The University Art Museum (UAM) at New Mexico State University is among 32 organizations in the U.S. and Mexico awarded grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's "Frontera Cultural Fund." The UAM received $300,000 to assist with the art museum's general museum operations for the next three years.

The Mellon Foundation's "Frontera Cultural Fund" is providing $25 million to arts and community organizations along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The fund was created in collaboration with artists and cultural leaders in the region, which spans almost 2,000 miles and four U.S. and six Mexican states.

"The U.S.-Mexico borderlands are home to an abundance of cultures and creative traditions, yet remain a region minimally funded by arts philanthropies in the United States," said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. "Our long-term support for the artists, culture-builders and stewards of creative expression among these communities will help amplify and sustain the profoundly varied arts and histories taking place in the borderlands."

NMSU's Art Museum regularly curates original exhibitions from its permanent art collection of more than 4,000 objects. Just 50 miles from the international border, the UAM serves as a cultural touchstone for both art and artists in the region.

"The UAM is a contemporary art museum in southern New Mexico that plays a critical role in establishing connections across real and perceived borders," Sage said.

The UAM received funding from the Mellon Foundation in 2022 that allowed the art museum to hire a collections curator, which greatly increased access to the art museum's collections and allowed for the digitization of more than 900 of NMSU's 2,100-plus retablos collection. The grant also supported the development of a three-year strategic plan, which was conceptualized over six in-depth working sessions with NMSU executive leadership, staff, community partners, educators and artists across the state and region. The current award runs from 2024-2027.

"With our three-year strategic plan in place, this new funding from the Mellon Foundation will support significant growth for the UAM with an increased focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, helping the art museum to create sustained impact on the cultural landscape in Las Cruces and across southern New Mexico," said Marisa Sage, UAM director.

Of the 32 inaugural grant recipients, eight are based in Mexico. Grantees include a Chicano cultural centre and a Haitian immigration advocacy group in San Diego, Indigenous groups in Texas and Arizona, an arts festival in Tijuana, a community farm in New Mexico and an art gallery in Ciudad Juárez. Museums and universities are also among the grantees: the El Paso Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, New Mexico State University and the University of Texas at El Paso—the latter two specifically for curatorial work. The MexiCali Biennial, founded by the artists Edward Gomez and Luis G. Hernandez in 2006 as a cross-border art festival, will receive funding as well.

The Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding.

"With renewed funding from the Mellon Foundation, the UAM will successfully operate at the intersection of art, research and social practice, contributing to the vitality of students, faculty and our binational communities through long-term artist-led projects," Sage said.

The NMSU Foundation selected the UAM as a College of Arts and Sciences highlighted project to support this year for Giving Tuesday: https://mailchi.mp/nmsu/givingtuesday2024lastchance

Visit http://uam.nmsu.edu/ to stay up to date on upcoming exhibitions and programs. The UAM is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is located at 1308 E. University Ave.

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-art-museum-to-receive-grant-from-mellon-foundation-s--frontera-cultural-fund-/s/76c76d8c-9054-4de1-8222-593a1c55969a