SITE Santa Fe is pleased to present Creative Residencies (CRs), a new program celebrating creative people doing extraordinary work in our community, opening at SITE Santa Fe.

For Megan Goldberg‘s Creative Residency, she explores the creativity inherent in American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation in three projects: The Sound of Things, Does My Voice Matter?, and The Look of Things, each represented by a video on display in the galleries.

The Sound of Things

ASL interpreters sometimes need to describe sounds that do not have corresponding signs using a creative combination of handshapes, movements, and facial expressions. Investigating sound interpretation, Goldberg assembled a group of ASL interpreters to creatively interpret a variety of sounds curated by musician Alex Simon. Originally presented initially at the Motorama Drive In, RGC Access interpreters Lin Marksbury, Adam Romero, Santana Chavez, Cynthia Jiron, Megan Goldberg, and Tristan Lenzo interpret Simon’s unique soundtrack in a video produced by Andrew Primm.

Does My Voice Matter?

Deaf people work with interpreters who voice for them in many important life situations, like interviewing for a job, communicating with doctors, appearing in court, etc. However, voiced interpretations can vary depending on the interpreter. In this project, Goldberg engages her friend and colleague, Cassandra Perez, a Deaf community member, to sign a story about her experience of gentrification in Santa Fe. Then, ASL interpreters Cynthia Jiron, Tristan Lenzo, Adam Romero, Jackie Caballero, and Megan Goldberg voice her story, showing how ASL interpretation is influenced by the perspective of the interpreter.

The Look of Things

American Sign Language is a visual language that has many parallels to art, including the use of space and form (handshapes called Classifiers) to describe things. In this project, Goldberg creates GIFs for ASL Interpretation, combining the visual language of art with the visual language of ASL. Video produced by Andrew Primm.

About Megan Goldberg:

Megan Goldberg is a nationally certified sign language interpreter living and working in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inspired in part by a second-grade lesson on the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet, Goldberg went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics with a concentration in Sign Language Studies from the University of New Mexico, and has been interpreting in the community for almost 15 years.

Goldberg works in a variety of settings including educational, entertainment, medical, and legal interpretation. She coordinates interpreters for RGC Access, New Mexico’s only interpreting referral agency, and a variety of other contracts around the state. She cares deeply about language access and Deaf rights, and is always looking to spread awareness about systemic issues that exist today.

Many thanks to the Gale Family Foundation and the Anne Embree Charitable Foundation for their support of this program.