AMoCA News August - September

Museum Day Roswell

Museum Day Roswell exceeded all expectations as more than 500 community members turned out to visit their local museums on September 16. This inaugural event included AMoCA, Roswell Museum, the NMMI McBride Museum, Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, The Miniatures and Curious Collections Museum, Walker Aviation Museum, and the International UFO Museum. A mayoral proclamation was read at the Roswell Museum at 10 a.m. to kick off the day!

AMoCA recorded 370 people, with 273 of them vying to win our swag bag of goodies (which included swag from all 7 museums and a little 'extra' from the AMoCA gift shop). Ernest Montoya was the lucky recipient of the AMoCA bag. More than 200 people visited all 7 museums which made them eligible to enter the grand prize of museum merchandise and gift cards valued at over $700. The lucky winner raced right down to the Roswell Museum (where the drawing was held at 5:30 p.m.) to collect her prizes and was eager to get home to open the box with her (very exhausted) children who had accompanied her throughout the day to all the museums! The other visitors who had completely filled their passport postcards were treated to "Museum Nerd" buttons.

AMoCA had been participating in the Smithsonian Museums' "Museum Day" for years - every September adding our name to their list of museums across the country who were opening their doors free to visitors. The Roswell Museum was interested in joining the national event this year, but in late Spring the Smithsonian announced they were skipping 2023....so Roswell Museum Director Caroline Brooks and AMoCA Director Nancy Fleming teamed up to plan Museum Day Roswell, with the other museums jumping on board very quickly. The City of Roswell's Marketing Department created the postcards (which doubled as passports to record the visitors’ attendance at each museum), posters, signage, and web publicity. Pioneer Bank graciously paid for the printed materials!

At AMoCA in the afternoon, Nancy led a small group of Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell art students on an informational tour, organized by their instructor Bailey Coll.

Thanks to AMoCA weekend staffers Ted Schooley and Cate Erbaugh for successfully managing the steady stream of happy - and mostly first-time - visitors!

*Cate Erbaugh leads a visitor through the raffle drawing ticket and passport process - the swag bag contents can be viewed on the right.*

Karen Aqua Day at the Anderson Museum is September 28, 2023

RAiR (1991-92 & 1995) alum Karen Aqua (1954-2011) left a legacy of great animations and hundreds of drawings!

Schedule of Events:

9 AM - 7 PM: Karen’s animations will be projected in a loop on AMoCA’s large screen, accompanied by an exhibition of a small selection of her drawings.

5 - 7 PM: Enjoy refreshments and learn more about Karen’s art with Ken Field and Cecily Miller.

Take One Home: Animation cell drawings will be available for purchase with all proceeds benefiting AMoCA.

Enter to win: A drawing for the the Karen Aqua Animated Films DVD (with 13 animations).

An Evening With Guillermo Goméz-Peña

Performance artist, writer and activist Guillermo Gómez-Peña (RAiR Guest Artist) returned to the Anderson Museum on Tuesday, September 12, for a thought-provoking and insightful evening of spoken word. The intimate audience was entertained and enthralled by Gómez-Peña's wide-ranging rich voice, sounds, accents and volumes as he presented material that was penetrating, poignant and humorous.

For more information about Guillermo Gómez-Peña - including his weekly podcast "The Mex Files: Audio Art and Strange Poetry from the US/Mexico Border" - visit https://www.guillermogomezpena.com/

Invitation to the performance was made by an e-blast to the recipients of this newsletter. If you did not receive it, please check your promotion or spam folder to make sure our news to you is welcomed into your inbox. Sometimes we don't have time for a snail mail postcard.

Swinging Jazz Swung Great Jazz!

The New Mexico Military Institute Jazz Band under the direction of Dr. Wataru Niimori started off the evening of Swinging Jazz organized by Michael Francis' Southwestern Arts Alliance, the Roswell Jazz Festival, and AMoCA held on September 1st. The cadets had been treated to a jazz workshop earlier in the day by the headline performers: Vibraphonist Chuck Redd, Bassist Tom Wakeling, Pianist Michael Francis, and Drummer Ricky Malichi.

The headliners - as always - kept their fingers flying and wowed the audience with their talents! Francis corrals the musicians who have to travel to town by plane or car. But when their sounds meld and they are in the groove, one can tell it doesn't matter how far they came because they (and the audience) are having a great time!

Mark your calendars for the Roswell Jazz Festival which gets underway in Roswell on October 25 and culminates with a Jazz piano concert at AMoCA on Sunday, October 29. Scheduled to perform are Brian Piper and Mark Shane, with a possible additional vocalist/pianist. Stay tuned Jazz Lovers!!!

AMoCA To Host After-Opening Dinner for RAiR Alum Susan Dopp

Susan Dopp's (RAiR 1989-90) exhibit Lacewing at the Roswell Museum begins Friday, October 6.

After a 5:30 p.m. talk and opening reception at the Roswell Museum, join us at AMoCA around 7 p.m. for an after-opening buffet dinner catered by Sarah's. $15/person.

Panel Project

The Panel Project culminates Oct. 2-7 when the art-i-fied panels are shown and sold at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair in Roswell. AMoCA appreciates the community involvement in the project and getting to visit with people as they brought in their panels and toured AMoCA (some for the first time!!!).

AMoCA Facilitates Art Sale for NMMI Cadet Scholarships

AMoCA has teamed up with the New Mexico Military Institute Alumni Office to sell donated artwork from the estate of Gilbert Cain, a NMMI alumnus from the 40's who passed away in 2009. The 55 works are interesting to browse through - which everyone can do by perusing rair.org/nmmi-art-sale! The physical objects will be on display on temporary panels at AMoCA starting October 23rd, with the sale officially starting at 2 p.m., October 26 (MST) - the first day of NMMI's 2023 Homecoming. AMoCA will gain on-line exposure with NMMI's vast alumni as well as new visitors during the Homecoming weekend. We appreciate the opportunity to facilitate this sale and gain experience with on-line art sales! Click here to see the artwork.

Above: M. (Margaret) Grimes, Snow Field, signed oil on canvas, 24” x 30,” 28” x 34.25” frame, $150. One of the 55 artworks available for sale.
Margaret Grimes (1943-2020), was the wife of John Wallace 1929-2011 (RAiR 1968).

RAIR StaffSeptember 15, 2023