Southwest Contemporary

Southwest Contemporary stands out as the premier destination for contemporary arts and culture in the Southwestern region of the United States. Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in circulation since 1992, SWC provides insightful and well-researched viewpoints on contemporary arts and culture throughout the area. They are dedicated to promoting artists and arts organizations based in the Southwest via both their print and digital media, as well as hosting events and offering career development programs. In print, SWC releases a magazine twice a year and an annual guide to arts and culture in New Mexico, known as the Field Guide. Online, their website, southwestcontemporary.com, features weekly updates on arts news, a calendar of art events, and a classifieds section that highlights opportunities for artists and those in the creative industry.

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English

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#1409139

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#392170

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Articles

Queering Cowboy Culture with José Villalobos: It's a Quick, Rough Ride

1 week ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

José Villalobos: Rough Rider at Arizona State University queers the traditional masculinity inherent in cowboy culture’s objects of desire. José Villalobos: Rough RiderFebruary 22 – July 20, 2025Arizona State University Art Museum, TempeJosé Villalobos is queer multi-media artist who grew up on the border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, immersed in Norteño culture and his conservative Mexican family’s values.
Hank Willis Thomas’s Pop Culture Platitudes Belong to an Alternate Timeline—Not the One We’re Living In

2 weeks ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

Hank Willis Thomas’s LOVERULES offers a comprehensive survey of a decade’s worth of artwork but flounders in our current political crisis. LOVERULES—From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family FoundationJanuary 18 – June 21, 2025University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson“There are so many wonderful places in Tucson, like the University of Arizona,” said Jordan B.
Through Barbed Wire: Amarillo’s Invisible, and Hypervisible, Monuments

2 weeks ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

Hallie Ayres follows the barbed wire strand to contrast the hypervisibility of Cadillac Ranch, the secrecy of Pantex, and the site-specificity of Combine City. This article is part of our The Hyperlocal series, a continuation of the ideas explored in Southwest Contemporary Vol. 11. In late 1982, peace activist Jim Douglas spotted an armored white train snaking into the Trident Naval Submarine Base in Bangor, Washington.
Announcing Southwest Contemporary's Art Party Fundraiser and Benefit Auction

2 weeks ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Lauren Tresp

Southwest Contemporary announces the Art Party, our first fundraiser event and benefit art auction in support of arts journalism in the Southwest on Friday, June 6, in Santa Fe.Southwest Contemporary Art Party Fundraiser + Benefit Art AuctionFriday, June 6, 6-9 pm MDTScottish Rite Center, Santa FeThis year, Southwest Contemporary is preparing for its most impactful year yet as the only contemporary art publication dedicated to the Southwest region.
Discover Rising National Talents at Future Fair in Chelsea

3 weeks ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Lauren Tresp

Future Fair celebrates five years with diverse galleries showcasing emerging artists, inclusive representation, the Pay-It-Forward Fund, and nearly seventy exhibitors in Chelsea during New York’s spring fairs. Future FairMay 7–10, 2025Chelsea Industrial, New YorkFuture Fair, marking its fifth anniversary, assembles a tightly curated roster of local, national, and international galleries, each spotlighting new artists and programs poised for broader recognition.
An Artist Who Wrangles Cattle, Pours Iron, and Pulls Prints

4 weeks ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

Artist Jack Craft operates a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle while producing minimalist sculptures and experimental prints. The first time I met Jack Craft, we were in a meticulously raked “zen garden” art installation and he handed me a shot of tequila in a tiny iron pinch-pot. The second time I met Craft, he was holding a microphone outside of the gallery I co-founded, calling like a seasoned rodeo announcer.
In Tulsa, an Ambitious Exhibition Asks Us to Hold onto Our Roots, While Drifting Toward the Future

1 month ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

Drift///Hold is the ambitious inaugural exhibition of Central Standard in Tulsa with major new works by five compelling early-career artists. Drift///HoldFebruary 22–April 18, 2025Central Standard, TulsaThe words “drift” and “hold” evoke opposites: forward-looking movement and backward-facing pause. But as political rhetoric, nationally and in red states like Oklahoma, becomes increasingly polarized, can we stretch away from binaries toward the complicated?
Missing Waters Reimagines Santa Fe’s Forgotten Waterways

1 month ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Lauren Tresp

Environmental artist Stacy Levy brings Santa Fe’s lost acequias back to life with Missing Waters, a temporary chalk water map installation at the Santa Fe Railyard April 25-29, 2025. Stacy Levy: Missing WatersApril 25–29, 2025Santa Fe RailyardIt’s hard to believe in the midst of persistent drought, but Santa Fe wasn’t always this dry. In the early 20th century more than forty acequias snaked through the city, providing sustenance for gardens and crops and riparian habitat for wildlife.
Amid Long-term Closure, Flood-Stricken Roswell Museum Extends into the Community

1 month ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Natalie Hegert

While the Roswell Museum’s doors remain closed following the disastrous flood last year, support comes from the local community and statewide arts organizations. ROSWELL—At the Roswell Public Library on a recent Saturday morning, parents mingled while kids moved between three stations of tables, dutifully scrubbing tarnished pennies with salt and vinegar, “restoring” photocopies of paintings with colored pencil, and gluing broken toys back together.
Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week Just Launched-Is It a Hit or a Miss?

1 month ago | southwestcontemporary.com | Jordan Eddy |Lynn Trimble

Local artists and gallerists weigh in on Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week’s debut—and its efforts to bust regional stereotypes and elevate the Southwest on a global stage. SCOTTSDALE—There’s a new art fair in the Southwest, where key players hope to expand the visibility of the region’s vibrant contemporary art offerings. “People assume all the art here is cowboys and Indians standing around cactus,” quips art dealer Trey Brennen, who co-founded the event.