Landlines: San Luis Valley: Journey Into the American West

As the largest alpine valley in the world, the San Luis Valley is a land of sand dunes, wetlands, andfarmland-nearly all of it above 8,000 feet in elevation. It is characterized by an unparalleled rangeof physical geography, social, cultural, and economic diversity, and extraordinary environmentalphenomena-all within a footprint of roughly 150 by 75 miles. Only sparsely covered by historiansand geoscientists, the San Luis Valley has been home to mixed Hispanic ancestral villages, Spanishand Anglo settlements, Indigenous territories, and Catholic, Mormon, Amish, Hindu, and Buddhistcommunities. Today, the vast majority of land is owned by state or federal agencies or is usedfor agricultural production. Dominated by the presence of the Rio Grande, one of the main riversin the American Southwest, the San Luis Valley is the headwaters of many lifeways that flow andbranch out across the region. This publication summarizes M12 studio's Landlines Initiative, amulti-year engagement with Colorado's rural San Luis Valley, which took place from 2018 to 2022.M12 is a collaborative studio known for art projects that explore public space, rural cultures, andlandscapes. Richard Saxton is an artist and University of Colorado professor whose work focusesprimarily on rural knowledge and landscape. He is the Founder and Creative Director of M12 Studio.Margo Handwerker is a practitioner with M12 Studio and serves as Chief Curator and Director ofthe Texas State Galleries at Texas State University. Trent Segura is a practitioner with M12 Studioand independent graphic designer.