New Mexico congressional representatives push for federal dollars for public art

Jan. 10—A mural with bosque pollinators, the Sandia Mountains and migratory birds decorates the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center tower off of Coors — just one of hundreds of public works of art across the state of New Mexico.

Two members of the state's congressional delegation would like to bring even more public art to the state and beyond.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., introduced legislation Wednesday to create a $300 million federal fund for public art grants from 2024 through 2026. Leger Fernández has two cosponsors, both from California, Republican Jay Obernolte and Democrat Ted Lieu. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

"New Mexico is such a great example of a place that values cultural expression," Leger Fernández said. "One in 10 paychecks in New Mexico comes from the creative economy. In the United States, we also have arts and culture as a significant part of our economy, but we do not at a federal level invest in our cultural economic engine."

The Creative Workforce Investment Act is similar to legislation that Leger Fernández introduced in the previous session that was meant to lend support to artists out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The discussions that we have had around the importance of arts and culture are making a difference," she said. "We increased the funding for both NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) significantly in the last several years."

NEA's funding has grown over the past several years from $167 million in the 2021 fiscal year to $180 million for fiscal year 2022 to $207 million in 2023.

The new bill would establish a grant program for arts and creative workforce initiatives. The funding would be available for perhaps the most visible form of public art — murals — but also for storytelling initiatives, concerts, films, theatrical productions and support for arts in educational and community spaces. Grant recipients would have to report to Congress on the outcome of the funding.

Leger Fernández said she thought about the artistic endeavors in New Mexico when working on the legislation.

"We know that apprenticeships in the film industry are important and we can increase apprenticeships — though not for for-profit filming, but for public work, that you would then develop the skills that you could then be hired on a for-profit film," she said. "Maybe you're developing those skills working on a documentary that would be made publicly available, as an example."

The federal government spends 63 cents per person on arts through funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, Leger Fernández said.

"Yes, roads, and airports are really important and essential, and we do that at about $812 a person, a significant amount of money. But 63 cents, I think we can do better than 63 cents. Other countries, like Germany and other places, invest significantly in arts and culture because they realize the role that arts and culture plays in creating a sense of community," she said.

The proposed grant program focuses on the role of arts in workforce development and recognizes the importance of apprenticeships in arts and creative fields, Leger Fernández said. She and her cosponsors likely will try to add sections of the bill to the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act through amendments.

The legislation has been endorsed by a wide array of arts organizations, including the Actors' Equity Association, Americans for the Arts, Authors Guild, Californians for the Arts, Creative New Mexico, Etsy Inc., gallupARTS, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Albuquerque and Santa Fe's arts and culture departments, the National Guild for Community Arts Education and New Mexico Arts.

Sherri Brueggemann, Albuquerque's public art urban enhancement division manager, is also in favor of more money for public art. The city's public art program has been funding projects since 1978, and in the current fiscal year already has funded 80 pieces of public art. More than 650 artists applied for projects in the past calendar year, she said.

According to Brueggemann, the city's public art program supports creative industries, showcases the city's collective identity and values, and boosts tourism. Outdoor public art can become a "wayfinding" object that people identify to find their way around the city, meet up with friends or even interact with in activities like Pokémon Go or geocaching.

"Before the word 'art,' art was done by Indigenous people all over the world," artist and independent curator Deborah Jojola said. "It's very purposeful. It's meaningful. It shares stories."

Jojola is no stranger to public art, having painted murals and sold frescoes for public buildings. The mural at the Open Space Visitor Center tower is one she painted in 2021 and 2022 with her son, tattoo artist Leon Raymond Sanchez.

"I'm really rooting that we get federal money to help, not just myself, but other artists to have this opportunity to voice their self and their imagery in places that the public would love to see it," Jojola said.

"Our state is really fortunate in that we have public art at a lot of different levels throughout the state," Brueggemann said.

There are municipal programs in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Hobbs, and communities like Taos and Las Vegas have been interested in establishing programs. There are also programs in Bernalillo and Los Alamos county and a statewide program.

The Albuquerque Public Art program started with a National Endowment for the Arts grant for a public art project in an Old Town park and a request for matching funds from City Council, Brueggemann said.

"That was the catalyst for the Albuquerque Public Art Program to get off the ground. So, if there could be this kind of a federal fund that could make those kinds of seed money funds available for more of our communities around the state, it would be phenomenal," she said.