Catch up on recent art news headlines in the Southwest region, including people on the move, grants, and more.
News
A New Arizona Commission on the Arts Acting Executive Director Follows a Controversial Firing
After Anne L’Ecuyer was abruptly shown the door—a move that was reported by Southwest Contemporary—the Arizona Commission on the Arts recently listed Alexandra Nelson as acting executive director on its website. According to Nelson’s Linkedin page (which doesn’t reflect the job change), she has worked for ACA since 2009. An October 17, 2017, ACA press release states that Nelson was promoted from senior director of grants and programs to deputy director of the state agency that facilitates funding all over the state to arts and cultural organizations big and small.
Grants and Awards
History Colorado Awards Nearly $300,000 for Preservation Projects
History Colorado’s State Historical Fund granted $296,377 to eight applicants in seven Colorado counties, with a majority going to rural Colorado entities and two grants that will “directly assist Hispano/Hispanic communities in the San Luis Valley.” The awards support preservation and archaeology projects, including the historic San Luis Bank, which will be retrofitted into affordable housing units as well as retail and commercial spaces, and the circa 1880s St. Agnes Parish Hall in Saguache, which was a cultural gathering place until a 2021 water line break forced the space to close.
Leadership Changes and Appointments
A Curator Hire at BMoCA
The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, following a national search, named Jane Burke as curator. Burke is a former curatorial fellow in the textile art and fashion department at the Denver Art Museum, where she worked for eight years.
A Curator Appointment at the University of New Mexico Art Museum in Albuquerque
Angel Jiang is the UNMAM’s first curator of collections and study room initiatives. Jiang, who is scheduled to start on December 7, 2022, holds degrees from Columbia University and the Institute of Fine Arts.
The Blanton Names New Director of Public Programs
The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin recently announced Kenyon Adams as its director of public programs. Adams—who developed and led public arts programming at Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut—will be charged with activating the outdoor performance spaces on the Moody Patio, which is part of a redesigned Blanton campus that’s scheduled for a spring 2023 completion.
