New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

Weekly Update: Experience New Mexico's Museums, Historic Sites, and Cultural Institutions from Home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2020

MEDIA CONTACT


The NM Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) continues to keep New Mexicans connected with state museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions while they are temporarily closed due to public health concerns related to COVID-19. As DCA concludes the fourth week of temporary closures, the Department continues to provide constituents with online tools that will allow access to its divisions from computers and mobile devices.

DCA would also like to remind New Mexicans about our virtual concert series, “Our Fair New Mexico.”  The first concert, in conjunction with the Museum of International Folk Art, will feature State Historian Rob Martinez. The concert will be held on Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m. and can be accessed on the museum’s Facebook page. The department will continue the series with various state museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions

The following is an updated collection of online resources currently available for the public:

New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum"Monumental Territory," an art show featuring the work of Las Cruces artist Kayla Blundell, was supposed to open this month at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. While the opening of the show has been postponed, people can get a sneak peek of what the show will look like and view some of the art through an animated video and virtual tour, produced by the Museum’s Exhibits Designer Rafael Torres. The museum would still like to share your pictures and stories that show you and/or your ancestors who grew their own food. Send in anywhere between one and three photos of your family/ancestors and four or five sentences telling us about you and your family, where they farmed or ranched, and what they raised. Email your photos and words to frhm@state.nm.us. Please make sure there are no copyright restrictions on the photos.​ The museum also has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational materials to enjoy while at home. There is an online library as well. Follow the links for the Farm & Ranch FacebookTwitter and YouTube.

Historic Preservation Division: HPD will be using platforms like Facebook to post content about recent listings in the State and National registers, upcoming events like Preservation Month, and information about historic resources, including interesting posts about archaeology, state, and national parks, preservation tax credit projects, and local preservation efforts. Division staff recently started a series called “This Week in New Mexico History” to focus on listed properties throughout the state. There is also a YouTube Channel to enjoy.

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture: MIAC is continuing its mission to serve the public with artistic and cultural understanding. The Museum will be featuring various objects from exhibitions via social media and its website for the public to enjoy. There is also a vast research & collections page to access from home and an online library and other curricula to keep students busy. The museum also encourages individuals to view the Museum’s Vimeo, which highlights the Native Youth Film Camp. These videos help foster the voices of young Native filmmakers, giving them a glimpse into work in the film industry. Follow the links for our Facebook, and YouTube.

Museum of International Folk ArtMOIFA is excited to host the first show of a series of virtual concerts called “Our Fair New Mexico.” The first concert with feature New Mexico State Historian Rob Martinez. You can watch the concert on MOIFA’s Facebook page on April, 10, 2020 at 7 p.m. The museum is also introducing DIY folk art activities for you and your family to enjoy at home. There is also English and Spanish educational material and lesson plans available on MOIFA’s website. The museum continues assembling and distributing folk art kits for students in the Santa Fe Public Schools. These kits are handed out at various lunch pick-up locations throughout the city. MOIFA also has a large online collection to enjoy from home. The online collection features more than 130,000 objects from over 100 countries. Follow the links for MOIFA’s FacebookTwitter, and YouTube.

National Hispanic Cultural CenterNHCC continues its series highlighting the "People who Make the Magic Happen" at the NHCC Art Museum and the first post in an interactive series about the art in the homes of Art Museum staff members. The Visual Arts (VA) department continues to share resources for artists, the announcement of “Happy Arte Hour From Home” with Artist Trading Cards, and a video interview with an artist from the exhibition, El Peru: Art in the Contemporary Past. Our online services include an online collection and other social media platforms. Videos feature a variety of resources as well, including interviews with artists, performances, lectures, and fun mashups of footage from a variety of events. There is also a Google arts and culture page that features a variety of content about the performing arts, the Torreon, and other exhibits. NHCC is developing a Latinx book blog review. The Performing Arts department will be rolling out a campaign targeted specifically to their Circo Latino students with media content, challenges, and at-home activities through the Circo Latino Facebook page as well as the NHCC Facebook page. Follow the links for NHCC’s Facebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico ArtsNMA is using online and social media platforms to continue serving artists, arts organizations and communities across New Mexico. NMA’s Art in Public Places program currently has information about two Calls for Artists available on NMA’s website. Be sure to check out NMA’s Facebook and Instagram where you can check out campaigns that highlight the creative responses in online arts programming; and share local, regional and national arts-related news, resources and artist opportunities. Please be sure to also follow the New Mexico Music Commission Facebook page and website, or the New Mexico Poetry Out Loud Facebook page, New Mexico Arts and the Military Facebook page as well as the NMA Vimeo page. NMA has created a page for COVID-19 response and resources for artists and arts organizations.

New Mexico Historic Sites: On Wednesday, April 15, Fort Stanton Historic Site will be featured on the A & E cable network show Ghosthunters. Immediately following the show (9 p.m. MDT), the staff of Fort Stanton and cast members from the show will host a live question and answer session via Facebook and YouTube. This session will also be used as a fundraiser for the continued preservation of Fort Stanton. NMHS is also excited to roll-out new virtual tours of various sites. The first tour features Los Luceros Historic Site. A preview of the tour can be accessed here. More tours will be available soon. NMHS continues to add additional content to the new “Virtual Classroom ” series. Nine lesson plans have been released connected to the history of five different historic sites. This program will continue with three new lessons released each week. The “behind-the-scenes” online video series will continue this week with a sneak peek of the Quartermaster’s exhibit at Fort Stanton Historic Site. These videos will be led by facilities staff onsite maintaining properties and continuing to work on projects.

New Mexico History MuseumEnjoy seasonally-related content currently scheduled through August 2020. Additionally, content related to “This Day in History” from the Palace of the Governors is scheduled to post when available. The museum also has various social media campaigns, including a week-long series on historic fashion in New Mexico. Follow the links for our NMHM  FacebookTwitter, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of ArtMOA has launched several new social media features. "Isolation Inspiration" asks local artists to share what is inspiring them during this time of social isolation. These can be photos or videos. "Smarter Smartphone Photography" converts one of the museum’s on-site classes into a virtual micro-workshop series. By watching these short-form videos, published to Facebook, viewers can learn how to bring their smartphone photography to the next level. The museum also has content to keep the whole family engaged through multiple online resources, including the Searchable Art Museum (SAM), archives, videos, and an online library. Docents will feature art from SAM online to engage constituents with conversation about the pieces. Visit the Rocky Mountain Online Archive to find out more about the MOA’s archives. The Museum’s blog offers additional reading. Follow the links for MOA Facebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: MNHS has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational material to enjoy while at home. The museum has plenty of activities that you can find here. MNHS will feature its popular Story Time digitally, along with an activity to keep children and families in the science spirit. An online tour of the Tiny Titans, Dinosaur Eggs and Babies exhibit is available on the MNHS website. Follow the links for MNHS TwitterFacebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of Space HistorySpace has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational material to enjoy while at home. Photos from the Curation Archie can be found here. Follow the links for the museum’s Facebook, or YouTube.

New Mexico State LibraryThe Bookmobile Northeast is now offering a daily story time on Facebook. NMSL continues to provide books by mail, books for the blind, and interlibrary loan. The State Library has had an increase in reference questions. Intake and cataloging of digital and physical state and federal documents is ongoing.  NMSL will continue to provide online learning services through El Portal. This includes the BrainFuse platform, which provides live online tutoring and homework help in both English and Spanish, along with access to quizzes, lessons, and standardized tests for all ages. The public can always access the Library’s catalog online. NMSL hosts an open web meeting for librarians as well as brief, informational workshops which can be accessed on the website. The Library for the Blind is still operating, as well as books by mail. Many of the public libraries in the state have eBook databases patrons can access from home. Follow the links for NMSL’s Facebook, and YouTube.

Office of Archeological Studies: Learn how archaeologists use experimentation to discover material from the past and the making of bows and arrows among other objects on the OAS educational resources and YouTube page. Activity packets that combine creative archaeological explorations with critical thinking skills can be found on the at-home resources page.

More information related to social media and online resources for each division of DCA is available upon request.


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