Roswell Museum & Art Center

Attendance

Director of Administrative Services: Juan Fuentes Executive Director: Caroline Brooks

Attendance was down 8.5% (or 3,028 people) in 2019 as compared to 2018. The decrease was in all categories, except classes, which had a 609 attendance increase. Two of the more significant impacts on numbers were the rise in general visitation figures during special exhibitions in 2017 and 2018 and the move of City Council meetings to the Convention Center, the latter of which dropped attendance by 3,048 visitors between 2018 to 2019 (tracked under partnerships and offset by increased outreach efforts).

A majority of our general visitors are from the United States with 64% from the Southwest and 31.7% from the remainder of the United States. A small percentage (approximately 3.3%) are from outside the United States.

Revenue & Contributed Funds

2019 represented a somewhat standard year in terms of revenues and contributed funds. 2018- 2017 increases represented special projects such as the Hurd/Wyeth retrospective exhibition, the Xcel Energy Relighting and the Planetarium Renovation. There was an increase in 2018 in Store sales which could be contributed to the Hurd/Wyeth catalogue (about $10,000 in sales) along with some higher-priced art that sold in coordination with the RAiR 50th anniversary exhibition which ran through April 2018.

Roswell Museum & Art Center

Exhibitions In 2019, the Museum presented 5 exhibitions that utilized external loans from artists or institutions, 7 drawn from our permanent collection and 6 Roswell Artist-in-Residence exhibitions, along with 3 ongoing permanent exhibitions.

Exhibition Highlights Virtue of Ownership: African American Homesteading in Southeast New Mexico was presented in partnership with the African American Museum and Cultural Center of New Mexico and included a series of history panels, a journal for patrons to share what they would do with “40 Acres and a Mule,” along with an opening and closing panel discussion with descendants of Blackdom and other homesteading communities in New Mexico.

in/sight presented the work of Sharbani Das Gupta. Sharbani is a ceramic artist who splits her time between India and her home in Las Cruces, NM. She uses the perspective she gains from her travels to create immersive environments that explore nature, built structures and the feeling of insider/outsider.

A Line in the Sand: Wildlife on the Borderlands presented historical and contemporary comparisons of 16 animal species that live along the US/Mexican border. The exhibition was co-curated by biologists Alexis Harrison and Tracy Diver and included contemporary renderings by artists participating in the Roswell Artist-in-Residence program. The exhibition was part of a regional collaboration led by Albuquerque non-profit 516Arts titled Species in Peril Along the Rio Grande that included lectures, field trips and exhibitions.

Axle Contemporary artist-collaborators Jerry Wellman and Matthew Chase-Daniel began a photographic portrait project, E Pluribus Unum in 2012 that documents communities throughout the state of New Mexico with a mobile portrait studio built inside a vintage aluminum vehicle. In October 2018, the artists brought their studio to Roswell and participants

Virtue of Ownership

in/sight

Director of Administrative Services: Juan Fuentes Executive Director: Caroline Brooks

provided a small object of personal significance to include in their portraits. Two copies of each portrait were printed with the studio’s solar-powered printer. One was given to the participant and the other was pasted to the exterior of the vehicle, creating a mobile and growing exhibition throughout the region. At the end of the Southeast portion of the project, the portraits were made into banners for exhibit. The Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program partnered in presenting the work of 6 artists from California, New York, Ohio and New Mexico.

Acquisitions Among the contributions made to the Museum’s permanent collection in 2019 were two colchaembroidered chairs made by notable craftsman Domingo Tejada for the Roswell Federal Arts Center in 1937 that were donated back to the Museum by collector Ray Dewey. The chairs were a part of the original furnishings of the Museum, but had left some time in the 20th century before their historical significance was realized.

El Paso artist Ho Baron donated 4 bronze sculptures made in his iconic unusual, but captivating style with multiple depictions of faces embedded in people and animals. The acrobatic The Distortionists is on display in the Museum’s courtyard.

New Partnership: Family After Hours In partnership with RISD’s Arts Connect Program, the Museum presented two new events titled Family After Hours, which offered visual and performing arts stations for families to explore. The themes were Celebrating New Mexico and Fields of Color. The popular Thursday night events brought in 1,056 visitors with the aim of encouraging parents to partner with their children in the arts. Tejada Chairs

Ho Baron

Family After Hours

Science and Art Festival 57

Roswell Museum & Art Center

Director of Administrative Services: Juan Fuentes Executive Director: Caroline Brooks

Science and Art Festival The second annual Roswell Science and Art Festival was held on Saturday, October 10 at the Roswell Convention Center. An audience of 1,842 were entertained, educated and inspired throughout the day. 145 volunteers representing numerous clubs, organizations and institutions from around the state contributed greatly to the success of the event, including dozens of cadets from the NMMI who led amazing hands-on activities. The guest presenter was Kevin Delaney from the Science Channel show Street Science. Additional presenters included Explora, Science Spectrum, DCA’s Wheels of Wonder mobile museum, Xcel Energy, Roswell Astronomy Club, Spring River Zoo, Roswell Public Library, Roswell Chess Encounter, several state and federal agencies, among others.

The event was funded by Xcel Energy and the RMAC Foundation with additional support provided by Blick Art Materials. Members of the festival advisory group represented NMMI, ENMU-R, Goddard and University High Schools, New Mexico MESA, Sydney Gutierrez and Berrendo Middle Schools.

Classes and Workshops The Museum presented 37 classes that resulted in 4,602 student visits. Two special workshop opportunities were offered through the Foundation’s Gratton fund that provides art workshops taught by professional artists for adults. Houston-based artist Natasha Bowdoin and New Mexico artist Christopher Baldwin presented collage and comic workshops to a total of 30 adult students. The fees were on a sliding scale allowing students to pay what they could afford up to the subsidized amount of $125.

The Museum began a summer art camp program designed for children ages 4 to 18 that served a total of 42 students. The camp presented 4 classes each day, Monday through Friday. The final day included an art show for the students’ families. Summer Art Camp

Angela Cervera (on right)