About the Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist Program at Albuquerque Museum
Since 2011, the Visiting Artist program at Albuquerque Museum has featured contemporary artists with a connection to New Mexico. The annual program provides an invited artist the opportunity to reimagine and activate the museum’s lobby, which is the first space visitors encounter upon entering the museum. The program includes the display of the artist’s work for one year, along with public talks, related art projects with students, and other celebrations. The program aims to provide a bridge between the artistic practice of the Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist and an up-close experience of contemporary art by the public.
The Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist program considers artists with compelling conceptual creativity. The large-scale space of the museum lobby has inspired several artists to create site-specific installations. Artists, however, are given the freedom to determine how they want to interact with the space and our collection.
“Since 1776...”, 2026, acrylic and oil-based acrylic paint
The tragic Greek myth of Prometheus is the story of a Titan who was punished for sharing the flame of knowledge with humanity. On the 250th anniversary of this country, we see this myth playing out before us as governmental powers strike down upon universities, museums, and other cultural institutions through targeted funding cuts, civil rights investigations, and the rewriting of federal regulations. This mural depicts another famous torchbearer, our Lady Liberty, as she is bound and tortured while attempting to protect the flame of enlightenment from being extinguished.
Installed with the assistance of Aaron Richardson, Albuquerque Museum teaching artists Jade Cruz and Shelly Korte, and youth apprentices Alyssa Johnson and Genesis Mullins from Working Classroom (Barelas)