ABOUT SANTA FE
ARTS & CULTURE
With over 200 art galleries, a dozen or so fine museums and a variety of excellent performing arts organizations, “the arts” is a main ingredient in the lifestyle of Santa Fe. The “City Different” is one of the four largest art markets in the United States and people visit from all over the world to purchase beautiful contemporary, Native American and Western pieces. One of the favorite year-round traditional activities is the Friday night gallery openings, which bring hundreds of people together and into the gallery-lined streets during fair-weather evenings. In August, get ready for Indian Market, the largest showcase of Native American art in the world.
Museums & Galleries
From a contemporary arts space, to collections of the works of area masters, to exhibits of exquisite and fascinating art of all genres, to a place that’s “just for kids” (of all ages) – museums and galleries are our city’s sites of collected treasures and are an inspiration to all.
Museums
“Museum Hill” is home to four world-class museums: Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
Downtown or just off the Plaza are the acclaimed Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, and The Palace of the Governors, where you will find the oldest public building in the U.S..
Other museums throughout town include Site Santa Fe Museum, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts, and the Santa Fe Children’s Museum.
And don’t miss..
El Rancho de las Golondrinas Museum
This historic rancho, now a living history museum, dates from the early 1700s and was an important paraje, or stopping point, along the famous Camino Real, the Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Experience the life of another time in a location unlike any other in America.
Galleries
Artists have been coming to the area for a hundred years ago or more, drawn by an innate artistic curiosity and the capacity to be inspired by something different and profound. They found what they came looking for. You can find lots of interesting information about these early artists in local shops and galleries, some of whom created, quite by accident, “schools” of the particular art form they were experimenting with. Canyon Road was the initial gathering spot for many of these creative spirits. There was at one time a group of 5 young painters known as “Cinco Pintores” (Five Painters). Because they lived next to each other in individual, quite primitive adobe dwellings on Canyon Road, they were sometimes referred to as “five nuts in five mud huts.” Times change, and Canyon Road has become quite sophisticated, though it retains its elemental charm. And of course, galleries for all types of art, from contemporary to historical, can be found throughout the City.
Visit the Santa Fe Collectors Guide for a list of Santa Fe art galleries.
Performing Arts
The superb quality of Santa Fe’s music, dance and theatre performances adds another dimension of appeal and the experience of inspiration. Check out the following links to performance art in Santa Fe.
Since 1957, The Santa Fe Opera has been the summer oasis for internationally acclaimed operatic talents and opera enthusiasts! The Santa Fe Opera’s dramatic adobe theatre blends harmoniously with the high desert landscape. The Santa Fe Opera has taken its place among the world’s leading opera festivals.
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
One of the world’s leading performing arts festivals, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival was founded in 1972. During the first season – the summer of 1973 – Pablo Casals was the Festival’s honorary president, and a 20-year series of Georgia O’Keeffe posters and programs began.
“Santa Fe Pro Musica brings together outstanding musicians to inspire and educate audiences of all ages through the performances of great music.”
– Mission Statement of Santa Fe Pro Musica, established in 1980
Recognized as one of the finest professional choral ensembles in the country, the Chorale is particularly known for its remarkable sound, seamless blend, wide-ranging programming and moving performances in some of Santa Fe’s most beautiful and historic sites.
Described as a deft ensemble…with engaging projection and an appealing largesse by Dance Magazine, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is a company of eleven classically trained dancers who perform an eclectic repertoire by some of the world’s foremost choreographers. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet performs year-round at home in Aspen and Santa Fe, and on tour throughout the United States.
Experience the magic and passion of some of the most exciting and finest Flamenco artists from Spain and the USA! Teatro Flamenco is the leading Spanish dance company in the U.S.
National Dance Institute of New Mexico
National Dance Institute of New Mexico was founded with the knowledge that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate children. The purpose of our distinctive dance programs is to help children develop discipline, a standard of excellence, and a belief in themselves that will carry over into all aspects of their lives.
