Organ Monument Oratory (OMO) is a series of art initiatives designed by Faith Purvey with community partners to celebrate the Organ Mountains / Desert Peaks National Monument (OMDP) of Las Cruces, NM.
Since 2015, OMO has materialized as various programs and projects designed for a broad range of audiences but also as temporary art work installed in wild places and as a series of paintings and photographs inspired by the region. Through site-responsive projects including sculpture/installation, video projection, sound, and photography, OMO engages many sectors of the Las Cruces community. Committed to the practices of Leave No Trace, OMO projects are ephemeral experiences and persist as memories, images, and documentation.
The project aims to raise awareness about different aspects of the region such as geology, Native cultures, archaeology, oral history, land use, local arts and culture, and examine other social and cultural uses of the Organ Mountains. Climbers, scientists, veterans, youth, government organizations, and artists participate in hands-on creative explorations of this beloved, but often feared and misused landscape.