This edition of the New Mexico Field Guide is an invitation to take in a dynamic year of New Mexico arts programming—and then experience it in motion.
Motorcycles and classic cars roar through a tunnel of fire on historic Route 66. An experimental drag troupe vaults into unexpected venues across Northern New Mexico. Native dancers swirl across court- yards in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Gallup. A quick flip through the 2026-27 New Mexico Field Guide puts the state’s propulsive cultural legacies on full display.
Change is the only constant in New Mexico’s long history—shaped as it is by conquest and survival, migration and trade—and when you widen the lens, even seemingly static elements ripple with motion. Ancient adobes melt into the landscape and rise again at the hands of steadfast communities. Decades-old art institutions continuously evolve and reform. Artists reimagine traditional disciplines, electrifying landscape painting and 3D printing Pueblo architecture.
To orient you within the ever-shifting art landscape of New Mexico, Southwest Contemporary’s seventh annual Field Guide offers listings and maps for arts and culture destinations throughout the state, plus an extensive calendar of events, including New Mexico studio tours.
In our features, Kathryne Lim meets up with cover artist Jake Trujillo in his Santa Fe studio to talk color theory, artistic growth, and the inspiration he continually draws from the New Mexico landscape. In Taos, Robin Babb talks with the artists and curators behind the Harwood Museum of Art’s landmark adobe-themed exhibition Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros. Rica Maestas takes us on a whirlwind tour of performing arts organizations across New Mexico, celebrating fresh approaches to jazz, flamenco, theater, noise music, Native dance, and more.
We mark notable anniversaries of arts organizations and galleries in the state, including the 50th anniversaries of LewAllen Galleries and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the 30th anniversary of Keshet Dance Company, the 20th anniversaries of Zane Bennett Contemporary Art and 516 Arts, and the tenth anniversary of Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return.
Consider this your invitation to take in a dynamic year of New Mexico arts programming—and then experience it in motion.
—Jordan Eddy, editor-in-chief + Natalie Hegert, arts editor
