Trump tries to zero out IAIA’s federal funding, Pussy Riot founder arrives in Santa Fe after Los Angeles turmoil, and more top Southwest art news headlines for July 2025.
News
Trump Administration Proposes Elimination of IAIA Funding in FY 2026 Budget:
President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2026 budget on June 2, proposing the elimination of annual funding for Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts—from $13.482 million to zero. A press release from IAIA reads, “In one budget, Trump is proposing to erase nearly 63 years of progress in American Indian and Alaska Native higher education, artistic expression, and decades of Congressional support for IAIA, the only institution of its kind in the world.” The school has mobilized support from community members and the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, and is actively lobbying key members of the House and Senate. The proposal is part of a broader attack on Indigenous education: Trump’s budget would also slash already-slim federal support for the nation’s thirty-seven tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, which tribal leaders warn “would close the tribal colleges.”
Following LA Performance Disruption, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova Debuts Show in Santa Fe:
As military activity and ICE raids forced MOCA Los Angeles to suspend Nadya Tolokonnikova’s Police State performance, the Pussy Riot founder opened her new exhibition Wasn’t Invited so I Broke the Door on June 28 at Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe. The show follows the abrupt disruption of her ten-day MOCA piece, which saw the artist confined in a mock prison cell before the National Guard effectively “performed” the work in real life, as she told the Albuquerque Journal.
Boulder Arts Institutions Respond to Pearl Street Attack with Messages of Healing and Solidarity:
Following a deadly June 1 attack on a peaceful rally to bring attention to the plight of Israeli hostages at Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, local arts institutions responded with messages of solidarity and healing. The attacker lobbed Molotov cocktails into the crowd, injuring over a dozen people and gravely wounding an 82-year-old woman, who died several days later. The Dairy Arts Center said art possesses “a unique power to help us process pain… and remind us of our shared humanity,” while the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art affirmed its belief in art as “a healing tool for our shared humanity.”
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- Granary Arts in Ephraim, Utah, closed its physical gallery space after more than thirteen years of presenting contemporary art in rural Utah, marking “a space for creative innovation, critical dialogue, and community connection—both in our rural town and far beyond,” wrote executive director and chief curator Amy Jorgensen in a June 26 email. The organization’s website will remain active as both an archive and “a platform for future projects.”
- Rule Gallery debuted new headquarters in Denver’s RiNo Arts District on June 14, but its curatorial inquiry beyond the confines of the “white-box model” has just begun. The Colorado- and Texas-based gallery’s press release states, “Rule aims to create a home base that will anchor exhibitions throughout Denver’s diverse landscape,” including June 21-22 performances by Amy Hoagland in the foothills of the Rockies.
- Aspen Art Museum opened registration for its July 26-28 festival, AIR 2025, announcing filmmaker Werner Herzog as the keynote speaker alongside a schedule of dialogues, performances, and exhibitions. Among the participating artists is New Mexico–based Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Austrian, and Norwegian), whose large-scale sonic and sculptural installation Volume will be on view.
- The University of Arizona’s School of Theatre, Film & Television—headquartered in Tucson and ranked second among public film schools—has launched a Los Angeles hub in partnership with Film Independent, which includes a new $10,000 fellowship.
- Following Texas Arts Advocacy Day earlier this year, Texans for the Arts reported major wins in the state’s 89th legislative session, including a $7.9 million boost to the Texas Commission on the Arts budget—raising it to $39.8 million—and new film incentives totaling $300 million. These advances helped increase per capita arts funding from $0.46 to $0.58, moving Texas up from 46th to 39th nationally in arts investment, according to an email from Texans for the Arts board member Lindsey Maestri.
- The Dallas City Council voted unanimously to rename three lakes along the Trinity River as the Three Sisters Lakes—NʉmʉNahmi, Wichita ita:iʔh, and Mbátí—in honor of the Comanche, Wichita, and Lipan Apache tribes. The move is a historic gesture of visibility for Indigenous communities in North Texas, and resonates with the work of Dallas-based artist Ángel Faz, who celebrated on Instagram.
- The newly designated Donald Judd Historic District in Marfa, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June, recognizing fifteen buildings and one major artwork shaped by the Minimalist artist. Maintained by the Chinati Foundation and Judd Foundation, the district highlights Judd’s approach to historic preservation and adaptive reuse.
- The Meadows Museum in Dallas added a dozen works to its collection—including textiles, metalwork, paintings, and drawings spanning seven centuries—that deepen its focus on the art of Spain. The newest work is a 2017-19 painted and stitched canvas by Teresa Lanceta, a textile artist who represented Spain at the Venice Biennale in 2017.
Grants and Awards
Salt Lake City Recognizes Arts Leaders Gretchen Dietrich and Laura Durham at 2025 Mayor’s Artists Awards:
Salt Lake City announced the 2025 Mayor’s Artists Awards recipients, including visual arts champions Gretchen Dietrich, longtime executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and PBS Utah’s Laura Durham, an arts advocate and programming leader known for amplifying local voices. The awards were presented June 20 at the Utah Arts Festival.
2025 BAC Fellowship Supports Six Emerging Artists on the U.S.-Mexico Border:
The Border Arts Corridor announced its 2025 fellowship cohort—six emerging artists from Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora—whose work explores border identity, community, and place through immersive, site-responsive creative practice. The honorees are Andrés Caballero, Belén Muro, Estefania Ramirez Toscano, Gabriela Ainza, and Oscar Mares.
Empower! Fund Awards $37.5K to Support Black Arts, Culture, and Financial Literacy in New Mexico:
As part of Juneteenth 2025, the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s Empower! Black Futures Community Fund awarded $37,500 in its inaugural grant cycle to six organizations uplifting Black life, arts, and financial literacy across New Mexico, from birthing support and festivals to financial education and cultural preservation.
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- Houston nonprofit Lawndale selected Candice D’Meza, Guadalupe Hernandez, and Amanda Kerdahi for its 2025-26 Artist Studio Program.
- The Santa Fe- and Dallas-based Thoma Foundation announced $160,000 in 2025 Art of the Spanish Americas grants and fellowships supporting the study, conservation, and contemporary interpretation of art across the U.S. and Latin America.
- Ogden Contemporary Arts in Utah named New Mexico–based artist Suzanne Sbarge as its Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence, marking the program’s fourth year and culminating in a multimedia solo exhibition. (Disclosure: Jordan Eddy served on this year’s selection committee for the residency.)
Leadership Changes and Appointments
Curator René Paul Barilleaux to Step Down at McNay Art Museum After 20 Years:
René Paul Barilleaux will retire this fall after two decades at the McNay Art Museum, where he served as head of curatorial affairs since 2017. During his tenure, he expanded the museum’s contemporary art collection with over 200 acquisitions and organized notable exhibitions, including the award-winning Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today.
Diane Dittemore Retires After 46 Years at Arizona State Museum:
Associate curator Diane Dittemore retired on June 30 after nearly five decades at Arizona State Museum, leaving behind a legacy of expanding and promoting the museum’s ethnological collections. She played a key role in exhibitions, publications, and co-founding the Friends of the ASM Collections, a group that has raised significant funds to support acquisitions and programming.
Longtime News Editor Jessica Fuentes Named Editor-in-Chief of Glasstire:
Jessica Fuentes, who has served as Glasstire’s news editor since 2021, has been promoted to editor-in-chief, where she will lead the publication’s statewide coverage of Texas visual arts. A writer, artist, and educator with extensive experience in North Texas arts institutions, Fuentes looks forward to shaping “the oldest web-only art magazine in the country.” Fuentes is also a contributor to Southwest Contemporary.
Also:
- Ceci Moss, a seasoned curator, educator, and arts leader with experience in multidisciplinary institutions, joins the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as director and curator on July 14.
- Anne Breckenridge Barrett was appointed director and CEO of the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, bringing over thirty years of leadership experience.
- Hasan Elahi, an internationally recognized artist and academic leader known for his work on identity and surveillance, is the new dean of Arizona Arts at the University of Arizona in Tucson, beginning July 1.
- Jeff Lambson started as deputy director of the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University, arriving as the museum inaugurates the Wanlass Center for Art Education and Research.
- Andres Payana Estrada, an artist and curator known for his innovative craft-based practice and commitment to borderlands identity, is the new senior curator at the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at UTEP in El Paso, Texas.
- San Antonio contemporary art center Ruby City welcomed Ashley Mireles as its new manager of public programs. She brings over twenty years of experience as a multidisciplinary artist and educator.
- The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio named Stacy Hicks Herr as its head of development, bringing her extensive nonprofit leadership experience.
- West Texas museum Ballroom Marfa appointed Rachel Arnold and Kathleen Irvin Loughlin to its board of trustees, welcoming their combined expertise in arts advocacy, investment, and creative philanthropy.
Update 07/02/2025: In the first section of this column, more context was added regarding the subject of the peaceful demonstration in Boulder that ended in violence and one death.
