BY JENNA FROSCH, The Las Cruces Bulletin, Sept 8 2008 p. C05
More than 82 arts organizations, from literary to performing to visual and everywhere in between, will meet over the next three weeks to discuss ways to make the Las Cruces arts community stronger, bigger and revenue- producing, with the first New Mexico Arts Convention.
With the help of students and faculty from the New Mexico State University College of Business, the Native American Business Student Association and the Talking Stick Institute, the events will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Mondays, Sept. 8, 15 and 22, in Corbett Center on the NMSU campus.
The purpose is to help local artists, the media, local leaders and the entire art community discuss ways to promote the economic impact of arts and culture in the area.
“Arts is a huge asset to many communities in New Mexico,” says David Boje, a professor in NMSU’s College of Business and one of the event organzers. “If we can gain recognition as an arts destination, similar to that of Santa Fe, Albuquerque or Taos, we will get more traffic and bring more people to the area.”
Each day, there will be a number of speakers and group events to discuss arts in Las Cruces. There are 10 task force groups, such as economic development, media, performance arts , galleries, visual arts , etc., that will be able to share ideas on a number of topics. Students from Boje’s “Small Business Consulting” class will help facilitate discussion and help record progress.
“We are not looking to form another organization, but provide a way to set a mission, goals and actions on how we can collaborate to get Las Cruces designated as an arts hub,” Boje says.
Local artist Virginia Maria Romero is also a member of the planning committee and says it’s important for all of the local art organizations to join forces and get the most from marketing Las Cruces as an arts community.
“We don’t want to criticize what people are doing. We want to know what people are doing to promote themselves and gain new ideas and a fresh perspective,” Romero says. “We need to work together to see what we can accomplish together.”
Romero says our city also needs to help promote the local arts community, and getting support from the university is the first step.
“We don’t have the answers, but we do have the resources and the people willing to offer their time to help this cause,” Romero says.
Local filmmaker Ed Breeding will open up the arts convention Sept. 8 with his documentary film, “Heart of the Arts : Las Cruces and Mesilla Valley, New Mexico.” Then, the task force groups will meet.
Guest speakers for the first day include Sharon Schultz, chief executive officer of the Tourism Association of New Mexico; Cindi Fargo, executive director of Las Cruces Downtown; and Chris Faivre, Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesman. The first session will close with comments from Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima. Task force groups on the first day will set their mission to work from for the next meetings.
The second session on Sept. 15 will include Mesilla Mayor Michael Cadena and Rich Williams, state coordinator of New Mexico Arts and Cultural Districts, as guest speakers. The small groups will come up with three goals to be met by early December.
The third session on Sept. 22 will have guest speaker Garrey Carruthers, dean of NMSU’s College of Business, address the task forces. The final task of the groups will be to come up with an action plan on how to achieve the goals set in the previous meeting.
Represented at the arts convention will be the Doña Ana Arts Council, the Las Cruces Downtown organization, the Tourism Association of New Mexico, New Mexico Arts , the New Mexico Arts and Cultural District, the Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau, ArtForms, City of Artists Promotional Association and Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders, among others.
The New Mexico Arts Convention is free and open to the public. For more information on how to get involved, contact Boje at 532-1693 or visit www. talkingstick.info.