Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros Convening

Harwood Museum of Art is honored to host a convening of artists, practitioners, knowledge holders, and enthusiasts to explore the creative and architectural possibilities of adobe. The Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros Convening coincides with the publication of a beautiful new book by Radius Books.

Check back in late summer 2026 for a complete schedule. Ticket purchase includes Harwood Museum Admission for three days, a welcome reception and one lunch, plus access to all talks and workshops. Additional dinners and events will be available for purchase.

Keynote Speakers

Ronald Rael is a designer, activist, author, and the Eva Li Memorial Chair in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Art Practice and holds a joint appointment in Architecture. His work connects Indigenous and traditional material practices with contemporary technologies, focusing on additive manufacturing, borderland studies, and earthen architecture. Rael is co-founder of the creative practice Rael San Fratello (with architect Virginia San Fratello), awarded the Beazley Design of the Year by the London Design Museum in 2021, and recognized as an Emerging Voice by the American League of New York. He also directs the printFARM Laboratory (print Facility for Architecture, Research, and Materials) and co-founded Emerging Objects, an experimental 3D printing MAKE-tank. Rael is the author of Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.–Mexico Boundary and Earth Architecture, both widely influential texts that challenge dominant narratives of land, infrastructure, and material. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, SFMOMA, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the London Design Museum.

Athena Steen grew up in a family of Native American potters, sculptors, and artists, shaping her lifelong relationship with clay and earth. She approaches building as a sculptural practice that connects beauty, function, and the living qualities of natural materials. In the early 1980s, she built her first off-grid passive solar straw bale home, helping pioneer contemporary natural building. As co-director of The Canelo Project, she has spent over 30 years teaching hands-on workshops in earth and straw construction, emphasizing accessible methods rooted in place, tradition, and community.

Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros is made possible by the generous support of Henry Luce Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Betty T.  Foster Endowment Fund, VIA Art Fund, Taos County Lodger’s Tax, The Sherman and Joyce Scott Family Foundation, 203 Fine Art, Sheree Livney + Steve Hanks, Richard B. Siegel Foundation, Marcy Rumsfeld + Santiago Vaca, Janara Bornstein, Main Street Cultural Event Fund, Janet Holmberg + Shawn Berman, Dora + Carl Dillistone, Judith Cuddihy, Happy Price, Romy + Carl Colonius. 

In Kind Donations: CU Boulder Computer Science Department, Enchanted Outpost, Goat Tree Orchard, Mary Domito, Chuby Construction, Juniper Leherissey, Linda + Bob Warning, Janet Holmberg + Shawn Berman, Stephanie + Scott Salmon, Vanessa + Ted Dimond, Lisa + David von Gunten, Embudo Valley Vineyards, Sheree Livney + Steve Hanks, Janet + John Mockovciak, The Cellar, Ron Cooper – Del Maguey Founder, Rolling Still Distillery.