By Mike Cook
The Doña Ana Arts Council’s (DAAC) 2021 gallery schedule will include works in a variety of media by some of the finest artists in the region.
“We’re very excited to feature many local artists in next year’s schedule,” said Karen Conley, DAAC program manager and gallery exhibit curator. “In August, we moved here and have had a positive response from the community with the shows thus far. We look forward to providing more inspiring and exciting art to the community in a venue well situated and designed to showcase artists.”
The DAAC schedule for 2021 is as follows:
- January: Linda Gendall’s retrospective of her work since moving to New Mexico in 2002. In addition, Nolan Winkler's series titled “Blooms,” that has been displayed in the DAAC library since November, will remain available until the end of January.
- February: ArtForms Member Show will be hosted by DAAC for ArtForm’s annual For the Love of Art Month. The show will be one of many exhibits and activities throughout the greater Las Cruces area during the month of February.
- March: Artist and art teacher Wayne Huber and many of his former students will present landscapes, abstracts and bird paintings in a show titled, “Wayne Huber and Friends.”
- April: Colorado pastel artist Dinah Swan was setting up her show for DAAC last March, when state public health orders forced the DAAC gallery to temporarily close. Few people were able to see Swan’s Animal Kingdom show as a result, so DAAC has invited her back in April for a show that will include new pieces, along with some of the animal pastels she brought last year.
- May: The wife and husband team of A.me and Mitch Alamag of Rokoko Art Studio and Suzanne Kane will collaborate to create a show called “Rhythm & Rhyme.” The three will present collaborative pieces, as well as new, individual work.
- June: Wayne Suggs will display his petroglyph series titled “Ancient Visions.” “Suggs’ photographs capture the iconic vestiges of ancient peoples who lived in our area and are sure to inspire people to enjoy the expansive New Mexico landscape and night skies,” DAAC said.
- July: Karen Zibert, a local encaustic artist, and DAAC’s own Karen Conley will curate a multimedia show a summer show. Additional information and a call for artists will be published in January.
- August: Exhibit by the 10 O’clock Club is titled “Disrupted” and reflects how the pandemic has affected and continues to affect lives. The show includes various mediums and a significant installation based on a prayer box built by Noël Sandino.
- September: “The Artists of Picacho Hills” show will include painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, woodworking, textile and quilting. During the year, this same group hosts “Art in the Garden” and “Holly Day House.”
- October: Artist Jo-An Smith will give a retrospective exhibition that includes enamels, jewelry, drawings and paintings from her private collection. She also is producing new pieces for the show.
- November: The New Mexico Watercolor Society (NMWS) Exhibit, titled “Eureka! Inspiration in Watercolor,” will be juried by a nationally recognized watercolorist. Participation in this show counts toward artists’ signature status in NMWS.
- December: The Border Artists’ show titled “Blue Skies” will include the work of painters, ceramicists, sculptors, photographers, metal workers, printmakers and mixed media artists. Some familiar names in the collective include Emmitt Booher, Tauna Cole, Storm Sermay and Jean Wilkey.
“The arts in our area are a shining beacon,” said DAAC executive Director Greg Smith. “That beacon reminds those of us who live here of so many blessings we enjoy, and it guides others here to appreciate what our nature, our history and our artists make possible.”
The Gallery at the Doña Ana Arts & Cultural Center is located at 250 W. Amador Ave. Regular business hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. The gallery is open extended hours, noon-5 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month.
Call 575-523-6403 or visit www.daarts.org.
