How To: have a free art weekend in Santa Fe
The art scene is pretty thriving in Santa Fe, and it ranges from the crafty to the conceptual. Here's how you can get the most out of the town on zero dollars.
Friday 6pm
Take a walk along the galleries on Canyon Rd. These galleries tend towards the more crafty side of art, i.e. textile art, or these wind ornaments you can see in this picture below. Every Friday starting at 5pm, galleries along this street have show openings, and there are quite a number of people walking up and down the street for this "artwalk." Santa Fe gallerists are a pretty friendly bunch: welcoming you to their galleries and thanking you as you leave.
We caught the opening of "Bird's Nest Invitational" at Brandon Michael Fine Arts. It was a mega group show with a nature theme including artists from other galleries, focusing mainly on paintings. I thought it had the best stuff on this street by far. I later read on the gallery's website that they specialize in "representational art" - it's sort of cool that they would just come out and declare that. The opening was packed with people:
6:30pm
Head over to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum (about a 3 minute drive away). They're free from 5-8pm on Fridays, and has but a few galleries so it actually doesn't take a lot of time to see everything.
Saturday 11
11am
After a leisurely breakfast or sleeping in (or both), drop by SITE Santa Fe. They're free 10am-noon on Saturdays, so just be sure to arrive by noon. We caught the first day of their show "Pretty Is As Pretty Does."
After this, hit the Farmer's Market across the street. You might be able to find some lunch, but I thought it was pretty slim pickings.
Noon
Pay a visit to the other galleries in this Railyard District. The galleries here have a different feel on average than the ones on Canyon Rd. Maybe it's just because they're in these warehouse type buildings, but the art inside seems a bit less crafty or couch-art-ish.
After your gallery walk, Tomasita's restaurant is a few steps further down on South Guadalupe. It's a popular place for lunch; expect waits of 30 min to 1+ hr!
