Creative Coverage of Santa Fe's Arts Communities
Welcome to Santa Fe Arts Journal, an online magazine focused on Santa Fe’s visual and performing arts community that’s written and curated by Emily Van Cleve, an artist and journalist with 24 years’ worth of experience writing about the arts for local, regional and national publications. Enjoy reading about select upcoming shows and performances in SFAJ’s LOOK, LISTEN and LEARN MORE sections below!
Emily Van Cleve
Founder/Editor
Visual Art
ViVO Contemporary’s new show “State of Play” features works created from the practice and enjoyment of play.
For participating artist Norma Alonzo, painting is not only playful but purposeful.
It’s an exploration and expression of feeling and understanding the human state of being.
“Each and every time the work takes me on an inner journey of play, perhaps frustration, perhaps joy and ultimately an exploration of emotion and feeling,” she says.
A California native who moved to Santa Fe 12 years ago, Alonzo studied interior design at San Jose State University and entered the world of residential and commercial design after college.
Music
Flor de Toloache isn’t your typical mariachi band.
For starters, it’s comprised of a group of talented women musicians from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Australia, Colombia, Germany, Italy and the U.S.
Dressed in traditional black mariachi outfits, they believe in fusing mariachi and contemporary sounds.
During Flor de Toloache’s January 26 concert at the James A. Little Theater, the group performs tunes from their latest album “Las Caras Lindas,” which won the Latin Grammy in the Best Ranchero / Mariachi Album category, as well as songs from their self-titled album that received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Ranchera Album of 2015. [Read More…]
Music
Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti presents a recital with her musical partner, Ukrainian-born pianist Alexei Grynyuk, at 7:30 p.m. on January 23 in St Francis Auditorium. [Read More…]
Theater
In honor of International Women’s Voices Day, Blue Raven Theatre presents its second annual “Fearless Female Voices.”
This one-day play festival on January 27 features work by 10 women playwrights living in Santa Fe.
“Female playwrights don’t get much of a chance to get their plays produced,” explains Blue Raven’s founder and artistic director Talia Pura, who is an actor and playwright. “So few of them have gotten a chance to shine in the past 100 years.” [Read More…]
Music
Santa Fe Symphony principal second violinist Nicolle Maniaci wasn’t happy when she realized that the symphony didn’t have an orchestral concert scheduled in January. She proposed the idea of a chamber music concert to several of her colleagues.
“I wanted the Santa Fe Symphony to have a presence in the community in January,” explains Maniaci, an active orchestral and chamber musician who lives in Albuquerque. “I asked Guillermo (principal conductor and violist Guillermo Figueroa) if he would be in town during the weekend of January 20. When he said he was available, the “Recital: Symphony String Quintet” concert was born.” [Read More…]
Theater
Back by popular demand, Teatro Paraguas presents “Atravesada: Poetry of the Border,” a living poetry series that explores the physical and political implications of the U.S./Mexico border with drama and humor, from January 11-20. [Read More…]
Visual Art
When Christian Waguespack assumed the role of curator of 20th century art at the New Mexico Museum of Art two years ago, he committed himself to giving attention to all aspects of the museum’s large and diverse collection.
“Carved & Cast: 20th Century New Mexican Sculpture,” which opened at the museum on December 15, shines a spotlight on the carved and cast 3D work created a group of deceased and living New Mexico sculptors who were and continue to be inspired by the people of this state. [Read More…]
Music
Irish fiddler Kevin Burke is excited about his solo show at GIG Performance Space on January 18 because it gives him an opportunity to showcase Irish fiddle music in a way not often experienced in concert.
“Traditional Irish music is not played by bands but by a solo fiddle,” he explains. “Most people today don’t get a chance to hear Irish music without accompaniment. I’m very aware that it’s a kind of foreign music that you don’t get to hear every day.” [Read More…]
Music
Chamber music for woodwinds and piano are featured during Serenata of Santa Fe’s “Old, New, Borrowed and Blue” concert at 7 p.m. on January 19 at First Presbyterian Church.
“What’s Going On” for woodwind quintet, which was composed in 2018 by John Steinmetz, is one of two pieces by living composers on the program.
“What’s Going On is a statement as well as a question, and it springs from a feeling I have had my whole life that I don’t quite understand what is going on,” explains Steinmetz via email. [Read More…]
Visual Art
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture’s exhibit “Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans” is an illuminating look at the Apache tribes that have been part of the Southwest, and New Mexico in particular, for hundreds of years.
More than 100 objects, including basketry, beaded clothing and hunting and horse gear dating from the late 1880s to the present, are on display in this show that highlights the cultural traditions and Apache customs of the Jicarilla, Mescalero, Fort Sill (Chiricahua), San Carlos and White Mountain tribes. [Read More…]
Music/Visual Art
Chris Jonas is a man on the move, constantly going from working on one exciting collaborative project to another one.
He’s the co-founder and executive director of Littleglobe, a non-profit organization partnering with local, national and international communities to create interdisciplinary collaborative art projects that foster connections and understanding of diverse communities.
Jonas is also an active musician and a painter.
“I grew up in southern California with a split personality, doing both visual arts and music during high school,” says the Santa Fe artist, who continues to work in a variety of media. [Read More…]
Music
Singer/songwriter Lexy Pettis is a fairly new voice on the Santa Fe music scene, but residents of Albuquerque have been hearing her heartfelt tunes at venues throughout the city since last pring.
“In March, I opened for my brother’s band at Duel Brewing ABQ and did four songs,” explains Pettis, an Albuquerque guitarist and harmonica player who performs at Beer Creek Brewing Company on January 26.
“This is the right time for me to go out on my own and be a full-time musician. I want to be a one-woman band and the female Bob Dylan of my generation.” [Read More…]
