2025 annual production funding at risk!

2025’s planned production Entrapping Our Abundance addresses the urgent environmental crises that shape life in New Mexico today—massive wildfires, historic droughts, and the reckless extraction of natural resources, which continue to disproportionately affect rural, low-income, and Indigenous communities. Through circus, we plan to explore these complex issues using movement and creative expression—creating a transformative experience that not only raises awareness but also directly supports artists living and working within this state who are being impacted by our changing climate.

This production aligns with the NEA’s mission by addressing disaster recovery and environmental justice in the Southwest while also contributing to public well-being. As part of Wise Fool’s trauma-responsive model of arts programming, the show will offer joy, catharsis, and cultural reflection—crucial for communities coping with ecological and socioeconomic trauma. Wise Fool’s Social Circus methodology has been celebrated as a wellness intervention, helping people process grief, anxiety, and loss through communal creative experiences.

Additionally, Entrapping Our Abundance builds on our legacy of collaborative performance with Indigenous leaders. Following our 2023 production, ReUnite: Enter the Mycroverse, directed by Dr. Christina M. Castro (Taos & Jemez Pueblo), this piece will use storytelling rooted in Native knowledge and cultural metaphors to emphasize sovereignty, sustainability, and cultural reconciliation. We aim to amplify Indigenous perspectives by partnering with local Native-led organizations such as Pueblo Action Alliance and Three Sisters Collective.