across New Mexico’s creative ecosystem, engaging technologists and artists whose collaborative work drives entrepreneurial and economic development for the state.
The September panel featured Leba Freed, President of the WHEELS Museum, Inc.; Alicia Romero, Head Curator at the Albuquerque Museum; and Sheldon Hamilton, Director X Studio at the Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Larry Sklar, a distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Pathology at the UNM School of Medicine and Co-Lead of the Cancer Therapeutics Research Program.
Here are some key highlights from the panelists and topics they discussed:
Leba Freed | President, WHEELS Museum, Inc.
- Leba Freed has worked for over 30 years on the historic Albuquerque Rail Yards project, collaborating with elected officials, volunteers, corporations, schools, film and many others to help create the WHEELS Museum and other projects at the iconic site.
- Freed was born in Albuquerque and graduated from the University of New Mexico and has remained deeply connected to the community and its history.
- The WHEELS Museum is home to over 10,000 rare exhibit items of historical importance and has served over 300,000 people from around the world.
- For Freed, innovation means remaining open to new possibilities. She emphasized the importance of “never saying no,” which has led to new partnership, ideas and opportunities for the museum.
Alicia Romero | Head Curator, Albuquerque Museum
- Alicia Romero was born and raised in Albuquerque and graduated with a BA in History and Art History and an MA in History from The University of New Mexico. She later earned her PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz, completing her dissertation on Albuquerque’s Barelas community.
- She has curated more than 18 exhibitions focused on Albuquerque and New Mexico history. She is currently celebrating the opening of The Other Route 66: 100 Years of People, Identity, and Place in Albuquerque, an exhibition exploring the people, communities and stories that have shaped the city along the historic highway.
- Romero also discussed the ways museums incorporate technology into their work. At the Albuquerque Museum, technology plays an important in many areas from photography restoration to the software used to manage archival collections.
Sheldon Hamilton | Director X Studio, Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum
- Sheldon Hamilton is the Director of X Studio, Explora’s teen workforce development center, where he has worked in the informal education and museum fields for seven years.
- Hamilton describes X Studio as an “ecosystem for experimentation,” particularly for young people. By encouraging students to explore different approaches to solving problems, the studio helps them understand that there are multiple ways to solve problems while giving them a glimpse into potential futures in STEAM fields.
- During the panel, Hamilton displayed and described some of the student-led projects from the studio, which utilized 3D modeling and printing, zine-making via Risograph machine, and other creative technologies.
The next seminar in the Creative People, Creative Places – Creative Technologies on the Mother Road series which will take place on October 15. Register and learn more here: https://innovations.unm.edu/event/creative-people-creative-places-creative-technologies-on-the-mother-road-october/
