Posts Tagged ‘Red Cell’



The Care & Feeding of Santa Fe’s Creative Class

the Reciprocal Value of Supporting the Local Alt/Indie Creative Scene
Posted Friday September 24 2010 by in Art, Art Galleries, Local Events
2 comments

Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t. –Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

A thriving music and nightlife scene is critical to attracting and retaining the young, brilliant, awesome people that Santa Fe needs. –After Hours Alliance

Musical Expression, Josh Gallegos

Last Wednesday, Joshua and I sat in on a meeting of the After Hours Alliance (AHA), a volunteer consortium of local music and art promoters dedicated to supporting and sustaining a vibrant, dimensional night scene for the younger set in Santa Fe. Even if you’re neither young, nor interested in the city’s nightlife, here are a few things you should know about the group. AHA supports all-ages access to night time events.  It is dedicated to promoting responsible alcohol consumption at the events it sponsors and has concrete ideas as to how to make this happen (read more on this topic at Activate or Deteriorate).

Its backbone support players are hardworking, resourceful actioneers: people like Shannon Murphy, Dan Werwath, and the folks behind High Mayhem, Meow Wolf, Little Wing, Team Everything and The Process, among others.  All are people who consistently make art and music events happen with or without time, money or a dedicated home.

This weekend, help make Santa Fe a friendly incubator of creative young talent by going where you’ve never gone before: get off the Canyon Road/Santa Fe Plaza art circuit and check out a new venue.  See the list below for alt/indie art and music options worth investigating. Good for you; good for them; good for the city.

~*~*~

This Friday evening, from 4-7 PM, head over to the Railyard Arts District for a double axle delight from Axle Contemporary. If you haven’t seen this marvelously creative mobile gallery, make the detour. Axle Contemporary (the shiny, tricked-out van) will showcase ongoing exhibit, Transmissions.  Axle Annex will be featuring  Sun, Flower, Seed a vehicular installation by Matthew Chase-Daniel.  Transmissions will continue to roll its way around Santa Fe through October 14th, but you have just three days to see Sun, Flower Seed.

Axle Art's Gallery on Wheels

Also on Friday the 24th, from 6-9 PM, for ONE night only, view Conglomerate Perception, at popup gallery, Symphonic Soul, located at 1012 Marquez Place, Unit #108B in Santa Fe (next to Valdez Glass.)  Show features the work of emerging and independent artists Josh Gallegos, Cotton Miller, Mike Rohner, David Hyams, Anne Kelly, Carolyn Wright and Michael Webb. Swing by for food, music and a chance to meet and mingle with artists.

Wish Santa Fe had a better music scene? Then show your support for still young performance and educational space, Little Wing, with a weekend lineup that spans a variety of tastes.

Tomorrow night, check out THE NEXT REVOLUTION Hip Hop Art/Music show presented by TNR Crew with Casuno, DJ Meshak, Galley Cat, DJ Shakedown, Perish and more TBA :::6:30-9pm :::cost TBA

And on Sunday the 26th, don’t miss Pillars & Tongues, Aaron Martin, Secret Spells presented by Red Cell’s, The Process :::8pm $5

Little Wing is located next to the CandyMan, at 851 St. Michael’s Drive. 505.983.5906.

~*~*~

If your musical taste runs avant garde, don’t miss Saturday’s full banquet concert at High Mayhem, 2811 Siler Lane, 505.501.3333  Get an advance-rundown on the show at The Santa Fe Reporter

** Congratulations to Axle Contemporary for today’s write up in the culture section of the New York Times.  “We’re blending the high and the low, the exclusive and the democratic, and taking those boundaries and crossing them,” says Axle’s co-founder Matthew Chase-Daniel of the old Hostess delivery truck — refashioned with track lighting, plastered walls and skylights — that serves as his gallery. Read the full article at Let It Roll: Santa Fe’s Art A Go-Go

I loved hearing the NYT refer to Santa Fe’s art scene as “robust,” referencing last year’s piece, The Art of Being Santa Fe.  There are certainly many working to make the Santa Fe art world ever more broad and vigorous.

Activate or Deteriorate: Avoiding ‘Spectrum Syndrome’ in Santa Fe

Posted Tuesday August 17 2010 by in Cultural & Community Events, Local Events, Santa Fe Downtown
1 comment

Activationism Indoors is practiced at the New Central Nightclub in Provincetown, 1948

About six weeks ago, I found myself in a time trough between appointments, looking for shade and coffee in a part of town not known for its cafes. I stumbled upon Spectrum which won me over with its excellent coffee and commitment to community.  While doing a final fact check last week prior to giving them a plug in my blog, I called their number. Disconnected. Like some crazed EMT-wannabe doing CPR on a cold corpse, I redialed four times. Finally, I called neighboring Pizzeria Espiritu and learned from the friendly voice on the line that, in fact, the cafe had closed the day before.

I shouldn’t have been shocked.  When we spoke to Shalene Dailey, who co-owned Spectrum with her husband Nathan, we detected the ozone of exhaustion, centered on the challenge of finding professionally-minded staff.  But what heartened me was to hear Shalene frame this challenge as a big picture service to community.  She wanted her employees to learn life skills they could later apply to their own passions and to model the same for her own kids. She wanted the cafe to serve as a locus of community.

*~*~*~

Last week, at the urging of Red Cell, we met with Dan Werwath and Shannon Murphy who were collecting info for the next MIX Santa Fe from locals-in-the-know about Santa Fe nightlife. I’m hardly one to tap on that subject, but Changing Gallery–our endeavor to support emerging and independent artists–has made occasional contributions to the downtown night scene. So we talked about common ambitions and perennial problems. If you haven’t heard, MIX Santa Fe “is a public/private collaboration that [uses] creative micro-stimulus initiatives, job resources and regular networking to [attract] new ideas, business growth and energy to Santa Fe.” That’s the short version. Visit the Mix website for the full bio on this local effort to make Santa Fe a better, more economically-friendly home for the city’s young professionals. MIX even caught the camera-eye of CNN.

Every month, MIX poses a question with a prize for the winner. May’s “Mix Pays Revenge of a Question” was, “What, besides money, do you need to launch an entrepreneurial idea or business?”  The responses pointed up both the sandpits and fairways of launching new venture, including a rant about how the city is controlled by a small cabal of status quo players with longstanding ties (here termed a “gerontocracy.”) Positive suggestions included assembling a group of taste makers to vet and bless new ventures, and providing a gathering place for entrepreneurial folk to share ideas.

Member of an old Boston Family... expresses Activationist Joy

Whatever it doesn’t have, Santa Fe has no lack of talent.  The challenge is how to interlock that talent to make it go further.  I was going to propose that the wished for groups of tastemakers and entrepreneurs make Spectrum their meeting place, and that Spectrum tap the pool of young professionals for ideas and action to create a full scale entrepreneurial “factory,” but Spectrum didn’t make it.

So what HAVE we got? Changing Gallery uses on-market real estate to showcase the work of emerging and independent artists.  Sure, I’d love a large warehouse with walls into which Jennifer Joseph could hammer her gorgeous installations, where a day cafe could make way for a nighttime performance space for indie musicians.  But what I have are listings and artwork–both of which need to be seen in order to be sold. Through intersecting needs, everyone wins.

Last month’s Mix Pays winner was Rob DeWalt, who suggested “extending the Santa Fe Trails bus service to 3 a.m. on limited routes on the weekends for a 3-month trial period…. “In order for it to work, though, people will have to put their money where their mouth is and actually use this new public transportation option during the trial period.” (italics mine) “We’d like to try to put Rob’s idea in motion but we need your feedback…,” said Mix. “What would it take to get you and your friends to ride it? What routes would be most important? Leave it in the comments or show up at the next MIX event (every third Thursday) to tell us in person.”

As of this writing, there wasn’t a comment in the box.  This is what I’m calling “The Spectrum Syndrome”: the passive belief that somebody will give feedback; somebody will set up the program; that if it’s a good idea, it’ll happen. I know I’m guilty of this; Spectrum’s my witness. Are you?  Here’s hoping that those whom the talented creatives behind Mix are seeking to serve will offer what they can easily spare–opinions and support for a good idea–lest the fine potential that is Santa Fe Mix become just another case of Spectrum Syndrome.

**Answer August’s $200 MixPays Survey on the issue of public transportation in Santa Fe and earn a ticket toward a free drink and a chance to win $200 if your answer smokes the competition.

Santa Fe Artist’s Boot Camp + Art Scene Updates

Posted Wednesday May 5 2010 by in Art, Cultural & Community Events, Local Events
0 comments

Emerging and independent artists have a low cost opportunity to step up their game with the Artist’s Boot Camp series starting Thursday, May 6th at Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa.   Sponsored by the Santa Fe Small Business Development Center and Creative Santa Fe, the weekly workshops focus on issues central to successful sales.  The courses run from 8:15 to noon.  The $25 fee covers tuition and a continental breakfast, courtesy of the City of Santa Fe and Bishop’s Lodge. Register online, or call: 505. 428.1343

This week on the Emerging and Independent Art Scene….

Friday, May 7th is the LAST night to catch Brittany Linkenheimer’s installation, Class, at the MOV-iN Gallery, 1600 Saint Michael’s Drive
on the College of Santa Fe campus. Class, an interactive installation, “provides the viewer with an experience that goes beyond the visual realm to include tactile and auditory components…a world of uncertainty and attempted self-reassurance [where] the only comfort comes in the form of consistency and repetition.” Produced by Andrew Dawson. Call: 505.982.0389 for more info.

On May 8th, from 7:00-9:00 PM, The College of Santa Fe Art Department presents “¡OINK!” a collaborative event featuring the sculpture, performance art, light installation, video art, sound sculpture and site-specific installation art of 16 CSF students including the man we fan, Red Cell.  Look for  “installations/objects [that] can be probed by the public as well as performances both staged and interactive.” ¡OINK! takes place at the Thaw Art Building on the CSF campus, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive. Call 505.471.2554 for more info.

On Sunday, May 9th, head to The Screen to see Late Bloomer, Go Shibata’s award-winning cult horror hit. Late Bloomer, is the first film in The Asia Now Film Series, presented by The Process and Tidepoint Pictures. The series runs the Second Sunday of Each Month at The Screen, 1600 St. Michael’s Dr. Film begins at 8:00 PM.  Call 505.473.6494 for details. A short Q & A session follows the film.

~*~*~*~

Last Saturday, we found ourselves shivering in the blustery winds blowing around the St. Francis Cathedral-Basilica near the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe.  May 1st was World Labyrinth Day . We were there to support independent musician, Michael Tait Tafoya, who froze his digits supplying the sonorous soundtrack for the labyrinth meditative walk. Read more about last weekend’s observation in the Santa Fe New Mexican piece Taos Celebrates World Labyrinth Day May 1 And check out Mike’s new, independently produced album, Beyond the Horizon, a multi-layered, all instrumental guitar album.  Mike’s both a terrific talent and a fine guy whose smile and pacific spirit run soul deep.

For a tangential, but very cool blogbit on Labyrinths in architecture, read this picture-rich post,  The Switching Labyrinth.

Thriving Arts = Thriving Cities: Towards a Santa Fe + Albuquerque Arts Link

Posted Friday January 22 2010 by in Art, Art Galleries
5 comments

Egg Painting 4 by Halle Treanor

Great cities are defined by great art.  We acknowledge the fact, profit from the spirit, but don’t necessarily involve ourselves with feeding our city’s vital arts character. Blessedly, in New Mexico, many do.

Last week, I took part in #abqtalk: a Twitter Talk show moderated by William C. Reichard, multi-talented communications pro and author of the blog Technoagita.  Although the concept of any number of people simultaneously tweeting on a target topic sounds like a recipe for mayhem, it works.  Reichard invites newcomers, thanks departers, adds missed links and repeats tweets to cohere and clarify the flow.  Last week’s subject was the arts in Albuquerque; the “panel” three of the Duke City’s arts organizations: Popejoy, a performing arts venue seating 1985 patrons bringing in touring acts to New Mexico, Chroma Studios, “an art center with studios, gallery, performance space where creatives can work, play, show and perform their ideas” and The Harwood, “a community art center that focuses on promoting education and visibility for artists, would be and could be artists.”

Participants acknowledged the impact of the recession and their role in keeping interest alive. “When money is tight, said @ACiepielaBFT, sometimes people forget what a difference the arts can make in their life. In the words of @TheHarwood “to build the arts audience in abq, we also need to inspire it – show people how creativity & art are relevant.”

Some tweets spoke of perennial roadblocks–ego, snobbery and inadequate funding among them.  What surprised me was to hear of the difficulty that these established, and fairly high-profile venues face in getting the word out.

Several organizations decried the lack of “a centralized email calendar”and lamented that with “so much going on we don’t always make the cut on [published] calendars.”  One participant noted that Albuquerque arts venues also must acknowledge how they are perceived outside the state: locals know we are an arts locale, nationally, people think Santa Fe.”

I sense an opportunity.

My focus, here and with Changing Gallery, is to promote the arts, businesses, events and people of downtown Santa Fe.  I am particularly committed to promoting independent and emerging artists who operate outside of the gallery system.  The blog is one place where you can find out about the activities, news, culture and players of the Alt/Indie/Emerging Arts Scene.  I intend my work to be complementary to, not opposed to, the efforts of local galleries who cannot fund, represent or support every creative that crosses their paths.

According to a survey by the nonprofit group Americans for the Arts, over the last ten years the number of arts organizations increased rapidly at the same time that the percentage of people attending arts events declined.  Too many hands are reaching out for pieces of a dwindling pie.  The good news is that there are many people motivated to preserve a vigorous arts presence.  The challenge: how do we work together to create strength for all?

I do not have immediate, definitive answers but I offer what I have: my brain, my heart, my snippet of time, and my blog.

North/Central New Mexico, let’s start with the longed for centralized calendar. We can use this informational meeting place to build a sturdy bridge between Santa Fe and Albuquerque: two vibrant arts communities whose proximity and complementarity are an open conduit for cooperative effort. Santa Fe: if you’ve never been to an ArtsCrawl, make an effort.  Check out the offerings at Chroma Studios and The Harwood Art Center.  Take a look at the full spectrum of activities provided by Popejoy Hall.  And Albuquerque, don’t dismiss Santa Fe as snobby.  Every been to a performance by WiseFoolNewMexico?

“Every thriving city I can think of has a visible, supported, and bustling art scene,” said @TheHarwood last week on Twitter.  Let’s be that thriving Twin City.

I look forward to your commentary and shared energy.

~*~*~

THIS WEEK ON THE SANTA FE/ALBUQUERQUE ALT/EMERGING/INDIE CREATIVE SCENE

Chace Haynes’ show People, People! is still up at High Mayhem at 2811 Siler Lane in Santa Fe.  Chace plans to be at the studio this Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4.  Call him at: 505.670.6115 to confirm or arrange an appointment.

Check out the appealing abstract paintings on Halle Treanor’s Art Page We met Halle at an open house at our listings at 111 East Santa Fe Ave.  Her blog includes a link to Halle’s site on Fine Art America which features more photography than painting.

Albuquerque based FractionMag is a photography site of distinction.  Great people driving great work by emerging and independent photo talents.

Mark Frossard has the first of a new series on his website plus a new edition of his blog Duck Hunt Reviews Check them out.

Red Cell and Patricia Sautoff continue their admirable work at The End of Being : a guide to difficult and unusual art, music, film, people and ideas.

Jenna Gerbach’s still pumping out her humble brilliance at MyHungryEye

Finally, take a look at a sensitive, piercing collection of photos by KayLynn Deveney chronicling the daily life of a Welsh man by the name of Albert Hastings.  Photographer Kaylynn Deveney happens to be William C. Reichard’s wife, but my endorsement is spontaneous and unsolicited. This is simple, powerful stuff.

Santa Fe Local Biz Review: Violante + Rochford Interiors

Posted Friday December 11 2009 by in Local Events, Santa Fe Downtown
2 comments

Photo courtesy of Wendy McEahern

We met Paul Rochford and Michael Violante through “The South Capitol Treehouse:” their moniker for the second home and rental property they own at 111 East Santa Fe Avenue.   Paul’s persistent good nature, preternatural politeness, and highly attuned sense of responsibility made me want to know more about him. In time, I met Michael–gracious and attentive–and learned that the two had just conjoined their talents and style to create VR Interiors: an interior design and staging company.  Work ethic, integrity, and professionalism merit the pair a blog mention and wave of the quill from this champion of local creatives.

Paul, a Santa Fe native, has owned and sold several successful local businesses (restaurant, catering company, and Canyon Road art gallery, among others) over the past 18 years. He began his entrepreneur career as small fry selling his arts and crafts roadside and door to door. His charm and moxie were so effective, the neighbors finally called his mom begging to have their finances rescued from the kid they couldn’t refuse.  Around age 9 or 10, he started trolling antique stores with friends, identifying an early passion for design.  After graduating from B-school, he turned his golden touch to a series of business that all did well, despite being opened in strange economic times.  Michael, meanwhile, developed and expanded his creative strengths as VP of Design for ACC (AKA American Country Collection) for 17 years.

” What we ideally like to do is clean lines and a mixture of contemporary and antiques, bridging the old with the modern, because much of the new and contemporary has been inspired by the ancient.” Yet while they “enjoy exposing people to new things, new ideas,” the best designs “depend on the clients’ sensibilities.  We [commit] the time to find out how they live.”

“A big part of what we do is bringing someone’s past into their present. Michael is really brilliant at figuring out how to bring a quirky sentimental item into context,” says Paul.

Violante & Rochford make strong efforts to be Green, both in their use of sustainable materials and their  support of local artisans and craftspeople. “Even though the world is our oyster and it can be very much easier to go to a manufacturer, part of our definition of being Green is supporting the local economy.”

Their clients’ homes, and their own rental properties, range through some of downtown Santa Fe and Santa Fe county’s most beautiful neighborhoods.  “We love South Capitol. It’s charming, sleepy, beautiful, moody, with well established gardens. The area is so different from anywhere else and yet completely appropriate to Santa Fe.”

No website yet, but Violante & Rochford Interiors can be contacted at: 983.3912 where you will most likely reach their assistant, Natasha.  Email: morafine@earthlink.net

***UPDATE: Violante & Rochford Interiors now has a website that’s attractive, clean and easy to navigate.

Photo courtesy of Wendy McEahern

~*~*~
This week in Santa Fe’s alt/indie/emerging cultural scene….
“Bah Humbug: Twelve Artists Take on Christmas”opens this Friday at 5 PM at GF Contemporary, 707 Canyon Road.  This first annual group exhibition and benefit in support of The Food Depot and The Empty Stocking Fund involves some pretty fabulous talents in the local alt/indie cultural scene.  For more information, go to the BANG! Art Gallery website.

Red Cell calls High Mayhem “consistently interesting” and “the reason I didn’t just leave Santa Fe after a year.”  High Mayhem describes itself as “a not-for-profit emerging arts facility, record label and multimedia production collective based in Santa Fe. Join them this Saturday at 9 PM for Duos! Two very different possibilities in the world of drum and bass duos.  With Ray Charles Ives (RCI), MVIII Los Duo and Creatures of Routine. 2811 Siler Lane, Santa Fe.  Cost: $10.

ALSO NOTED:
Check out MyHungryEye™: the online home and selected works of Jenna Gersbach, an artist and photographer currently living and working in Santa Fe.  Jenna’s has strong creative muscles and manic professionalism.  Smart, driven, delightful and decent, she is one to watch.

And, finally,  another shameless plug for The End of Being: an esoteric guide to difficult and unusual art, music, film, people and ideas (because any city worth its grit needs someone willing to explore such things….) Powered by Red Cell and Patricia Sautoff.
~*~*~*
Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. Currently displaying work by Mark Frossard, Laird Hovland, Jonathan Tercero at 133 Sombrio in Casa Solana, downtown Santa Fe. To schedule an appointment, call: 231.7598.

To learn more about  us, and for full access to the MLS, visit: SantaFeDowntownRealEstate.com. **Access the MLS from your smartphone at: SantaFeDowntownRealEstate.com/m

Mad Science Brewing in Downtown Santa Fe

Posted Wednesday December 2 2009 by in Local Events, Santa Fe Downtown
0 comments

-2In the heart of downtown Santa Fe’s South Capitol district, a Mad Scientist is stirring a cauldron of mind-spurring experiments and impressionable young minds to create a new generation of revolutionary thinkers.

At least that’s her hope.

Once a week, age-clustered groups of students gather to  build electric motors, dissect plants, peer at small things through microscopes, assemble and launch a hovercraft and otherwise engage in scientific play.  Sprung from the head of Janette Fischer, a PhD Biologist with a Masters in Elementary Education, The Mad Scientists’ Clubhouse is an after school program designed to give kids–”Natural Born Scientists–an opportunity to see just how much fun science can be.

“More and more, because lack of money in the schools, teachers will perform an experiment like a magic trick. Students just watch and take notes, ” says Fischer.   The Mad Scientists’ Clubhouse is an ongoing opportunity for children to explore entertaining scientific questions “with guidance and encouragement, but without pressure or haste.”

“Some students who come to the Clubhouse used to love science, but are now sick of it because it’s become all talk.  There’s no license to make mistakes because there’s no time or money for it. Yet, some of the best scientific discoveries have been made because of scientific error.”

Currently, Fischer offers classes on Wednesdays (grades 1-3) and Thursdays (grades 4-6), from 3-5 PM.  The next semester starts the week of January 11.  The  popular program usually fills up, but with enough demand, Fischer will add a third class on Tuesdays. For more information, call: 505.982.0677.

A Hovercraft

A Hovercraft

~*~*~*~

This Week on the Santa Fe Creative Scene…

Friday marks the opening of the first annual Santa Fe Independent 2009 Film Festival, featuring underground, experimental and art films from around the world.  This invitational event begins Friday at 5PM and runs through Sunday at 9:30 PM.  The 10th annual Santa Fe Film Festival opens tonight and runs through Sunday.

Also on Friday, head over to the Baca St. Studios for the Annual Baca Street Arts Tour and a chance to sample new chocolate creations by Ryan and Beth Helean’s House of Sin. Sculptor Laird Hovland will be showing five new bronze pieces.  Artist Erika Wanenmacher, will be offering discounts at Ditch Witch.  For more info, check out Charlotte Jusinski’s preview in the Santa Fe Reporter or call 505.820.2222 for maps and info. Show runs Friday Dec. 4th- 5-9pm, Sat Dec. 5th 10-4pm and Sun Dec. 6th 10-4pm.

From 5-7 PM, The Lisa Chun Gallery, 533 Agua Fria Street, will be having a Holiday show and sale featuring artwork by Ben Haggard and Lisa Chun.  Chun’s handsome collage work merges poetic word with voluptuous image.  Look for 20% off on smaller items.

On Sunday the 6th from 1-3pm, Mike Tait Tafoya will be playing at The Collected Works Bookstore at 202 Galisteo St #A  (505) 988-4226.

Also of note, Alt Curator, Red Cell, has launched The End of Being, a news magazine and Esoteric Guide to Difficult and Unusual Art, Music, Film, People and Ideas.  One stop shopping for all the unusual stuff that draws Red’s roving mind.  Co-hosted by Patricia Sauthoff, former Arts and Entertainment editor of the Santa Fe Reporter. Watch for an interview with Red in a later blogpost.

*~*~*

Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. Currently displaying work by Mark Frossard, Laird Hovland, Jonathan Tercero at the Bella Donna, 111 East Santa Fe Ave. To schedule an appointment, call: 231.7598. For up-to-date market info and full access to the MLS, visit: Santa Fe Real Estate Downtown.

Santa Fe Art Scene: Substance over Style

Posted Friday October 30 2009 by in Art, Art Galleries, Local Events
2 comments
"Suppertime"-Mark Frossard

"Suppertime"-Mark Frossard

Sure, Santa Fe was crowned a UNESCO Creative City in 2005 (for folk art and design) and has apparent squatter’s right in the Small Cities category of American Style’s annual poll on the top 25 arts destinations.  We’re known for the Canyon Road art galleries, the opera, Indian Market, Spanish Market and most recently, the International Folk Art Market. We’ve got SOFA, SITE Santa Fe, The Santa Fe Film Festival, The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, not to mention the smorgasbord of dance, music, performance and film laid out at The Lensic.  Photographers flock here for the light, the galleries and the excellent workshops.  “In no other state of this union is the trend of life so clearly shaped by art as in New Mexico.” Edgar Lee Hewett, first director of the Museum of New Mexico, said this 100 years ago, and it may still be true.  But to my mind, the real measure of our civic creativity lies not in our institutions, but in our individual creative drive, the ingenuity and I’m-an-artist-if-I-say-so moxie of the denizens of the City Different.

You’ll find plenty to do just by checking out the Santa Fe Arts and Culture Calendar, the website for the Santa Fe Gallery Association, the Pasatiempo calendar , or the SFR Picks page in the Arts and Culture section of the Santa Fe Reporter. But to tap the depths of Santa Fe’s creative soul,  take a chance on something new. There’s a goldsteam of cultural riches that ride under the radar of many visitors and residents.

Tonight, October 30th, from 5-9 PM,  Meow Wolf, a collective of multimedia artists who pool their talents to create dynamic, “must see”, installation events, has an opening for “GEODEcedant” at their home on Second Street.  Also on Second Street, from 6-9 PM, is the opening for “Inner Demons” at Ahalenia Studios.  On Saturday night, starting at 5 PM, Baca Street Studios is having a Halloween Party, featuring the music of Sean Helean, the grand opening of Erika Wanenmacher‘s Ditch Witch Store, “fire dancers, and other spectacular wonders.”

"Chicano on Alto St"-Carlo Armendariz

"Chicano on Alto St"-Carlo Armendariz

People sometimes lament Santa Fe’s limits.  The music scene has seen its ebbs and swells and more than one fine musical venue has washed out on a mysterious tide.  But while one kid complains of a lack of toys, another kid builds castles in the sand. Like Meow Wolf, local alt curator Red Cell, is working “to bring audience and artists together in a unique way” through his non-profit group, The Process, which pulls together a distinct mix of music, art, film, spoken word and performance art.

I’ll close with a shameless plug for a few of our favorite indie and up-and-coming arts: Mark Frossard (artist and blogger) showing in downtown Santa Fe at 111 East Santa Fe Ave., sculptor Laird Hovland, photographer and musician Carlo Armendariz, photographer Jonathan Tercero, whose work currently hangs at Java Joe’s DeVargas location, and Michael Tait Tafoya (playing tonight, and most Fridays, at Vino del Corazon at the corner of Alameda and Don Gaspar).  This weekend, step out of the mainstream and treat yourself to something different in the City Different.

*~*~

Real estate agents Malissa Kullberg and Joshua Maes, AKA Changing Gallery, use their listings, where appropriate, to showcase the art, photography, sculpture and other creations of emerging and independent talents. Artists receive 100% of the proceeds from any sale. For up-to-date market info and full access to the MLS, visit: Santa Fe Real Estate Downtown.

Santa Fe Real Estate
Bottom logo

© 2010 Malissa Kullberg. All rights reserved.