This is a visual arts series targeted at elementary and middle school students ages 9-15, and is designed to link gallery experiences with hands-on art activities. The use of space in an artist’s work, one of the elements of design, will guide student investigations during this nine-month series. Programs run from 10 a.m.-12 noon on the second Saturday of the month and are FREE. Pre-registration is required. Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This series is funded by grants from Community Foundation of Chaves County, Roswell Women’s Club, and Roswell Sertoma Club.

Using historic images, Nancy Bartlit will present stories and ironies of cultural encounters during World War II. She will focus on the interconnections of New Mexicans with Japanese, both in the Pacific theatre and at home where elderly Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps in Santa Fe while their sons fought for the U.S. in Europe and Asia. Bartlit will also highlight the role of the Navajo Code Talkers and the efforts of an international team of scientists to develop a secret atomic bomb at Los Alamos.

 

Joseph Marshall, Sicangu Lakota (Sioux), grew up with stories older than the elders that told them. These stories told how to live life and, because they carried traditions, customs, and values within them, they enabled an entire culture to survive. In this talk Marshall will illustrate, through stories, virtues such as humility, respect, compassion, sacrifice, and honesty. These were and continue to be the “foundation and moral sustenance of Lakota culture.”

 

Photographer Douglas Kent Hall captures New Mexico light in his book as he juxtaposes surprising images redolent of the people, sights, and contrasts in our state. His photographs of mainstream and counterculture subjects include rock music icons, bodybuilders and prison inmates, and cowboys. At the center of his work is an exploration of the modern American West and the heart that beats there—sometimes violently, often poetically.

 

Joseph Traugott, Curator of Twentieth Century Art at the New Mexico Museum of Art, will give a slide talk that rethinks the history of New Mexico art and examines 125 years of artistic fusions. Traugott argues that the aesthetic and cross-cultural currents from the 1880s to the present have created a “one-ness” in New Mexico Art—a contradictory unity resulting from interactions of Native American, Hispanic, and European American cultures.

 

Chautauquan Richard Marold captures the spirit and tenacity of our 32nd President, an upper class patrician by birth and a man of the people by choice who masterfully navigated our country through some of its most tumultuous times: the Great Depression and World War II. Sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council. NMHC receives funding from the federal/state partnership of the NEH and NM Department of Cultural Affairs.

David Politzer, whose humorous and intimate video work poses questions about contemporary male behavior, will discuss his recent sculptures and videos which address such topics as relationships, body image, pornography, and self-confidence. Politzer holds an MFA from Syracuse University and was awarded residencies at Yaddo, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Vermont Studio Center and the Kala Institute.

This event is presented in partnership with the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art.

In her lecture, fabric artist Weronika Zaluska will talk about her process of hand-sewing fabric sculpture. She will recall how a fascination with simple day-to-day living drew her to pursue a seamless integration of art and life by becoming an Object Designer. Zaluska, who is originally from Poland and has a background in ceramics (MFA, Alfred University), will pursue a Master's degree in Industrial Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago later this year.

This event is presented in partnership with the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art.

This creative, fun event is a highlight of the UFO Festival held annually in Roswell, NM on the anniversary of the UFO Incident. Come early to find a seat. You won't want to miss it!

Divisions
Children: Tots to 12 years
Teens: 13-17 years
Adults: 18 years and over

Categories in Each Division
Cutest, Scariest, and Funkiest

First to third place ribbons will be given for each category in each division. A total of $800 in prize money will be awarded. Early registration is recommended. Participants must be registered by 4:15 p.m. on July 5.

The block party will be located on 11th Street, just behind the Museum. Filled with a host of free hands-on art activities, art and craft booths, and entertainment, this all-ages event has something to offer everyone.

Inspired by 16th century Italian chalk painting traditions, individuals and teams are invited to "chalk the walk" during RMAC's second annual Chalk Art Festival. Held in conjunction with the Art Block Party, amateur and professional artists alike will create chalk art drawings on the sidewalks in front of the Museum between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Awards will be given in both adult and student categories. Entry fee is $10 per artist, $20 for teams of 2 or more to cover the cost of supplies. Pre-registration is recommended.

Join us for holiday entertainment and refreshments, a silent auction of handmade ornaments, discounts in the Museum Store, and a celebration of holiday traditions from around the world.