Greg Smith talks to artists who are featured in the Dona Ana Arts Galleries in February. Georjeanna Feltha’s show “Vindication, Restoration, and New Beginnings“ is up in the galleries most of February. Derrick Lee, whose jazz group will be performing in the Main Gallery on February 17, and Bob Diven, who will be presenting “Confessions of an Editorial Cartoonist” in the Main Gallery on February 25.
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Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico and El Paso is part of a national network that transports veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to Washington, DC. The veterans visit the memorials built to honor and remember those who served, and for many it represents a homecoming. Chapter Founder, Elaine Prickett, and volunteer Guardian, Bengy Kossman, join host, Nan Rubin, in the studio to relate moving stories from Las Cruces veterans on their most recent trip.
Two end of year follow-up stories: For the first part, host, Nan Rubin, asked Historic Preservation Specialist, Troy Ainsworth, for the latest status of the controversy around preserving the historic Trost clubhouse building on the old golf course property. In a second segment, regarding passenger service returning to the Las Cruces International Airport, Nan spoke with Airport Director, Andy Hume, about launching the new service in January.
Greg Smith announced his retirement from the Dona Ana Arts Council at the end of 2022 and he'll be joining Nan Rubin to talk about the evolution of the creative arts economy in Las Cruces over the past decade and what's in store for him next. For nearly 20 years throughout his various positions as a teacher, an architect and a Las Cruces City Councilman, he has been an outspoken and visible advocate for the arts.
At the end of 2022, The Branigan Cultural Center opened an exhibit called "Honesty of Construction: The WPA and Spanish Colonial Style Furniture." The exhibit features several rooms of household furniture that is beautifully designed and constructed. The pieces were made in the 1930's as part of The Works Progress Administration, a depression-era program of the federal government aimed at teaching young men and women a marketable trade such as woodworking.
The furniture represents a much broader story tied to the struggle to create an identity for New Mexico during its push towards statehood, the European concept of "high art" versus "low art", and the preservation of Indigenous and Hispanic cultures in the face of rapid expansion of Anglo settlers brought here by the railroads. Nan Rubin was joined in the studio by museum curator, Jennifer McClung, who prepared the exhibit and wrote extensive background commentary, and Irene Oliver-Lewis whose father, Fred, was a participant in the workshop. Penny Peace, guest host and gallery manager for the Doña Ana Arts Council, interviews Dan Lere, President of the Doña Ana Arts Council Board of Directors.
Right now, the Las Cruces Museum of Art is featuring an extensive exhibit on ’’José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico.’’ Posada was an extraordinary artist whose satirical art and political images reflected the transitioning culture of Mexico at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His exaggerated calavera skeleton figures are instantly recognizable and continue to influence pop art today. Museum Exhibit Curator Jennifer McClung and Educator Bryan Lee will join Program Host Nan Rubin in the studio to talk about the revolutionary context of Posada’s life and legacy of his work.  There's a lot of exciting events and changes coming up for the Doña Ana Arts Council. Executive Director Greg Smith and Gallery Manager Penny Peace will be on to talk about them this morning.
At the beginning of September, two women from the Minneapolis organization called Artspace visited Las Cruces. They were here to do a feasibility study for the possibility of building artist resident spaces and studios. They met with a lot of people while they were here, and found there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Nan Rubin had a chance to interview them, along with Greg Smith at the Doña Ana Arts Council, who is one of the lead organizers on this project.
Dona Aña Arts Council (DAAC) Executive Director and regular Cafe Con Leche guest host Greg Smith and DAAC Gallery Manager Penny Peace talked with local artist Mary Beagle and author/painter Sonya Fe.
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