Exhibiting Courage, Fostering Messiness: The State of Museums in NM
In the face of today’s sociopolitical climate, New Mexico museum practitioners plan for a brighter, more equitable future.
Nov 13
Community
Nov 04
Art News Briefs: October 2020
Catch up on southwest arts headlines from October: people on the move, grants awarded, new appointments, and more.
Oct 01
Art News Briefs: September 2020
Catch up on southwest arts headlines from September: people on the move, grants awarded, and more.
Sep 07
Amplifying the Voices of Black Artists in NM
Earthseed Black Arts Alliance New Mexico aims to build community for Black artists in Santa Fe, and highlight their contributions to the city and its history.
Sep 01
Art News Briefs: August 2020
Catch up on southwest arts headlines from August: people on the move, grants awarded, artist representation, and more.
Aug 27
Artists Brighten a Boarded up Albuquerque
Artists descended on downtown Albuquerque, a “ghost town” after the pandemic, for two weeks to paint the boarded-up windows...
Aug 23
Complete Your 2020 Census to Support the Arts in New Mexico
Currently, New Mexico ranks 50th in the US for self-response to the 2020 census. Each individual who is counted in the census brings in $37,500 for the state over the course of 10 years.
Aug 09
Art News Briefs: July 2020
Catch up on local arts headlines from July! People are on the move at local institutions, grants and scholarships have been awarded.
Jul 31
Virtual Until Further Notice
New Mexico arts organizations bring us together in the era of social distancing.
Jul 31
2020 Anniversaries in New Mexico Arts
A number of arts institutions across New Mexico celebrate significant anniversaries this year, including photo-eye, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Santa Fe Workshops, Turner Carroll Gallery, and the Santa Fe Art Institute.
Jul 13
Is the Public Art Project at the Santa Fe Plaza Obelisk Allyship, or Artwashing?
A monument to Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War against “savage” Indians is now the site of a community art project organized by the Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department, in which city residents are invited to “create messages of reconciliation.”
Jul 01
Art News Briefs: June 2020
Catch up on local arts headlines from April, May, and June! People are on the move at local institutions, grants and scholarships have been awarded, archives collected, and more.
Jun 29
516 Arts Announces Recipients of 2020 Fulcrum Fund Emergency Relief Grants
516 Arts in Albuquerque, a partner in the Regional Regranting Program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts through its Fulcrum Fund, pivoted its 2020 grantmaking to provide emergency relief to 66 artists and thirteen artist-driven visual arts spaces experiencing economic instability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jun 24
The Arts and the Black Lives Matter Movement
“It’s really brought home to me the way in which literature can connect us to each other and foster and express our shared humanity. Our experiences in this country might be specific, but through art we can interrogate universal truths about what it means to be human. This is why it’s so important for our arts, culture and society to be inclusive of everyone.”
Jun 22
Uncharted: Cherie Montoya, Farm & Table
Farm & Table is an Albuquerque restaurant with a strong ethos grounded in local food and sustainable practices. Like many in the food and beverage industry, Farm & Table was heavily affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. The week we spoke, the restaurant was fully reopening to the public for the first time since March. We spoke with Cherie Montoya, owner of Farm & Table.
Jun 22
New Mexico Arts Organizations Receive National Endowment for the Arts’ 2nd Round of 2020 Funding
In New Mexico, twelve organizations are the recipients of NEA grants totaling $1,007,000. Among them, Wise Fool New Mexico received an Art Works award of $30,000 for circus arts training and performances. SITE Santa Fe received $20,000 for a major retrospective exhibition of work by Brazilian artist Regina Silveira.
Jun 02
Uncharted: Keith Grosbeck and Leland Chapin, Poeh Cultural Center
Keith Grosbeck and Leland Chapin work in marketing at the Poeh Cultural Center in Pojoaque, NM. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Poeh swiftly organized a Facebook group called the Native Artist Marketplace, where Native artists are invited to sell their work. At the time of publication, the group has over 1,500 members. As part of their efforts, the Poeh has offered their team’s knowledge and experience to help artists in their community make the transition to selling their artwork online.
May 26
From the Editor: The Future of Southwest Contemporary
After careful consideration, and much initial heartbreak, I have decided that Southwest Contemporary will publish one final print edition this year: our new Field Guide publication. We will suspend print publication of The Magazine for the remainder of 2020, with strong and sincere plans to return to print in 2021.
May 26
Uncharted: Russell Baker
“Uncharted” is a new interview series created in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re talking to people in the New Mexico arts world and beyond to see how the community […]
May 26
ReVisioning History to Imagine the Future: Architecture in Santa Fe
In an effort to bring multiple perspectives into conversation, Friends of Architecture Santa Fe has organized an in-depth series of public discussions termed “ReVisioning History” to take place May through December this year. Each installment of the ReVisioning History series will bring together a group of architects, planners, allied design professionals, and policymakers to make expert presentations, engage in panel discussions, hold Q&A sessions, and structured visioning exercises.
May 20
Art Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic May 2020
Southwest Contemporary has compiled a list of resources that may be useful to our community members at this time. This list will be updated as new information and new resources become available. Check out the most recent updates as of May 20!
May 19
Uncharted: Sarah Stolar
This week we chat with Sarah Stolar, an interdisciplinary artist and head of the art department at UNM-Taos. She shares how her students are coping, and the importance of supporting young artists whose voices we need most
May 06
NM Art from Anywhere: Jeff Kellar, New Work
Richard Levy Gallery presents New Work: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, a solo exhibition of colorful minimal pieces by Jeff Kellar. He creates beautiful surfaces through the application of many layers of acrylic resin and clay pigment onto paper, aluminum panels, and woodblocks. Each layer is methodically sanded and buffed leaving the surface smooth and modulated. Playing with illusion, ambiguity, and space, Kellar uses these ultra-flat surfaces to form dimensional compositions.
Apr 09
Your weekly 5×5: Kids Edition
The Weekly 5x5 is Southwest Contemporary's weekly email newsletter with our top five picks of things to do for the next five days. At least that's what it was until our to-dos became homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. We're now sharing five things to enjoy from home, and this week we are focused on creative activities for kids in quarantine captivity.
May 06
NM Art from Anywhere: Tonee Harbert, Through the Static and Distance
This exhibition is the culmination of Tonee Harbert's first nine months at the Roswell Artist-in-Residence program. A photography exhibition that shows the southeast New Mexico landscape with surreal and melancholy beauty, and is relevant during the pandemic, showing an absence of people, while referencing marks of humanity on the landscape.
Apr 29
Uncharted: Merry Scully
"Uncharted” is a new interview series created in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we catch up with Merry Scully, Head of Curatorial Affairs at the New Mexico Museum of Art about working from home, translating the work of the museum to the web, and her hopeful outlook.
Apr 21
Uncharted: Pauline Kanako Kamiyama
"Uncharted" is a new interview series created in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. First up, we're talking to Pauline Kamiyama, Director of the Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department, to see how the Department is navigating this unprecedented health crisis and how it is working to serve the rest of the community.
Mar 23
Support SWC + The Magazine
Southwest Contemporary will continue to serve our community by sharing information, resources, and connections, and supporting arts businesses, organizations, and artists as best we can during this time. However, we need you, our readers and community members, to help us weather this storm.
Mar 23
Art Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic
We know many artists, arts professionals, arts and culture organizations are in difficult situations now and facing uncertain futures in the coming months. Southwest Contemporary has compiled a list of resources that may be useful to our community members at this time. This list will be updated as new information and new resources become available.
Mar 26
New Mexico Women: Anita Rodriguez
Anita Rodriguez is a true renaissance woman. She is a writer and painter, in addition to her accomplishments in the field of sustainable architecture.
Mar 18
Call for Videos: NM Exhibition Walk-Throughs
Call for videos! We can't visit your exhibitions, so we want to see them on video!
Mar 16
Arts-Related COVID-19 Closures and Postponements in New Mexico
Amidst this unprecedented time of change across the globe, we're tracking arts-related closures and postponements locally and nationally. In this post you'll also find resources for artists. For the most updated information, please contact each venue individually. Stay tuned for more from us on ways to enjoy the beauty of art—its release, its expression, its embodiment of joy—from wherever you may be.
Jan 28
Border Tuner
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's most recent installation Border Turner in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez brings voice and person to the forefront.
Dec 23
Call for Out + About Photos: February-March 2020
As we approach a new year and a new decade, we're looking for light. And frankly, there's no better place to turn than all of you - our readers and community members who make these conversations around art and culture in the southwest possible. So we want to know: What's lighting you up as we head into 2020?
Dec 01
Letter: December 2019-January 2020
This issue taps into contemporary craft. It wasn’t intentionally a choice informed by the season, but it feels right to contemplate our own crafts at the end of the year—a season of endings, reflections, and new opportunities. We approached this topic from many different angles, from traditional craft to craft and tech.
Dec 01
New Mexico Women: Nicolle Gonzales
The role of a midwife is a powerful one. She is a guide through one of the most life-changing events a person can have, welcoming a new child into the world. How one enters the world matters. Birth experiences can have effects that ripple throughout a person’s life, impacting their family and community.
Oct 04
Letter: October-November 2019
I love print. I love words on a physical page held in my hands. I love the texture of paper and the smell of old books. I love interesting editorial design that creates an experience greater than the sum of its parts. If you’ve ever been to Southwest Contemporary’s offices, you may have seen my collection of independent magazines from around the world, which is always growing (here’s an open invitation to come say hi and take a look!).
Oct 01
Still in Print: ABQ Zine Fest 9 and Local Lit Destinations
As ABQ Zine Fest 9 approaches, we take a look at how print media has endured and the spaces that are building culture through the celebration of zines, books, and comics.
Aug 28
All Work and All Play: At Home with Artists Cannupa Hanska Luger and Ginger Dunnill
We took a seat at the table in the center of the warehouse-turned-home (turned-“work, brainstorming, and studio space”) where artists Cannupa Hanska Luger and Ginger Dunnill live in Glorieta, New Mexico. Taped to the kitchen cabinet was a wall-size paper schedule of impending deadlines for numerous projects. Every line was filled out, and notes were made in black marker, even in the margins. “Welcome to my life,” Dunnill laughed as, never skipping a beat, she outlined their individual projects—while the couple’s two children ran in one door and out the other...
Aug 28
Letter: September 2019
This month we embrace our new name and traverse the southwest from Silver City, New Mexico, to Scottsdale, Arizona. In our features, we visit the studio of Santa Fe artist Ted Larsen, whose work we are honored to present as this issue’s cover art. Briana Olson takes us on a day tour of some of Albuquerque’s incredible murals. Rachel Preston Prinz gives us the lowdown on the art, architecture, and natural glories in and around Silver City, New Mexico. Maggie Grimason goes deep with artists Ginger Dunnill and Cannupa Hanska Luger at their Glorieta, New Mexico home, to talk about their individual and collaborative practices spanning art, life, community, and family.
Aug 28
Have a Drink with Matie Fricker of Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center
Have a beer with Matie Fricker, owner of the only queer-woman-owned sex shop in Albuquerque: Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center.
Jul 30
Building the Legacy of Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson
Quietly, a new foundation has come into being in Santa Fe that promises to have a significant impact on art history and art-making, not just in the Southwest, but internationally. The Holt/Smithson Foundation (HSF) was literally willed into existence by artist Nancy Holt—creator of the massive concrete art installation, Sun Tunnels, in the Utah desert— who lived in Santa Fe the last two decades of her life, until her death in 2014.
Jul 29
The Seed Stewards of New Mexico
Genetic diversity is important in plants for the same reason it’s important in humans and animals: a shallower gene pool means more vulnerability to disease and mutation and less adaptability to environmental change. Throughout human history, farmers have benefitted from plants’ ability to evolve over time by carefully selecting seeds from their harvest to plant for next year based on drought tolerance, disease resistance, productivity, or other desirable traits. This long partnership between growers and seeds has created countless unique plant phenotypes, many of which are now extinct or going that way.
