Catch up on recent art news headlines in the Southwest region, including people on the move, grants, and more.
News
Ed Mell, Renowned Arizona Artist, Passes Away
Phoenix painter and artist Ed Mell died on February 21, 2024, at eighty-one, reports azcentral. Mell’s paintings exalted the rugged beauty of Southwestern landscapes in a contemporary style which, upon his early forays into the art world, sparked controversy among the more traditional landscape painters in the region. His work inspired Arizona Opera’s inaugural world premiere of Riders of the Purple Sage and was featured on the U.S. Postal Service’s centennial stamp. Many of his paintings can be viewed at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Lisa Rodgers, Owner and Director of Longworth Gallery, Passes Away
Longworth Gallery recently announced that owner and director Lisa Rodgers passed away on January 27, 2024, following a long battle with cancer. The gallery, located on Santa Fe’s Canyon Road, plans to continue operating. “Lisa was a force of nature here on Canyon Road, passionate about her artists, always welcoming, and memorable to her visitors,” says Troy L. Buchleiter, director of New Concept Gallery. “Although I doubt that she ever knew it, she was one of the primary people who inspired me to pursue my own career as a gallerist.”
Area Venues Cancel Matisyahu Concerts Over Community Safety Concerns
Meow Wolf in Santa Fe and the Rialto Theatre in Tucson each made last-minute decisions to cancel performances by artist Matisyahu following pressure from activists, staff shortages, and overall safety concerns over the performer’s request for armed security guards, according to a Santa Fe Reporter story and a Rialto Theatre statement. While the artist claims the opposition to his performances was antisemitic, activists stated that his vocal support for Israel’s attacks on Gaza is the reason why they were planning to protest his shows. Additionally, the owner of the Rialto Tucson stated in a press release, “As a member of the Jewish community myself… I am deeply saddened and offended by the public’s accusations of antisemitism as the cause for the Matisyahu concert cancellation.”
New Mexico Artist to be Featured in the Venice Biennale
Emmi Whitehorse (Diné), a painter and printmaker based in Santa Fe, is one of 333 artists whose work will be featured in the main exhibition of the sixtieth Venice Biennale. Whitehorse was born to a sheepherding family in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in painting from the University of New Mexico. Her works blend a Diné storytelling ethos with imagery derived from the natural world surrounding her.
Grants and Awards
New Mexico Artist Receives Inaugural Ruth Award
Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo), a mixed-media artist from New Mexico, was one of four artists to receive the inaugural Ruth Award—an unconditional $100,000 award over two years—from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts. The award champions boundary-pushing artists whose work engages with their communities and with the world through material, critical, and relational practices.
Center for Creative Photography Announces Fellowship Recipients
The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona has announced its 2023–24 fellows. Mariel Miranda, a sociologist, visual artist, founder/director of the Tijuana International Festival of Photography, and MFA student at the University of Arizona, has been selected as one of the ten recipients. Born and raised in Tijuana, her work is an ever-evolving, multifaceted inquiry into the dynamic life forces radiating throughout the Borderlands. Miranda’s fellowship will explore Louis Carlos Bernal’s Barrios series as it relates to concepts of “space, place, and territory.”
Center for Craft Announces 2024 Craft Archive Fellows
The Center for Craft selected six fellows to pursue archival research on “non-dominant craft histories in the United States, such as feminist, queer, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities that may not be listed here.” Three of the recipients—alejandro t. acierto of Phoenix, Earline Green of Cedar Hill, Texas, and Ruth Hallows (Tsimshian) of Mesa, Arizona—are based in the Southwest. Fellows will receive $5,000 to explore archives of interest, utilizing both traditional and creative research approaches.
SMoCA Announces Grant and Artist Awards
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art has been awarded an $80,000 grant for two years of exhibition support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Fifty organizations across the United States and Mexico received funding as the foundation’s 2023 fall grant recipients. This grant will uplift the new exhibition Carolina Aranibar-Fernández: Oleaje, which opened on February 10, 2024. Additionally, three artists affiliated with SMoCA—Cristóbal Martinez, Gabriela Muñoz, and M. Jenea Sanchez—received $50,000 fellowships from United States Artists.
Creative Bravos Awards Recipients Announced for 2024
The City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture announced its nine awardees for this year’s Creative Bravos Awards. The awards are a celebration of local artists and organizations who are positively impacting the community in Albuquerque. Recipients are nominated by the public and selected by a committee led by first lady Elizabeth Kistin Keller. This year’s winners include Raven Chacon (Diné) (Legacy Bravos Award), Sopapilla Productions (Emerging Bravos Award), Naomi Elizabeth Montoya, Katie Stone and The Children’s Hour, fourteenfifteen Gallery, Keif Henley and Guild Cinema, Dr. Sharmin Dharas and Hotel Zazz, Edible New Mexico, and Archetype Tattoo.
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Next Round of Grants
The NEA recently awarded $32 million to 1,288 nationwide humanities projects. Southwest-area recipients include:
Arizona
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- Act One, Phoenix
- Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Ash Davidson, Flagstaff
- Childsplay, Tempe
- City of Litchfield Park
- Flagstaff Arts Council (AKA Creative Flagstaff)
- Harmony Project Phoenix
- Kelsi Vanada, Tucson
- Loft Cinema, Tucson
- Phoenix Theatre
- Society for Bevel Intentions, Tucson
- Southwest Folklife Alliance, Tucson
- Tucson Children’s Museum
- Universal Access Productions (AKA Arizona Theatre Matters), Glendale
- University of Arizona, Tucson
Colorado
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- Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
- Athena Project, Denver
- Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, Lakewood
- Colorado Conservatory of Dance, Broomfield
- Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, Wheat Ridge
- Colorado State University (on behalf of Center for Literary Publishing), Fort Collins
- Creede Repertory Theatre, Creede
- Council to Advance and Support Tier III (AKA Words to Power), Denver
- David Taylor’s Zikr Dance Ensemble, Erie
- Feel the Beat Corp, Englewood
- Northglenn Arts and Humanities Foundation, Northglenn
- Performing Arts Academy, Highlands Ranch
- Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, Pueblo
- Vilar Performing Arts Center, Avon
Nevada
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- Artown, Reno
- Capital City Arts Initiative, Carson City
- Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe
- Nevada Ballet Theatre, Las Vegas
- Poetry Promise, Inc., Las Vegas
New Mexico
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- Albuquerque Museum Foundation
- Artrageous Artreach, Tijeras
- Deborah Jackson Taffa, Santa Fe
- Keshet Dance Company, Albuquerque
- National Dance Institute New Mexico, Santa Fe
- National Institute of Flamenco, Albuquerque
- Outpost Productions (AKA The Outpost), Albuquerque
- Parallel Studios (AKA Currents New Media), Santa Fe
- Pueblo of Pojoaque
- Questa Creative Council
- Santa Fe Art Institute
- Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
- Santa Fe Concert Association
- Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute
- Santa Fe Film Institute
- Santa Fe Opera
- SciArt Santa Fe
- Taos Center for the Arts
- Western New Mexico University, Silver City
- Zuni Youth Enrichment Project
Texas
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- American Short Fiction, Austin
- Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont
- Artpace San Antonio
- Arts Connect Houston
- Arts Council of Northeast Tarrant County, Bedford
- Aurora Picture Show, Houston
- Austin Area Art from the Streets
- Austin Film Festival
- Austin Film Society
- Austin Independent School District
- Ballroom Cultural Arts Foundation (AKA Ballroom Marfa)
- Big Medium, Austin
- Center for Women and Their Work, Austin
- Creative Action, Austin
- Da Camera Society of Texas, Houston
- Dallas Black Dance Theatre
- Dallas Contemporary
- Dallas Opera
- Dallas Theater Center
- Dance Source Houston
- Esquina Tango Cultural Society of Austin
- FotoFest, Houston
- Galveston Arts Center
- Glass Half Full Theatre, Austin
- Greater Denton Arts Council
- Houston Chamber Choir
- Houston Family Arts Center
- Hispanic Alliance for the Performing Arts (AKA Austin Soundwaves)
- Katy Art Reach
- Kimberly Garza
- Mesquite Arts Council
- Musiqa, Houston
- Nameless Sound, Houston
- National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, San Antonio
- NewSpring, Houston
- Old Jail Art Center, Albany
- Pegasus Musical Society (AKA Orchestra of New Spain), Dallas
- Philip Boehm, Houston
- Project Art Wimberley
- Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance (AKA Puerto Rican Cultural Center), Austin
- SOLI Chamber Ensemble, San Antonio
- TeCo Theatrical Productions (AKA Bishop Arts Theatre Center), Dallas
- Texas Public Radio, San Antonio
- Theatre Arlington
- University of Houston (on behalf of Arte Publico Press)
- University of Texas at El Paso
- University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg
- University of Texas at San Antonio
- Visions in Rhythm (AKA Tapestry Dance Company), Austin
- Vortex Repertory Company, Austin
- Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture
- Woodlands Children’s Museum
Utah
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- Art Access, Salt Lake City
- Kayenta Arts Foundation, Ivins
- Mundi Project, Salt Lake City
- Park City Summit County Arts Council
- Salt Lake Art Center (AKA Utah Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Salt Lake Arts Council Foundation (AKA Salt Lake City Arts Council)
- Torrey House Press, Salt Lake City
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Leadership Changes and Appointments
Executive Director and Curator of Ballroom Marfa Announces Departure
Daisy Nam is moving on from her role as executive director and curator at Ballroom Marfa after four years. During her tenure, she oversaw exhibitions such as Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago (on view through March 16, 2024); Kenneth Tam: Tender is the hand which holds the stone of memory; Ecstatic Land with co-curator Dean Daderko; and Donna Huanca: ESPEJO QUEMADA. She also initiated the residency program Ballroom Sessions with Sarah Melendez and secured substantial grants from the Ruth Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Terra Foundation, and more. Starting April 1, 2024, she will be the new director and chief curator of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Announces Family and Programs Educator
The newest hire at MIAC, Emily Berkes, joins the team as the family and programs educator. Berkes is responsible for developing educational programs to engage children, families, and visitors of all ages with exhibitions at MIAC. She holds an MFA in art history from the University of Colorado Boulder and received a BFA in art history with a minor in anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington.
