MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – New Mexican leaders in arts, academia and culture have joined forces to establish the SpaceValley Foundation, a nonprofit seeking to expand the state’s space innovation ecosystem.
It’s part of an overarching effort to underscore the breadth of New Mexico’s space ecosystem by branding it Space Valley.
“New Mexico is this rare gem that has this deep-rooted culture in space history, from celestial creation stories to incredible artists and storytellers,” Bryce Kennedy, SpaceValley Foundation executive director, told SpaceNews.
Traditional space industry initiatives rarely encompass history and culture. New Mexico’s “secret sauce” is its breadth, from reverence for the sky shown by indigenous tribes to tourism around Roswell to space-related art, science and storytelling, Kennedy said.
The SpaceValley Foundation intends to:
- Connect communities and build partnerships across the Space Valley region;
- Promote the work of Space Valley stakeholders;
- Unite non-space organizations with space opportunities; and
- Cultivate awareness of the space industry’s value to humanity and its role in safeguarding our future.
One of the tools for cultivating awareness is the arts.
The Space Valley Foundation supports arts groups including STEMarts Lab, an organization that offers apprenticeships to teenage girls.
“The focus is on exposing youth and communities to the artistic, scientific and humanistic aspect of space,” said Agnes Chavez, STEMarts Lab director. “We are building science literacy and asking the question, “How can we use space exploration to better our lives here on Earth?”
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