New Mexico History Museum

Fiesta weekend: Free admission to the downtown museums

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 01, 2011

MEDIA CONTACT


Whether you’re from New Mexico or out-of-state, you can visit the New Mexico History Museum and New Mexico Museum of Art for free on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10 and 11, thanks to the generous support of the Gerald Peters Gallery and the Peters Family Art Foundation. The free weekend falls during Fiesta de Santa Fe, a perfect time to connect with New Mexico’s art, history and culture.

Both museums will close early on Friday, Sept. 9, at 5 pm rather than 8 pm.

“This is an important weekend to honor the history of Santa Fe,” said Frances Levine, director of the History Museum. “We’re delighted that the Gerald Peters Gallery and Peters Family Art Foundation have recognized how these two museums can share in that celebration.”

Visitors to the History Museum can enjoy the final weekend of Home Lands: How Women Made the West, which places the work and art of northern New Mexico women in a national context, plus two long-term exhibits featuring Santa Fe’s history and the development of the santero tradition. Tesoros de Devoción explores the history and craftsmanship of santeros in New Mexico; Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time examines the historical roots of the City Different.

Check out the fiesta’s annual Children’s Pet Parade on Saturday morning, then come to the Palace Courtyard at 11 am, when Andrew Leo Lovato will read from his new Museum of New Mexico Press book, Elvis Romero and Fiesta de Santa Fe, Featuring Zozobra’s Great Escape. The free event includes music, refreshments and an open-mike opportunity to share your own fiesta memories.

“The New Mexico Museum of Art is the place to enjoy the art of New Mexico, both old and new, in one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in Santa Fe,” said Mary Kershaw, director of the Museum of Art.  “I’m delighted that the support of the Gerald Peters Gallery will enable us to join in the spirit of Fiesta and open our doors to all New Mexicans and visitors, free of charge, over this celebratory weekend.”

Perennial favorites of the Southwest are showcased at the museum in The Prints of Gustave Baumann and How the West is One: The Art of New Mexico, while a more contemporary flavor is evident in Earth Now: American Photographers and the Environment as well as New Native Photography, 2011.  Kimono: Karen LaMonte and Prints of the Floating World features a breathtaking life-size glass sculpture making a rare appearance in a public museum.

Regular admission to the museums is $6 for NM residents, $9 for out-of-state visitors, with Sundays free to NM residents, and children 16 and under free every day.

The Gerald Peters Gallery, founded in Santa Fe in 1972, is one of the world's largest and most respected dealers in American art of the 19th- and 20th-centuries, with collections that span classic Western art, the Taos Society of Artists, American modernists, European impressionists, contemporary art and more. Located at 1011 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe's historic district, the gallery's Spanish pueblo-style adobe building includes 8,500 square feet of indoor exhibition space, a sculpture garden, a large research library, and a bookstore.

Phone numbers for publication

New Mexico History Museum: 505-476-5200

New Mexico Museum of Art: 505-476-5072

 



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