WEEK THREE: PUBLIC ART
The Railyard Art Project Committee (RAP) invites both individuals and creative teams to propose visual and performing art projects that are vital, lively and experimental for temporary installation within the Railyard Park + Plaza. Learn about some past projects and future opportunities!
Day One:
On the third week of our “Explore Your Park” campaign, we’re highlighting Public Art in the Railyard Park! You may be familiar with this iconic polar sculpture, “Longview,” by Santa Fe local Don Kennell. While in the park, “Longview,” made for a great conversation piece and landmark of Santa Fe’s innovation and creativity. The sculpture’s searching pose and materiality of car hoods served as a metaphor for what humans need to do about climate change! Learn more about past public art installations on our website or take a stroll through the grounds to see our latest public art installation.
Day Two:
Public Art is for the people! Facilitating public art in the Park brings exciting and creative projects to the heart of Santa Fe, such as the FENCE project.
The Fence, a past installation in the Railyard Park featured the work of 56 talented photographers from New Mexico and around the world. The goal of this unique exhibition was to present exceptional work that is innovative and accessible to all people. The coordinators of the project also helped facilitate educational programming and tours of the exhibit for students visiting the Railyard Park.
Scanners, by Bill Dolson was another innovative project. Scanners was an outdoor video installation in the Railyard Park Rose Ramada on view every night during the Summer of 2018. The projectors were programmed with geometric animations which automatically turned on every night just as the sun went down.
Also in 2018, the Railyard Park featured the Art & Poetry Geocache project, a collaborative effort of mother-daughter duo Miriam Sagan and Isabal Winson-Sagan. The two created a site-specific installation of poetry and Suminagashi (paper marbling) in the Railyard Park, including a free workshop series.
Another unique project came from @freefilmusa. Artists from @worthlessstudios brought their project @freefilmusa to the Railyard Park this past fall. This project entailed giving out free black and white film to the public and developing participants photos in their airstream trailer’s converted dark room!
Lastly, we’re giving a shout out to Bread and Puppet! They were supposed to perform for our annual Earth Day Celebration this year, but sadly had to postpone due to COVID 19. The good news is they plan to come back for 2021, we can’t wait!
Day Three:
Art in the Railyard Park comes from a large variety of artists! If you take a walk through the park today, you might notice the magnificent Grass Ballet sculpture by Owen William Fritts located by @sitesantafe! You also might encounter some lovely chalk art from our young community members 
We here at the Railyard Park Conservancy think implementing art from a range of community members, creative minds, and artists are part of what makes the Railyard Park’s public art scene so exciting!
In the next few months, we’ll be launching a few projects aimed at getting our community outside and engaging their artistic and creative senses! Next month we’re collaborating with Labyrinth Resource Group of Santa Fe to host a “Love Your Labyrinth” month that offers an opportunity for our community members to paint a rock and place it in the outer circle of the labyrinth!
We’re also gearing up for our annual photo contest! This year is youth focused. Local kids and teens, get your camera ready to snap some pics in the Railyard Park! Stay tuned for more details on these projects and more on our website
Day Four & Five:
To conclude our public art week we’re sharing the full video of 2 of our amazing Railyard Art Project committee members discussing the importance of public art and how the volunteer advisory committee (RAP) operates! Thanks again to Merry Scully and Chelsea Weathers for your thoughtful interviews.