NEW MEXICO ARTS
STORIES OF CREATIVE CONNECTION
Celebrating Mixed Cultures with Public Art
New Mexico Arts, the state arts agency of New Mexico, operates within the Department of Cultural Affairs, one of the largest cultural departments in the U.S. With a mission to bring art into the lives of all New Mexicans, the organization oversees the Art in Public Places (AIPP) program, and aims to enrich all 33 counties with public art. To support this mission, New Mexico Arts uses CaFÉ to administer public art opportunities for artists in its state, with over 80 public art opportunities since 2008.
More Than Just a Tool
Meredith Doborski, the director of the public art program, has been with New Mexico Arts for more than five years, but her journey with CaFÉ began long before. With a background as a visual artist, art educator, and graphic designer, she first encountered CaFÉ in art school, where the platform was introduced as a vital resource for artists looking to build their careers in a rapidly digitizing world. When she joined New Mexico Arts, she found herself on the other side of the platform, administering calls for artists rather than submitting to them.
The ease and intuitiveness of CaFÉ made it an indispensable tool for the organization. The platform’s user-friendly interface allows new staff to quickly learn the system, and the archival feature of CaFÉ enables Doborski to look back at calls as far back as 2008, providing handy, historical context for her work. Despite the challenges of working in a state with limited access to broadband internet, Doborski said the mobile version of CaFÉ has been a game changer in making art opportunities more accessible in rural areas. “It’s also very easy to work with Creative West (formerly WESTAF) and CaFÉ on the technical side,” she said. “It’s really comforting knowing I can tell an artist that all you got to do is phone [CaFÉ] up, and they’ll help you with your account.” For New Mexico Arts, CaFÉ is not just a tool but a trusted partner in their mission to promote the arts throughout New Mexico.
Above: Chirp 312 Orange Crush by Travis Black. Photo courtesy of New Mexico Arts.
Above: Blowing Bubbles and Being Tradish, 2022. Photo courtesy of Authentic Native Arts Association, Inc. via New Mexico Arts.
Meeting the Community Halfway
According to Doborski, the enjoyment she gets from her work comes from New Mexico being a minority-majority state. “We are mixed,” she said. “We are all these beautiful cultures mixed together.” To ensure that the artwork displayed in public spaces reflects the vibrant cultures and communities of the state, she strives to meet communities halfway. Her team actively listens to what local communities want in their public art projects and works to facilitate the acquisition of art that resonates with those communities. “We always make sure that everything we do is a fair, open, and transparent process,” said Doborski. “We go into a community, we rally the troops, we try to get folks to apply. And that’s kind of the goal, is to listen and give them what they want.”
Doborski is acutely aware of the preconceived notions accompanying government initiatives. “As a government, you’re constantly fighting a stigma of, ‘you’re not really here to help’ or ‘you don’t really care about us,’” she said. “And we try to really combat that. We try to come out and show that actually we do [care].” While her team recognizes their role as facilitators of a bureaucratic process, their true mission is to ensure that communities get the art they want and that it accurately represents their people and culture. Doborski adds, “It’s really cool to see when we can reflect [the culture] in the artwork that we’re putting up.”
Celebrating New Mexico through Public Art
New Mexico Arts plans to continue using CaFÉ as it remains a vital tool to support the arts statewide, ensuring the community’s diverse voices are heard and represented through public art initiatives. For Doborski and the Art in Public Places Progam, the goal is not just to put up public art; it’s to celebrate its people, cultures, and ideas. “We’re very proud New Mexicans. Every part of our community is very different. When you’re in the southeast part of the state, it’s very different than the northeast part of the state. We want to reflect that through public art.”
Above: Mountain Valley in Autumn by Krysteen Waszak. Photo courtesy of New Mexico Arts.
