PRESS RELEASES

08/21/10 Huichol Art and Culture:
For the first time, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology presents a significant collection of Huichol art from the early part of the last century in Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World. The exhibition opens at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture April 11, 2010 and will run through March 13, 2011. There are important ties between Huichol work and Native American, prehispanic, and Hispanic art histories and cultures. Known today for colorful, decorative yarn paintings, the origins of modern Huichol art are found in the earlier Huichol religious arts of the Robert M. Zingg ethnographic collection at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
02/24/10 Art on the Edge 2010
Art on the Edge presents the work of seven contemporary artists selected by Nicholas Baume for this biennial juried show organized by Friends of Contemporary Art (FOCA) and hosted by the New Mexico Museum of Art. The exhibition opens Friday, April 16, 2010 and runs through August 1, 2010 Sublime horizons, water sculptures, stitched excerpts from Neruda, and adolescents in suburbia await the viewer in this show that wonders aloud, what gives art "edge"? The exhibition features Eric Tillinghast, Deborah Hamon, Erika Blumenfeld, Michael Rogers, Kate Beck, Jessica Loughlin, and Ryan Bush. This year's show marks the second edition of Art on the Edge. It was curated by Nicholas Baume, chief curator and director of the New York Public Art Fund. The Museum will host a free public lecture by Nicholas Baume at 6:00 p.m. in St. Francis Auditorium during the opening. The Women’s Board of the Museum of New Mexico will host an opening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
02/17/10 Sole Mates: Cowboy Boots and Art
Sole Mates: Cowboy Boots and Art celebrates the art of the West and views cowboy boots as important symbols of western life. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, postcards, advertisements, sculptures, video imagery, and of course boots. The images define changing aspects of the West, from 1880 to the present. The exhibition includes more than 130 objects and pairs of boots that investigate freedom, loneliness, gender, fashion, allure and contemporary art. The exhibition opens at the New Mexico Museum of Art on Friday, May 14, 2010, and runs through September 5, 2010.
02/14/10 Harry Fonseca: In the Silence of Dusk
The exhibition Harry Fonseca: In the Silence of Dusk focuses on four series of paintings that explore the transformative and mythic forces that Fonseca perceived in himself and the world around him. The painting series include In the Silence of Dusk, Stone Poems, St. Francis of Assisi; and Seasons. While not a retrospective, the exhibition explores Fonseca’s body of work as it changes focus from stylized but representational studies based on his Native American heritage to more abstract explorations of his world to non-objective compositions celebrating color. All of the works in the exhibition are courtesy of the Harry Fonseca Trust. The exhibition opens at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on Sunday, February 14, 2010, 1:00-4:00 p.m and runs through January 2, 2011
02/10/10 Silver Seduction
In the mountain town of Taxco in Mexico’s state of Guerrero, large-scale mining can be dated to the sixteenth century, and silver is a way of life. In the years following the Mexican Revolution (1910–20), jewelry and other silver objects were crafted there with an entirely innovative approach, informed by modernism and the creation of a new Mexican national identity. Antonio Pineda was a member of the Taxco School and is recognized as a world-class designer. He lived a long and creative life, passing away at the age of 90 on December 14, 2009. Nearly two hundred examples of Pineda’s acclaimed silver work will be displayed in Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda, a traveling exhibition opening at the Museum of International Folk Art June 4, 2010 through January 2, 2011. Exhibition images may be found at http://media.museumofnewmexico.org/.
02/09/10 5th Annual Historic Forts Day at El Camino Real International Heritage Center
El Camino Real International Heritage Center will host its 5th annual Historic Forts Day on Saturday, February 20th, 11 am – 4 pm. The event will include living history re-enactments of soldier camp activities including bullet-making, black powder demonstration, treadle sewing, open fire and horno cooking as well as a carreta/wagon building demonstration. The event will also feature a special lecture series about forts in New Mexico courtesy of the New Mexico Historical Society. Shuttle service from Socorro will be available, 575-835-1501.
01/29/10 Museums in the 21st Century: Concepts, Projects, Buildings
01/27/10 Wild at Heart: Ernest Thompson Seton
Opening May 23 at the New Mexico History Museum, Wild at Heart: Ernest Thompson Seton dedicates itself to telling the often overlooked story of the conservationist, author, artist, lecturer and co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America. Ernest Thompson Seton’s impact on America’s conservation movement was immeasurable but, today is largely forgotten. Wild at Heart: Ernest Thompson Seton sets out to change that.
01/11/10 Material World: Textiles and Dress from the Collection
Material World: Textile and Dress from the Collection gives a tantalizing glimpse into the Museum of International Folk Art’s largest collection, textiles and costumes stored in 57 closets and numerous trunks and drawers. The 138 rarely-seen items in this exhibition, ranging from everyday household articles to elaborately detailed ceremonial wear, highlight the remarkable breadth and depth of this collection’s 20,000 objects. Material World opens at the Museum of International Folk Art on December 20, 2009 and runs through September 11, 2011.
01/08/10 Museum Unveils Recently Donated Works
New Arrivals: Works from the Collection is an exhibition of recent acquisitions to the Museum’s permanent collection. New Arrivals highlights the important role the art patron plays in developing a Museum’s collection— either through an outright donation or partnering with the Museum in a purchase. The exhibition runs from February 12 to April 4, 2010.
12/20/09 Holiday Celebration with Annual Baumann Marionette Performance – Freckles, Warts, Rosina, and Santa, too!
The Gustave Baumann marionettes have entertained generations of Santa Feans every Christmas in St. Francis Auditorium. The marionettes, props, and other stage material have been used in Christmas productions since 1935.
11/20/09 New Mexico History Museum to Receive Hewett Award
The New Mexico History Museum will receive the New Mexico Association of Museums’ Hewett Award this week at the group’s annual meeting in Santa Fe. Also receiving a Hewett is Louise Stiver, retired senior curator of the History Museum, whose Fashioning New Mexico exhibit is on display through April 14, 2010.
11/20/09 Exhibit opening: Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time
Join the curators for the grand opening of the New Mexico History Museum’s newest exhibit, Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time, a historical and archaeological exploration of the founding and first 100 years of La Villa Real de Santa Fé. A free reception will be 5:30-7 pm on Friday, Nov. 20, in the Palace of the Governors. The event is hosted by the Women’s Board. Visitors can enter through the Palace at 105 W. Palace Ave., or the History Museum, 113 Lincoln Ave.
11/20/09 Spanish Crown Prince Tours NM History Museum,
His Royal Highness Prince Felipe of Spain, with his wife, Princess Letizia, on Tuesday visited the New Mexico History Museum, which he called “amazing” for its depictions of diverse cultures living and sometimes clashing over the centuries.
11/20/09 Announcing the Telling New Mexico Inaugural Lecture Series
The New Mexico History Museum today unveiled a new subscription lecture series to accompany the book, Telling New Mexico: A New History. Speakers for the five-part Telling New Mexico Inaugural Lecture Series will cover a range of topics – from the earliest Spanish colonists to Blackdom to Japanese internment camps to Navajo women.
11/20/09 The Jewish-Converso Roots of Don Juan de Oñate
José Antonio Esquibel will speak on “A Matter of Persuasion: The Jewish-Converso Lineage of Don Juan de Oñate” at 6 pm on Thursday, Nov. 12 at the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium, 113 Lincoln Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
11/20/09 Ilan Stavans Shakes Things Up
Ilan Stavans, "the czar of Latino culture in the United States," will speak on "The Jewish Experience in Latin America" at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15, at the New Mexico History Museum. The event is free with Museum admission and open to the public. The Museum is at 113 Lincoln Ave. in Santa Fe; admission is free to NM residents on Sundays.
11/20/09 Preserving Your Family’s Heirloom Textiles
Worried about how well you’re safeguarding that family finery tucked into a closet or stuffed into a cedar chest? Learn how professionals care for heirloom textiles at a workshop in the New Mexico History Museum classroom from 2-4 pm on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Museum is at 113 Lincoln Avenue in downtown Santa Fe.
11/19/09 The Scientific Nature and Artistic Culture of Landscape: Naturalists, Classifiers and Model Builders
The Scientific Nature and Artistic Culture of Landscape: Naturalists, Classifiers and Model Builders Lecture by David Krakauer November 19, 2009 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Free admission David Krakauer is a professor and faculty chair at the Santa Fe Institute, where his research includes, in part, the evolution of cultural forms, the electronic dissemination of images, and the crossover of mathematical, scientific and artistic reasoning. Krakauer will offer a unique “window” onto the landscape works by some of the artists in the exhibition Manmade, as seen through the lens of science. His lecture will take place on Thursday, November 19, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. This is one in a series of lectures presented in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition Manmade: Notions of Landscape from the Lannan Collection. Location: St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe Plaza, 107 West Palace Avenue. For more information the public may call 505-476-5068.
11/12/09 Balancing the World: Huichol Art and Culture
For the first time, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, presents a significant collection of Huichol art from the early part of the last century collected by anthropologist Robert M. Zingg (1900–1957) for the Laboratory of Anthropology (April 11, 2010 through March 6, 2011). These unique works represent important ties to Native American, prehispanic, and Hispanic art histories and cultures. Known today for colorful, decorative yarn paintings, which are renowned in the global art market, the origins of modern Huichol art are found in the earlier Huichol religious arts of the Zingg ethnographic collection.