Cibola Arts prepares for events

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Since the Cibola Arts Council and Double Six Gallery opened the gallery's doors to the public, they've also opened up a whole world of art to the local residents of Cibola County.

David Gallegos, Executive Director of the Council said, "We have about 50 artists as members of the council and another 50 or so non artists as members. Most of our artists 90 percent of them live within a 50 mile radius of the council, but we do have one from Albuquerque, one from Sturgis, South Dakota and even one from Amsterdam."

The Arts Council has ongoing displays and it has plans for future artistic expression and expansion, including the second annual Mt. Taylor tribute. Gallegos said, "It kicked off in February and will run until the end of June. We also had the dedication of the student art wall that debuted highlighting the art of 7th and 8th graders from Laguna Middle School. The student art will be displayed here for 60 days and on display an additional 60 days at NMSU. We will be contacting art teachers in the Grants area so that we can have artwork from Grants schools for July and August. Eventually we would like to have student art all year round."

Other shows on the horizon include the Mt. Taylor Quilt Guild's Quilt Show on May 12 from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Other projects include PAH-Fest from June 6 through June 10.

Gallegos explained, "We want to involve as much of the community as we can. This year will also include an artists' studio tour for visitors and tourists. That will happen on June 9 and 10 of this year."

The Arts Council is currently looking for submissions that reflect the beauty and the mystery of Chaco Canyon for a show that will begin on July 1, 2007.

Other plans for expansion include a children's sculpture garden out in back of the Council building. That way Gallegos said, "Visitors to our gallery will be able to see the main gallery, the student art show, our theme show and then go out into our beautiful garden of sculptures for a full experience of art."

The Cibola Arts Council and Double Six Gallery are located at 1001 Santa Fe Avenue in downtown Grants. The gallery is open six days a week, Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The gallery is handicapped accessible.