First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare – New Mexico

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare was a touring exhibition from the Folger Shakespeare Library that visited one location in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC in 2016 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

This article provides highlights from the exhibition’s visit to New Mexico.

Exhibition Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Exhibition Venue: New Mexico Museum of Art

Exhibition Dates: February 5, 2016 – February 28, 2016

Partner Organizations:

New Mexico History Museum
International Shakespeare Center
The Lensic Performing Arts Center
Santa Fe Shakespeare Society
Rio Rancho Public Libraries
New Mexico State Library
The Institute of American Indian Arts
The Upstart Crows of Santa Fe
Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library
St. john’s College
Santa Fe Shakespeare Close Readers
Santa Fe Community Orchestra
Renesan Institute for Lifelong Learning
Santa Fe Performing Arts
The Shakespeare Guild

Complementary Exhibitions:

Stage, Setting, Mood: Theatricality in the Visual Arts, February 5 - May 1, 2016

Stage, Setting, Mood: Theatricality in the Visual Arts examines the formal means artists employ to impart a sense of drama and setting in their compositions. In the performing arts, “stage, setting and mood” refer to the evocative and emotional experiences that can be created in the physical space of the theater with the use of backdrops, props, lighting, sound, and the work of the performers. In the visual arts, artists employ theatrical pictorial means to appeal to the senses. Colors, bold forms, and compelling subjects can be called on to elicit an emotional connection between viewer and artwork. In this exhibition, artworks that feature high drama, theatrical presentation, and narrative storytelling, demonstrate the connection between sensation and spectacle. The exhibition comprises close to 50 artworks dating from the late 18th century to the present.

The Book’s the Thing: Shakespeare from Stage to Page, February 5 – March 26, 2016

The Palace Press presents a special exhibition in collaboration with the New Mexico Museum of Art’s First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare. The Book’s the Thing: Shakespeare from Stage to Page offers a multi-part exhibit with a hands-on twist: The printers make facsimiles of a First Folio page using a replica “Gutenberg” wooden hand press. (Lucky visitors can make their own prints for a take-home treat.) In addition, members of the Santa Fe Book Arts Group have crafted contemporary art books inspired by the works of Shakespeare. And Palace Press Director Thomas Leech and internationally known calligrapher Patricia Musick collaborated on broadsides from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

Event List:

January 23, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Text Demystified: A First Folio Workshop for Educators
January 27, 2016 – What is the First Folio and Why Should we Care?
January 31, 2016 – Ever the Twain: Shakespeare in Mark Twain’s America
February 1, 2016 – Let’s Read Shakespeare! King Lear
February 1, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
February 4, 2016 – "To Be or Not To Be" and a Visit to Shakespeare’s First Folio
February 4, 2016 – What Shakespeare Got Wrong
February 5, 2016 – Public Opening
February 5, 2016 – Natalie Elliot: Shakespeare’s Poetics of Science
February 6, 2016 – Double Feature Film Screening of Still Dreaming and Shakespeare Behind Bars
February 6, 2016 – Música Antigua de Albuquerque performing Elizabethan Music
February 8, 2016 – Let’s Read Shakespeare! King Lear
February 8, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
February 9, 2016 – How Women Took Shakespeare Across America
February 10, 2016 – The Mysteries of the Shakespeare First Folio
February 12, 2016 – Shakespeare in Concert with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra
February 13, 2016 – Comic Book Shakespeare: High School & Family Discovery Workshop
February 13, 2016 – Performance from Unshakable by the Santa Fe Opera
February 13, 2016 – Michael Gelb presents Discover Your Shakespearean Genius
February 14, 2016 – Family Fun Day
February 15, 2016 – Let’s Read Shakespeare! Winter’s Tale
February 15, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
February 16, 2016 – London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art workshop: Reception and Romeo and Juliet
February 17, 2016 – The Santa Fe Shakespeare Society presents Shakespeare’s Whirled!
February 17, 2016 – Lecture, Shakespeare in Duke City by Professor Marissa Greenberg
February 17, 2016 – Ducdame Ensemble Presents Dame of Thrones
February 18, 2016 – London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art workshop: The Sonnets
February 19, 2016 – Brown Bag Discussion: 1623 in Print in New Mexico with State Historian
February 19, 2016 – Santa Fe Performing Arts presents Shakes Hands with Shakespeare
February 19, 2016 – London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art workshop: First Folio
February 19, 2016 – Lecture, Collecting Shakespeare: The Story of Henry and Emily Folger by Stephen Grant
February 20, 2016 – Santa Fe Performing Arts presents Shake Hands with Shakespeare
February 20, 2016 – Panel: Shakespeare in New Mexico and the West with Associate Professor Heather James, Associate Professor Marissa Greenberg, and Professor Bruce Smith
February 20, 2016 – Cocktails with Stephen Grant
February 20, 2016 – Performance of Hamlet by St. John’s College
February 20, 2016 – The Santa Fe Shakespeare Society hosts Acting Shakespeare 2.0: Performing Shakespeare in the Digital age!
February 21, 2016 – Speak the Speech: Directors’ Cuts
February 21, 2016 – Community Seminar: The Experimental Hamlet
February 21, 2016 – Family Fun Day
February 21, 2016 – Performance of Hamlet by St. John’s College
February 22, 2016 – Why Read Shakespeare?
February 23, 2016 – Community-in-Residence, Shakespeare-style
February 23, 2016 – Songs from the First Folio: Shakespeare Songs Live in Context
February 25, 2016 – National Theatre Live in HD: As You Like It
February 26, 2016 – Lecture, Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet by Professor Joshua Calhoun
February 27, 2016 – Geoff Hoyle: Lear’s Shadow
February 27, 2016 - So long lives this…Shakespeare Sonnets Live on Stage
February 28, 2016 – “Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow” Closing Event

Click here to learn about the First Folio that visited New Mexico.