Catch up on recent art news headlines in the Southwest region, including people on the move, grants, and more.
News
Antoine Predock Passes Away at Eighty-Seven
Internationally acclaimed architect Antoine Predock passed away at his home in Albuquerque on March 2, 2024, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Born in Missouri, he had lived in New Mexico for most of his life, calling the state his “spiritual home” and the place where he learned how to become an architect. His legacy is exalted in his buildings throughout the Southwest and around the world, including Canada, Costa Rica, Qatar, and Taiwan. In 2017, the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning created the Predock Center for Design and Research—replete with studios, workshops, and gallery spaces—in Predock’s former residence in Albuquerque. He is survived by his wife, sculptor, and UNM professor Constance DeJong, and two sons.
Houston Art Car Museum Closing
After twenty-five years, the Houston Art Car Museum is slated to close on April 28, two weeks after this year’s Houston Art Car Parade. The decision was made following the deaths of museum co-founders Ann O’Connor Williams Harithas in 2021 and her husband James Harithas in 2023. Conversations between local and regional arts organizations are taking place to determine how the art car legacy may continue.
Albuquerque’s North Fourth Art Center Closes
The longtime nonprofit art center in downtown Albuquerque permanently shuttered earlier this year, according to a January 30 Instagram post. The contemporary art space, which focused on arts education and exhibition opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities, had existed since 1981.
Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2024 Highlights Art World Trends
Art Basel and UBS co-published the eighth edition of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which analyzes the global art market on a comprehensive, macroeconomic level and assesses the impact of market forces and geopolitics on art sales. The findings indicate that “the art market remains resilient, despite a slowdown in sales.” The market eased to a value of $65 million, a 4 percent decrease from the previous year, but still surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Despite the decline in value, the volume of transactions increased by 4 percent. The United States accounted for 42 percent of global sales by value, maintaining its leading position. China outpaced the United Kingdom to become the second-largest national market, comprising 19 percent and 17 percent of global sales, respectively. Looking ahead to next year, “36 percent of dealers expected an improvement in sales, 48 percent expected sales to be about the same, and 16 percent predicted a decline.”
Denver Art Museum Unionizes
Workers at the largest art museum in Colorado have voted to join AFSCME Cultural Workers United, reports Kara Mason for Southwest Contemporary. The AFSCME International Union represents over 10,000 cultural workers across ninety-one institutions. Denver Art Museum management has been accused of employing union-busting tactics, which led organizers to file a claim with the National Labor Relations Board. Employees who voted in favor of collective bargaining cited inadequate compensation and management transparency as primary motivators for unionizing.
Freedom Monument Sculpture Park Features Works by Southwest Artists
On March 27, the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park opened in Montgomery, Alabama, serving as a site of honoring the resilience of enslaved peoples in America. Art was acquired or commissioned from Black and Indigenous artists around the country whose work pays tribute to the legacies of their ancestors, including Albuquerque/Taos-based multidisciplinary artist Nikesha Breeze (Mende/Assyrian) and late Santa Fe sculptor, painter, and teacher Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache).
Artists Cancel South by Southwest Appearances in Protest of Festival’s Military Ties
Around eighty musicians and panelists—such as Squirrel Flower, Nabihah Iqbal, Reyna Tropical, and Amazon Labor Union—pulled out of their official SXSW showcases. This came after the local advocacy group Austin For Palestine Coalition highlighted the conference’s ties to the military-industrial complex, “heeding the call of Palestinian civil society to engage in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israeli occupation and those supplying arms to Israel for its genocide against the Palestinian people.” Official festival sponsors include the U.S. Army, Raytheon, Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems. SXSW responded with a statement saying “we fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech” and that “defense… institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives.”
Grants and Awards
516 Arts Announces 2024 Fulcrum Fund Recipients
A cumulative $70,000 was awarded to artists throughout New Mexico through the annual Fulcrum Fund grants sponsored by 516 Arts and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Artists and collectives will receive between $2,000 and $10,000 to pursue experimental projects and collaborations. Recipients include:
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- Santa Fe Noise Ordinance
- Alas de Agua Art Collective: Tlacuilo Neo Codex Makers (Santa Fe)
- ACVilla: Murals of Nani Chacon (Alcalde)
- Apolo Gomez: Tracing Queer Chicano and AIDS Gay Rights Movements Through Art (Albuquerque)
- Marcus Chormicle: Prayer for My Triste (Las Cruces)
- No Name Cinema (Santa Fe)
- Fourteenfifteen Gallery (Albuquerque)
- Thea Storz – A Fertile Season: Reproductive Lists (Truth or Consequences)
- Best Western (Santa Fe)
- Jocelyn Salaz: Curando Con Nuestras Manos (Albuquerque)
- kelechi agwuncha and mika castañeda: amplifies it, doubles, trebles it (Santa Fe)
- Nick Larsen: Old Haunts, Lower Reaches (Santa Fe)
- Karl Orozco: Signs of Life (Albuquerque)
Leadership Changes and Appointments
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Director Will Retire
Marla Price, who has worked at the Modern for more than thirty years, will step down shortly after a new executive director is hired at the Fort Worth institution. Price joined the museum as chief curator in 1986 and was named director in January 1992.
Palm Springs Art Museum Names Chief Curator
Christine Vendredi has been announced as the chief curator at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Vendredi previously spent twelve years at Louis Vuitton, most recently as the global director for art, culture, and heritage.
Clyfford Still Museum Names Director of the Clyfford Still Catalogue Raisonné Project
Molly Warnock, an internationally renowned scholar of modern and contemporary art, was named director of the Clyfford Still Catalogue Raisonné Project by the Clyfford Still Museum. The role will entail writing and editing the Clyfford Still Catalogue Raisonné of the Complete Works in addition to working on related research, curatorial, and publishing initiatives. The catalogue is a comprehensive collection of all known Clyfford Still works, and the first-ever major scholarly publication of his entire body of work over his sixty-year career.
Bountiful Davis Art Center Welcomes New Executive Director in its Fiftieth Year
The Bountiful Davis Art Center in Utah recently celebrated its fiftieth year of serving the community with its new executive director, Sarina Ehrgott. Prior to joining the BDAC team, Ehrgott was the marketing and brand director at Salt Lake City’s Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. She previously held leadership positions at J•GO Gallery and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.
