May 2026 Sunriver Scene - Flipbook - Page 34
High Desert Museum exhibit highlights farm workers whose labor goes unseen
A new exhibit at the High
Desert Museum features vibrant
murals, hand-drawn animations
and freestanding, hand-painted
art that offer a window into the
daily lives of those who harvest
the fresh fruits and vegetables
we bring to our tables.
“Miguel Almeida: Las Manos
que dan de Comer (Miguel
Almeida: The Hands That
Feed)” portrays everyday farmworkers and community figures
whose labor often goes unseen.
Almeida, 33, comes from
a long line of farmworkers, a
primary source of his artistic inspiration. Growing up amid the
fertile fields of the Owyhee and
Snake River valleys of Idaho,
where he worked alongside his
mother during some summers,
shaped his connection to the
land and the people who work
it, themes central to the murals
he creates around Boise, where
he is based.
Almeida is a first-generation
Mexican American. His artwork prompts visitors to think
not only about where our food
comes from but also about the
people who labor in the fields
that sustain us.
“The museum explores how
people and the landscape shape
one another, and Miguel Almeida’s work brings that relationship to life in a powerful way,”
'Miguel Almeida: Las Manos que dan de Comer (Miguel Almeida: The Hands That Feed)' offers
an insight to the work of farm workers.
High Desert Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw,
Ph.D., said. “His images center the farmworkers, inviting
visitors to consider the human
stories behind what often feels
like an invisible process. The
exhibition aims to open important conversations about
conservation, land use, and
agricultural practices through
the perspectives of the people
who are closely connected to
the land.”
SUNRIVER
PAINTING
The exhibition entrance signals a shift into this world. The
gallery façade is transformed
with bold colors of pinks, teals,
yellows and purples, influenced
by the artist’s visits to Mexico
and fascination with the country on everything from architecture to pastries. At the center
of the gallery, a hand-painted
cutout figure of a worker more
than 10 feet tall is surrounded
by soil. The scent of the earth
and ambient audio of field
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sounds further immerse visitors
in that landscape. On either
side of the gallery, hand-painted animations play. One follows a farmworker through the
rhythms of a workday, from
family life to the fields in all
kinds of weather. The other
traces the path of harvested food
into the modern supply chain,
contrasting the experiences
of agricultural labor with the
everyday act of shopping at a
grocery store.
“My hope, through this work,
is that people make a connection to who is doing the hard
work to feed us,” Almeida said.
“I wanted to take it a step further and make sure we aren’t
just reduced to a labor force.
We are also humans, with hopes
and dreams who are here out of
necessity to provide a better life
for our children.”
The exhibition, translated
into Spanish by Almeida, came
about after Dustin Cockerham,
senior curator of exhibitions
and collections at the museum,
discovered Almeida’s work while
on a motorcycle trip in Idaho.
Outside Boise, he was struck
by the smell of onions and produce from nearby fields when a
mural caught his attention—its
bold colors and stylized figures
standing out against the working farmland. He began seeing
more murals around the city,
discovered it was the same artist,
and contacted him.
“There’s almost a comic-book
superhero element to it,” Cockerham said. “It's a very contemporary style, influenced by
skateboarding culture while
also drawing from Mexican
folk traditions. What’s compelling is how the artist uses
this to illuminate bigger issues,
our food systems, the land,
agriculture, through the lens of
the people whose labor is at the
center of it.”
“Miguel Almeida: Las Manos
que dan de Comer (Miguel
Almeida: The Hands That
Feed)” is open through Oct.
11. It is made possible by the
James F. and Marion L. Miller
Foundation, with support from
Central Oregon Radiology
Associates. Visit highdesertmu
seum.org or call 541-382-4754.
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