Santa Fe

Is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of Santa Fe County. Santa Fe (literally ‘holy faith’ in Spanish) had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Santa Fe County and is part of the larger Santa Fe-Española Combined Statistical Area. The city’s full name when founded was “La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís” (“The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi”).

Arts and culture

The city is well-known as a center for arts that reflect the multicultural character of the city; and has been designated as a UNESCO Creative City.
Each Wednesday the alternative weekly newspaper, The Santa Fe Reporter, publishes information on the arts and culture of Santa Fe; and each Friday, the daily Santa Fe New Mexican publishes Pasatiempo, its long-running calendar and commentary on arts and events..

Visual art and galleries

The city and the surrounding areas have a high concentration of artists. They have come over the decades to capture on canvas and in other media the natural beauty of the landscape, the flora and the fauna. One of the most well-known New Mexico–based artists was Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived for a time in Santa Fe, but primarily in Abiquiu, a small village about 50 miles (80 km) away. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe is devoted to exhibitions of her work and associated artists or related themes. As of early 2006, it holds over one thousand of her works in all media. O’Keeffe’s friend, western nature photographer Eliot Porter, died in Santa Fe.

Canyon Road, east of the Plaza, has the highest concentration of art galleries in the city, and is a major destination for international collectors, tourists and locals. The Canyon Road galleries showcase a wide array of contemporary, Southwestern, indigenous American, and experimental art, in addition to Russian, Taos Masters, and Native American pieces.

Sculptures

There are many outdoor sculptures, including many statues of Francis of Assisi, and several other holy figures, such as Kateri Tekakwitha. Given that Francis of Assisi was known for his love of animals it is not surprising that there are great numbers of representations of crows, bulls, elephants, livestock and other beasts, all over town. The styles run the whole spectrum from Baroque to Post-modern. Notable sculptors connected with Santa Fe include John Connell, Luis Jiménez, Rebecca Tobey and Allan Houser.

Literature

Numerous authors followed the influx of specialists in the visual arts. Well-known writers like D.H. Lawrence, Cormac McCarthy, Douglas Adams, Roger Zelazny, Alice Corbin Henderson, Mary Austin, Witter Bynner, Dan Flores, Paul Horgan, Rudolfo Anaya George R. R. Martin, Mitch Cullin, Evan S. Connell, Richard Bradford, John Masters, Jack Schaefer, Susan Gardner, Hampton Sides and Michael McGarrity are or were residents of Santa Fe. Walker Percy lived on a dude ranch outside of Santa Fe before returning to Louisiana to begin his literary career.

Music, dance, and opera

Music and opera are well represented in Santa Fe with the annual Santa Fe Opera productions, which take place between late June and late August each year, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival which is also held at the same time, mostly in the recently refurbished movie theatre, the Lensic Theater, now a major performing arts venue. Santa Fe has its own professional ballet company, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, which performs in both cities and tours nationally and internationally. The Santa Fe Jazz and International Music Festival was also held at the Lensic Theater for several years. Santa Fe New Music is a leading national presenter of new post-classical music and presents events year-round in many venues. GiG, a small performing arts center in Santa Fe, showcases jazz and world artists from all over the world year-round.[37] The city’s dance scene is quite varied, including the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, Moving People Dance Theatre, and many other small ensembles. Many well-known national dance companies, including the Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Complexions, and the New York City Ballet, have also performed at the Lensic regularly while on tour. German New Age musician Deuter lives in Santa Fe.

Museums

Santa Fe has many world-class museums. Many are located around the historic downtown Plaza or close by:

• New Mexico Museum of Art – collections of Southwestern Arts.
• Institute of American Indian Arts Museum – Native American arts with political aspects.
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum – devoted to the work of O’Keeffe and others whom she influenced.
• New Mexico History Museum – located behind the historic Palace of the Governors, showcasing the history of New Mexico.
• Site Santa Fe – A contemporary art space, located at 1606 Paseo De Peralta. Known as the forefront for contemporary art presentation in the Southwest.

Others are located on Museum Hill

• Museum of International Folk Art – showcasing folk arts from around the world.
• Museum of Indian Arts and Culture – exhibits Native American arts.
• Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian – Native American art and history.
• Museum of Spanish Colonial Art – Tradition arts from the Spanish-colonial era to contemporary times.