Santa Fe is one of the world's largest and most diverse art hubs. If you love culture as much as we do, you’ll be glad to know that Santa Fe was most recently named the [blog_link text="Best Destinations for Culturephiles" url="http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-destination-for-culturephiles/?utm_campaign=consumer-target&utm_source=santafeblog&utm_medium=link&utm_content=2016-03-22"] by readers of USAToday’s 10Best.
There’s so much to see and absorb here! This spring the city’s renowned museums are elevating the experience with a slate of special exhibits. The new shows will highlight the past, present and future through photography, miniatures, watercolor paintings, exotic jewelry and more.
Here’s a selection:
20th Anniversary for SITE Santa Fe
SITE Santa Fe WorkSHoP and SITE 20 Years / 20 Shows Spring 2016 Now through May 22, 2016
SITE opened two new exhibitions recently, WorkSHoP, a new exhibition exploring the work of the New York-based architecture and design firm SHoP Architects. SHoP, selected as the architects for SITE’s future building expansion, has distinguished itself as an innovative and highly collaborative firm that embraces a range of approaches from novel sustainability concepts to next-generation fabrication techniques. 20 Years / 20 Shows Spring 2016 features the work of Wangechi Mutu with Edgar Arceneaux, Terry Allen, and Luis Camnitzer.
Visit [blog_link text="SITE Santa Fe" url="https://sitesantafe.org/exhibition/site-20-years-20-shows-spring-2016" date=2016-03-22]
Honoring Living Treasure Dan Namingha
Museum Of Indian Arts & Culture — Landscape of an Artist: Living Treasure Dan Namingha Now through September 11, 2016
Every year at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture’s Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival, the museum chooses to honor an artist as a MIAC Living Treasure. This year, Dan Namingha is being honored. Namingha was born and raised on the Hopi reservation and his art is inspired by the Southwest region and subjects within his culture. For the past five decades his work has continuously evolved as he has refined his studio practice by experimenting with different mediums and techniques. Namingha’s art has been extremely well received on both the national and international art scene at numerous exhibitions.
Visit the [blog_link text="Museum of Indian Arts and Culture" url="http://indianartsandculture.org/current" date=2016-03-22]
A Woman of Many Talents
New Mexico Museum of Art — “Assumed Identities: Photographs by Anne Noggle” April 2 through September 11, 2016
Anne Noggle was a woman of many talents, working as a pilot, photographer, curator and professor. This exhibit features more than 35 photographs and will reintroduce the artist to the public ten years after her death and include recent additions to the museum’s holding of nearly 100 of her prints.
Visit the [blog_link text="New Mexico Museum of Art" url=" http://www.nmartmuseum.org" date=2016-03-22]
Capturing The Soul of Santa Fe
New Mexico History Museum — “Santa Fe Faces: Alan Pearlman Photographs” Now through September 18, 2016
In 2009, photographer Alan Pearlman set out on a quest to capture the soul of Santa Fe in a series of staged portraits. The exhibit will feature a selection from 90 portraits, aiming to reveal a moment in The City Different’s history, focusing on the ways that clothing and settings speak to identities and occupations.
Visit the [blog_link text="New Mexico History Museum" url="http://www.nmhistorymuseum.org/calendar.php?&id=2835" date=2016-03-22]
Georgia’s Texas
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum — “Georgia O’Keeffe’s Far Wide Texas” April 29 through October 30, 2016
This exhibit will showcase the watercolors created by Georgia O’Keeffe during the years she lived in Canyon, Texas (1916-1918), a period of radical innovation and the time when O’Keeffe’s commitment to abstraction was firmly established. The exhibition will analyze the unique situation that fostered her abstractions at the intersection of her disciplined art practice and her allegiance to the techniques of her mentor, Arthur Wesley Dow.
Visit the [blog_link text="Georgia O'Keeffe Museum" url="http://www.okeeffemuseum.org" date=2016-03-22]
Return of the Big Top
Museum of International Folk Art — “The Morris Miniature Circus: Return of The Little Big Top” April 3 through January 1, 2017
After 30 years, the beloved Morris Miniature Circus returns to the Museum of International Folk Art. The Morris Circus was built over the course of 40 years by W.J Morris and is modeled after a 1930s “railroad circus,” when the circus would come to town by rail, set up in a day and pack up to the next venue. The collection consists of an estimated 100,000 pieces made through a variety of techniques from woodcarving and painting to clay modeling and mold making.
Visit the [blog_link text="Museum of International Folk Art" url="http://www.internationalfolkart.org" date=2016-03-22]
Sacred Realm
Museum of International Folk Art - Sacred Realm: Blessings and Good Fortune Across Asia Now through March 29, 2017
Santa Fe has historically been home to a diverse religious and ethnic population, so it’s only fitting that the new “Sacred Realm” exhibit is currently featured at the city’s Museum of International Folk Art. “Sacred Realm” highlights the museum’s wide-ranging Asian collection exploring such beliefs as magical protection, blessings, and good fortune. This exhibition presents interesting similarities within the many countries and regions making up Asia and its more than 50 countries, thousands of ethnic groups, more than ten language families—encompassing more than 2,000 spoken languages—and is the birthplace to such world religions as Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam as well as many local faiths.
Visit the [blog_link text="Museum of International Folk Art" url="http://www.internationalfolkart.org/visit/" date=2016-03-22].
Free Shuttle Service to Museums Available The Santa Fe Pick-Up shuttle service is a great way for those who want a fast, free way to get around downtown, Museum Hill, Railyard and Canyon Road. For routes and schedules visit [blog_link text="Santa Fe Pick Up" url="https://www.santafenm.gov/santa_fe_pickup_shuttle" date=2016-03-22]. You can also download the [blog_link text="free app" url="http://www.takethetrails.com/app/" date=2016-03-22].
We hope we enjoy these exciting, new exhibits on your next trip to Santa Fe. You’ll want to order our [blog_link text="2016 Santa Fe travel guide" url="http://santafe.org/Visitors_Guide/index.html" date=2016-03-22] to begin planning your Santa Fe adventure. And while you’re planning your trip, look for super [blog_link text="special deals and specials" url="http://santafe.org/Visiting_Santa_Fe/Specials/" date=2016-03-22] currently being offered by Santa Fe businesses.