Fall Letter from MNMF’s CEO/President

Exhibitions and education programs are the forward-facing activities of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, and we can all take pride in supporting this core mission of our state museum system.

Less well known, but important just the same, are the libraries and archives in each of the four state museums in Santa Fe. These vital resources are the scholarly backbone of our cultural institutions. They inform museum collections, exhibitions and education, and provide invaluable institutional history.

I invite you to explore our libraries and archives. You will learn how curators, educators, researchers and the public benefit from these treasure troves of cultural and historical material.

One story tells of a digitization initiative for the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives at the New Mexico History Museum. Another provides a broad overview of the contemporary art collection at the New Mexico Museum of Art, soon to be moving into the new Vladem Contemporary in the Railyard.

You’ll also learn that the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture recently opened an extraordinary new traveling exhibition, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, organized by the School for Advanced Research and the Vilcek Foundation. Grounded in Clay features over 100 historic and contemporary works in clay, and similar to the museum’s Here, Now and Always exhibition, it was curated by the Native American communities it represents.

We are also delighted to share a story to celebrate the generosity of former Museum of New Mexico Foundation trustee Lynn G. Brown. Lynn not only sponsored the “Reflecting and Imagining” section in Here, Now and Always, her name now graces the shop at the Museum of International Folk Art. This recognizes Lynn’s gift to the folk art museum, which will fund a new endowment in support of the Girard Wing. Thank you, Lynn.

Moving nearly 300 miles south of Santa Fe, we report on the magnificent collection that Museum of New Mexico Regent J. Paul Taylor built over a life-time with his late wife Mary. The collection and family home in Mesilla were donated to the State of New Mexico and will become our eighth historic site.

Fall is one of the more glorious seasons in New Mexico. Enjoy the cooler temperatures and spectacular colors as you venture out to visit our museums and historic sites. As always, thank you for your wonderful support.

Sincerely,

Jamie Clements

President/CEO

 

 

This letter and image are from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s Member News Magazine Fall 2022.