Permanent Zozobra sculpture

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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A steel sculpture of Zozobra, 'Old Man Gloom', made by Don Kennell and DKLA Design for the City of Santa Fe and unveiled in August 2024 beside the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, ahead of the 100th annual Zozobra burning.

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Permanent Zozobra sculpture

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Site-level location · 35.6870° N, 105.9378° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Zozobra is a one-night spectacle: once a year a 50-foot marionette stuffed with gloom burns in front of thousands of locals in Santa Fe. In 2024 the city gave the figure a year-round counterpart in steel. According to the Santa Fe Reporter, city officials debuted the sculpture on 6 August 2024, ahead of that year's 30 August burn, the 100th since William Shuster Jr. created the tradition.

It was made by Don Kennell and his team at DKLA Design on a budget of $35,000 in city lodgers tax. The Reporter said the city approached the artists in January 2024 and that the sculpture was ready for display within about three months of the plans being finalised. Tourism Director Randy Randall, whom the paper credited with the original idea, told it: “I love Zozobra, but it’s one day and gone if you think about it.”

Reports differ on its size and exact site. The Reporter gave 18 feet and placed it on Federal Place near the convention centre. The Santa Fe New Mexican, covering the installation, called it 20 feet tall and described it near the centre’s loading dock on Grant Street, delivered in five parts and set near the entrance to the parking garage. The New Mexican also noted that the figure’s arm movement works using counterweights, while the Reporter said the team was still considering a mechanical device or a pull chain to move the arms. It added that the team was working with Refract Studio on an augmented-reality feature that would let people point a phone at the statue to see a video or watch it appear to catch fire.

The New Mexican also noted that the same team’s Barn Dog sculpture was already at the corner of Grant Avenue and South Federal Place. The Reporter said a box where people can leave their glooms would soon be placed near the new figure.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

In August 2024 the Santa Fe Reporter and the Santa Fe New Mexican described a steel figure of Zozobra beside the convention centre in downtown Santa Fe. The Reporter said it would stand year-round and that a box for visitors to leave their glooms would soon be added nearby.

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In August 2024 it was installed outdoors beside the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in downtown Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Reporter placed it on Federal Place; the Santa Fe New Mexican described it near the loading dock on Grant Street and the parking garage entrance.

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5.4 km away

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