CALL FOR ARTISTS – NEW MEXICO CREATES / CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE ART

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010

CALL FOR ARTISTS - NEW MEXICO CREATES / CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE ART

Santa Fe, New Mexico-New Mexico-based artists and artisans are invited to submit proposals for special commemorative pieces for the upcoming statehood Centennial. A wide range of artistic media will be considered, including glassware, jewelry, basketry, pottery, and fiber arts (both wearable and decorative). The work should be inspired by the New Mexico Centennial. The application deadline for the first selection is Dec. 10, 2010.

New Mexico Creates, a program of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, is working in partnership with the NM Centennial Foundation to promote the "New Mexico Creates/Centennial Commemorative Art" line. The sixteen-month commemoration period begins fall 2011.

"We are pleased to be able to showcase New Mexico's artists and highlight their work both within and beyond state borders," said Jodi Delaney, Director of New Mexico Centennial. "The Centennial is an important opportunity to share the state's many gifts, especially the rich diversity of artistic traditions that make New Mexico so unique."

Works chosen will convey some of the state's centuries-old craftsmanship traditions as well as the ongoing international appeal the state holds for artists and artisans. Items will encompass a myriad of styles from traditional to contemporary and even cutting edge.

"We anticipate that, through our statewide network of contacts in the artist community, we'll be getting top-notch work," says John Stafford, Director of Retail Operations at the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. "We are delighted to take part in New Mexico's Centennial to celebrate and promote some of our finest artists and artisans."

The "New Mexico Creates/Centennial Commemorative Art" items will be sold at MNMFShops museum retail outlets in Santa Fe, and via the New Mexico Creates website, http://www.newmexicocreates.org./ Some artwork will be chosen for licensing and manufacture, with the approval and participation of the selected artists.

For more information and an application, visit www.newmexicocreates.org, or call 877-567-7380. “New Mexico Creates/Centennial Commemorative Art” products will be available for sale starting January 6, 2011. The application deadline for the first selection is Dec. 10, 2010. Applications will also be accepted after that date as merchandise will be selected through 2012.

The "New Mexico Creates/Centennial Commemorative Art" is a special collection of the successful New Mexico Creates initiative of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops (MNMFShops). Since 2003, New Mexico Creates has enhanced the livelihoods of over 1,000 artists, artisans and authors through a model of economic self-sufficiency. Over the last seven years, the program has paid directly to the artists and their families of New Mexico over $6 million. The Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops through the New Mexico Creates initiative offers these extraordinary beautiful, state and locally made gifts and collectables in its six shops in the following Museums of New Mexico; New Mexico History Museum, Palace of the Governors, New Mexico Museum of Art and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Museum of International Folk Art as well as two websites: http://www.newmexicocreates.org/, and http://www.worldfolkart.org/.

New Mexico became the 47^th state on January 6, 1912, and communities statewide are now preparing a wide range of projects, exhibits and events to commemorate the state's 100^th birthday. Led by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, and in partnership with the NM Centennial Foundation, the NM Centennial 1912-2012 is an inclusive statewide commemoration encompassing Centennial-themed events, projects and initiatives. For more information visit http://www.nmcentennial.org/, call 505-984-2012, or email nmcentennial@gmail.com.

Contact:
Jennifer Marshall
505-231-1776
jennifer@jmarshallplan.com
www.jmarshallplan.com