GALLUP NEW DEAL ART VIRTUAL MUSEUM LAUNCH PARTY

March 28th and 29th, 9am-8pm

The Gallup New Deal Art (GNDA) Virtual Museum, an innovative online space dedicated to Gallup, New Mexico’s New Deal-era art, will launch at the end of March 2025. This project, led by gallupARTS with support from a $530,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been in development since 2018 and includes collaboration with over 30 partners.

The GNDA Virtual Museum will become a digital hub for more than 120 artworks from the 1930s and ’40s, including paintings, murals, sculptures, furniture, and more, created or acquired through New Deal federal art programs. Gallup’s collection — one of its cultural treasures — presents a broad range of artistic voices, from Native, Hispano, and European-American artists, reflecting the movements and social dynamics that shaped American art in the first half of the 20th century.

“The Gallup New Deal Virtual Art Museum will make the city’s rich cultural and historical collection of New Deal architecture and WPA murals, Native American artwork, and Spanish colonial tinwork accessible to the wider American public,” said NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe. “Growing up, Gallup was one of our economic hubs and I am thrilled this project will dramatically expand the reach of these public works of art and showcase Gallup’s long history as a hub of arts and culture as well. The National Endowment for the Humanities is proud to have helped support the creation of this important resource.”

Through its interactive design, the GNDA Virtual Museum explores timeless issues of cross-cultural exchange, representation, and the evolving nature of art, making these themes as relevant today as they were in the ’30s and ’40s. The Virtual Museum will include:

• Special Exhibits offering deep dives into themes of Native, Southwestern, and Nuevo Mexicano art, culture, and history.
• Creative Pairings featuring local Gallup artists’ responses to New Deal works.
• Guest-Curated Tours that give visitors unique insights into the collection.
• Do-it-Yourself Exhibits allowing visitors to curate their own virtual exhibits.

The physical New Deal art collection, spread across six local facilities with varying levels of access, will now be fully available to a global audience through this virtual platform. This online museum connects the past and present, inviting audiences worldwide to reflect on the evolution of American art and society.

“The Gallup New Deal Art Virtual Museum is more than just an online gallery — it’s a powerful platform for exploring the depth and diversity of American art and history,” said Rose Eason, Executive Director of gallupARTS. “By bringing these 1930s and 1940s artworks to a global audience, we’re not only preserving Gallup’s rich artistic heritage but also sparking essential conversations about narrative, perspective, and the artistic ideas that still resonate today. We’re excited to invite the world to experience these pieces in new ways.”

The website will go at the end of March and GallupARTS will hold an in-person launch celebration Friday, March 28th and Saturday, March 29th in Gallup.

Events include:

• New Deal Art Self-Guided Viewing (Drop-In)
• Do-It-Yourself Exhibit Lab (Drop-In)
• Hands-on Paper Craft (Drop-In)
• Gallup New Deal Art Tea Party at 9AM
• Collection Highlights Tours at 10AM and 2:30PM
• Sounds in Place: Music of Diné History, People and Land at 7PM

For updates and more information, visit GallupNewDealArt.org and join in celebrating this vibrant, historically rich collection as it reaches new audiences around the world.