Catch up on recent art news headlines in the Southwest region, including people on the move, grants, and more.
News
Arizona More Than Doubles its Annual Arts Budget
A long and dramatic session of the 2022 Arizona State Legislature ended last week, but not before lawmakers passed a spending plan, which governor Doug Ducey signed into law, that dedicates $5 million to statewide arts organizations and programs, reports Southwest Contemporary contributor Lynn Trimble.
Nevada Museum of Art Plans a $60 Million Expansion
The Reno institution announced a 50,000-square-foot buildout that will increase the museum’s capacity for educational initiatives, exhibitions, and research. The expanded space is slated to be completed in 2025, writes Double Scoop, a Nevada statewide arts outlet and one of the thirty-six arts organizations in Reno, Sparks, and Incline Village that recently received $450,000 in grants from Reno City Council.
New Businesses/Organizations
Wright Contemporary, Taos, New Mexico
Ann Landi, a longtime arts journalist in Taos, has opened Wright Contemporary at 627A Paseo del Pueblo Sur. The 2,400-square-foot gallery, located inside the Brown and Brown of New Mexico insurance building, opened to the public last weekend with the group exhibition Explosive Abstraction featuring works by Taos artists Paul Behnke, Marcia Oliver, and Brian Shields as well as Santa Fe artists Timothy Nero and Greta Young.
Grants and Awards
Southwest Arts Organization Receive Grants from Major New Foundation
Ruth Foundation for the Arts, supported by a bequest of $440 million from the late Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, recently launched with an initial $1.25 million in grants to seventy-eight arts non-profits across the country. Southwest-area recipients include Poeh Cultural Center at Pueblo of Pojoaque in New Mexico, Santa Fe’s Alas De Agua Art Collective and Center for Contemporary Arts, Denver’s Black Cube Nomadic Museum, Austin’s Fusebox Festival, San Antonio’s Sala Diaz, and Houston’s Project Row Houses.
Salt Lake City Arts Council Distributes Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Local Artists and Arts Organizations, Announces 2022 Mayor’s Artist Awards
Ten Salt Lake City artists and twelve local nonprofit arts organizations received more than $225,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Rescue Plan grant funding awarded to the Salt Lake City Arts Council. The Council also revealed the winners of the 2022 Mayor’s Artist Awards—they include Jorge Rojas, Roots Art Kollective, Fanny Guadalupe Blauer, Breaking Barriers, and Sandy Brunvand.
Anna C. Martinez Named Albuquerque’s Sixth Poet Laureate
Española, New Mexico-raised Anna C. Martinez, who recently published her first book of poetry Pura Puta: a poetic memoir, succeeds Mary Oishi. Martinez’s two-year term begins today, July 1, 2022.
Leadership Appointment
Rachelle B. Pablo Becomes First Indigenous Curator of 516 Arts in Albuquerque
In May, 516 Arts announced the appointment of Rachelle B. Pablo (Diné) as curator, a position previously held by current Albuquerque Museum head curator Josie Lopez. The Gallup, New Mexico-born arts professional will also help coordinate 516 Arts’s Indigenous Arts programming statewide. Pablo’s first exhibition for the Albuquerque gallery is scheduled to debut in October 2022.
