Cultures and Creators: Interwoven

The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area invites artists from Rio Arriba, Taos, and Santa Fe counties to submit work for the 2026 iteration of Cultures and Creators: Interwoven, an annual exhibition celebrating the history and heritage of the living artistic traditions in Northern New Mexico.

Interwoven explores fiber as both a material and a metaphor, giving insight to the cultural histories that continue to shape Northern New Mexico. For generations, Native and Hispano communities have contributed distinct yet overlapping traditions of making and storytelling. Los Luceros Historic Site offers a unique setting where these histories exist side by side. The land, structures, and agricultural practices of the site demonstrate centuries of cultural exchange and evolution. Fiber becomes a way in which artists interpret inherited knowledge, lived experience, and the ways traditions have been carried forward and evolved over generations.

Artists are encouraged to interpret "fiber" broadly. Submissions may explore traditional or contemporary fiber arts, including but not limited to: weaving, embroidery, sewing, quilting, knitting, and crochet; textile-based sculpture or installation; felt, natural fibers, plant-based materials, or re-used textiles; mixed-media works where fiber plays a central conceptual or material role; or other mediums where fiber is highlighted more broadly. Works should reflect cultural heritage or approach fiber purely through form, process, and experimentation.

Eligibility: Open to artists residing in Rio Arriba, Taos, or Santa Fe counties. Open to artists of all levels and disciplines. Individual artists and collaborative works are welcome. Preference will be given to individuals who belong to one of the 8 Northern Pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Selected works will be exhibited at Los Luceros Historic Site in Alcalde, NM. Art must be dropped off April 7-8. Art will be displayed April 11-20. Pieces must be picked up on Monday, April 21. Submissions must include images of proposed or completed work, title and date of completion, artist statement and description of work, description of how the artist has interpreted the theme "Interwoven" as it relates to the piece, size details, display method, and a short bio with county of residence and pueblo affiliation if applicable. Submissions are limited to 1-5 images. Entry deadline: March 16, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MDT. Jury dates: March 17-24, 2026.