Opening in 2023
The Vladem Contemporary physically and ideologically brings the Museum of Art into dialogue with the cultural scene in the Santa Fe Railyard District. Moving beyond the restrictions of the intimately scaled galleries of our historic building into a large and flexible exhibition space opens up the possibility for large-scale installations, multi-media projects, and even performance-based works that are central to 21st century artistic practice. Promoting state-of-the-art ideas and bringing living artists back to the heart of our exhibitions and public programs is entirely in keeping with our institution’s history and necessary for our future. Artists-in-residence and visiting artists will be a key part of this project, engaging with our galleries and the community at large by actively connecting with the region, creating new works and site specific installations, presenting lectures, and collaborating with schools and other institutions.
A new physical location for the Museum of Art with flexible interior and exterior space opens up much more than room for the Museum: it opens up possibility for an expanded curatorial program. Increasing our engagement with the art of this time will increase our engagement with the local community while attracting artists and audiences, and will once again bring the New Mexico Museum of Art back to the center of New Mexico’s dynamic creative community. Museum programming will include regional, national and international artists, as well as artist to artist engagement and community-based dialogue.
The Vladem Contemporary is named after Robert and Ellen Vladem. The couple made the lead gift of $4 million in the $12.5 million campaign. The funds to create the Vladem Contemporary were raised through a private-public partnership. The State of New Mexico contributed over $6 million towards the construction.
Credit: Overview from museum website