Two statewide programs seek New Mexico artists

From Staff Reports
·2 min read
A collection of hand-painted card made by Anelise Elmquist for her business, Art for the World.
A collection of hand-painted card made by Anelise Elmquist for her business, Art for the World.

LAS CRUCES - Two statewide programs are putting out calls for artists in New Mexico.

New Mexico Artists to Know Now

Southwest Contemporary has opened a call for artists for its fourth annual “12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now” program, a feature series published in print and a month-long gallery exhibition.

Artists living and working in New Mexico at any stage of their careers are invited to submit work in any discipline. All media are accepted, including painting, sculpture, new media, performance, printmaking, fiber arts, photography, mixed media, sound art, video, installation work, and more.

This year’s call will be juried by Louis Grachos, executive director of SITE Santa Fe, and Marisa Sage, director and head curator of the New Mexico State University Art Museum in Las Cruces.

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This program intends to share the most compelling, vibrant contemporary art being made in New Mexico and connect state artists to a regional, national, and international audience.

To learn more about what artists receive, eligibility requirements and to submit an application, visit https://southwestcontemporary.com/call-for-artists/. Deadline to submit is 11:59 p.m. March 4.

For information, email info@southwestcontemporary.com or call 505-424-7641.

New Mexico-themed coloring book

The Art in Public Places Program of New Mexico Arts and the NM Department of Cultural Affairs is seeking a commission up to 26 New Mexican artists to create coloring page illustrations for a New Mexico-themed activity book.

The project will create a multilingual, multicultural New Mexico-themed alphabet coloring book to further early childhood literacy. The application deadline is March 18.

Each illustration will represent a letter of the alphabet with an accompanying short sentence. To support and encourage cultural diversity, artists are encouraged to embrace their own native languages and culture in determining which letters and words they would like to illustrate.

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The program is open to artists working in New Mexico and will pay artists $1,000 per completed illustration. Details regarding project intent, eligibility, selection process and criteria, submission requirements, and the project timeline can be found at https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=9571.

The 2022 NMDCA Activity Book project will distribute more than 10,000 books across the state through local libraries and community organizations. The book will also be available for digital download. The 2021 activity book is still available for download at dcaeducates.nmculture.org/dca-activity-book/.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Two statewide programs seek New Mexico artists