A Vibrant Cornerstone: Vladem Contemporary Headlines Fiscal Year

The big story of fiscal year 2023-24 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024) at the New Mexico Museum of Art was the resounding success of Vladem Contemporary’s inaugural year. This 35,006-square-foot expansion of the Museum of Art into the Railyard Arts District boosted momentum for the entire museum—enhancing educational programs, exhibitions and community outreach, as well as adding 50 new works to the collection.

Gifts to museum exhibitions and education programs through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation totaled $713,206 this fiscal year. A
dynamic lineup of engaging exhibitions attracted a record-breaking 79,491 visitors to both locations. The highlights included the Vladem Contemporary’s inaugural exhibition Shadow and Light, celebrating art in diverse media that represents New Mexico's iconic light, as well as part one of a landmark five-part survey of works by New Mexico artists, Off-Center: New Mexico Art, 1970-2000.

At the museum’s downtown Plaza Building, four recently gifted photography collections were showcased in Ways of Seeing: Four Photography Collections. Other downtown exhibitions included Saints & Santos: Picturing the Holy in New Spain; Out West: Gay and
Lesbian Artists in the Southwest 1900-1969; and Rick Dillingham: To Make, Unmake and Make
Again.

An astounding 2,871 school groups toured both museum locations, while 4,573 youth were reached via Museum of Art education programs—a 50% increase this fiscal year. This was no doubt due to the number of children attending programs at the Vladem Contemporary’s new Van Mabee Education Center. Additionally, the Vladem Contemporary’s collaboration with SITE Santa Fe and Violet Crown Cinema introduced local 7th-graders to contemporary art through the Railyard Compass Program. And the largest new docent class in memory graduated 20 people eager to share both museum locations with the public.

The public-facing initiatives at Vladem Contemporary attracted 14,526 guests this fiscal year to programs that “open doors for deeper artist-public interaction,” says Mark White, the museum’s executive director. The Vladem’s artist-in-residence program, located in the Dee Ann McIntyre in Memory of Scotty McIntyre Studio, welcomed four visiting artists, representing a return to the museum’s original artist-centered mission. The inaugural year was funded by a generous grant from the Frederick Hammersley Fund for the Arts at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

Foundation trustee Pat Hall and her husband Jim funded the popular Final Friday Artist Talks, where the public engages with Off-Center exhibition artists. The Halls’ motivation for sponsoring the talks? “We believe hearing the artists' explanation of their vision makes the work more accessible to the community," says Pat Hall.

Santa Fe gallerist and Foundation trustee Deborah Fritz and her family funded an additional opportunity for artist-community engagement at the Vladem Contemporary: The Fritz Family Digital Window. Located on the Van Mabee Plaza, the digital window’s inaugural year showcased short films by contemporary visionaries Madelin Coit, Susanna Carlisle and Bruce Hamilton.

“I am dedicated to supporting local artists, making the Vladem Contemporary a natural fit,” says Fritz. “Their Digital Window project perfectly aligns with my passion for digital art and non-traditional media and allows me to give back to the community that has been so supportive of my gallery.”

Private gifts supported additional initiatives intended to highlight contemporary artworks at the Vladem Contemporary. Bobby Foshay funded the street-facing Window Box Project, which featured the diverse perspectives of three emerging New Mexico artists in the fiscal year. Other generous donors rounded out these public offerings, helping to fund Leo Villareal’s Astral Array, a permanent outdoor LED light installation located on the Covered Terrace in Memory of Edward Hastings and Gino Barcone at the Vladem Contemporary.

Private support throughout the Museum of Art in the fiscal year “will ensure the museum remains a vibrant cornerstone of Santa Fe's cultural landscape,” White says. “Thank you for all of your past and future support.”

This article and images are from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s Member News Magazine.