MOA | MAY 2023

Photo credit: Judy Chicago, Poppy, 2005 White clay, underglaze paints, China paints, and oil paint 5 x 10.5 x 8 in.

In support of these upcoming exhibitions and programs at the Museum of Art, I am pleased to share that in April we received a gift to name the Grande Arcade (lobby) at the Vladem Contemporary. This gift pushed us well over our $1.5mil programming goal to $2.5mil. We are delighted that this gift will give the museum the ability to successfully program for one museum, two locations and create unique programming like Judy Chicago’s Kitty City, an augmented reality tool the museum will launch at the Vladem Contemporary.

As part of the educational programming of the Vladem Contemporary, the New Mexico Museum of Art has entered into an agreement with artist Judy Chicago to create an animated augmented reality experience around her body of work, collectively known as Kitty City. In 2005, Chicago began memorializing her former pet cats as ceramic sculptures, all of which have been promised to the museum through bequest.

The New Mexico Museum of Art will use the sculptures as models for animated cats that will inhabit the Vladem Contemporary through an augmented reality application. Museum patrons, through the use of Microsoft HoloLens, will be able to see the animated cats wandering throughout the museum and will be able to follow them to specific educational prompts to learn more about exhibitions and collections.

Judy Chicago’s Kitty City will re-envision a bequest from a major contemporary artist and create an educational gateway for younger viewers that allows them to approach contemporary art in a whimsical yet informative way.

To support Judy Chicago’s Kitty City, please contact Kristin by emailing kristin@museumfoundation.org or call 505.216.1199.

You can find a link to available naming opportunities here.