University Art Gallery
FRIENDS OF THE GALLERY
A Word from the Director
Billie Yandell, who ran the Gallery Office for many years, passed away on September 18 2011. Billie had retired in May. Billie was not only an active partner in the management of Gallery operations, she was an artist and an important presence in the Art Department. We will miss her mordant wit and warm heart, and offer our sympathies to her family. Emilia Casillas has joined the Gallery as Administrator.
Each semester we have new undergraduate docents, and we welcome Crystal Forbes and Alejandro Marquez to the Gallery staff.
Our current show, an installation entitled "Glitteropolis" by the Santa Fe-based artist collective Meow Wolf has met with great response from the public (visitors under 12 are particularly enchanted by the magical paths carved through the Gallery). Dozens of NMSU students (and a few faculty members too!) got involved in the creation of this unique environment.
An NMSU Art Gallery Endowed Fund has recently been established, through an initial gift by local artist Vincent Hallett. The Fund will provide the Gallery funds each year to support our exhibitions and related programming. Friends of the Gallery and other patrons may contribute to the Fund at any time (hint). And indeed, Friends were extremely generous in upping their membership levels during our recent annual membership drive, and we welcomed several new Friends in the past two months!
As the spring semester gets underway, we turn our attention to planning for the annual Juried Student Show, opening 16 March, and a few weeks later, the 2012 MFA Show. Both are perennial favorites with the Las Cruces community.
2012 is the centennial of New Mexico statehood. The Gallery plans a celebratory survey of New Mexico arts from 1912 to the present, and we are busy identifying loans that will ensure that Thinking New Mexico: A Centennial Exhibition will offer a thoughtful look at 100 years of fine arts in the Land of Enchantment. Join us!
Preston Thayer
Photos of Recent Openings
Membership Renewal
| Students/ Seniors (over 65) | $25.00 |
| Individual/ Family | $50.00 |
| Patron | $150.00 |
| Benefactor* | $400.00 |
*Benefactors receive an original Laurence Sisson watercolor.
Special Projects
In addition to your membership, please consider contributing $25.00 to one or more of the following special funds:
- Publicity: The Gallery needs your support to buy advertising for future shows.
- Equipment: The Gallery needs new light fixtures, and a working vacuum cleaner!
- Exhibitions: To defray the cost of bringing high quality artwork to NMSU.