The Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), which closed abruptly in April, seemingly for good, has reopened in a reduced capacity. Community donations sent to the center the day after it closed enabled it to reopen its cinema, a statement said. share by the CCA Board, which also cites a “sincere and generous outpouring of support” from the local community.
Founded in 1979, the CCA has become a vital part of the Santa Fe arts community, known in particular for its strong lineup of independent and international films. It also organizes exhibitions of contemporary art, the latest being self-determineda collective exhibition of 13 contemporary Native American and Aboriginal artists.
The abrupt closure of the center on April 6 follows a period of financial precariousness due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a drop in attendance. The center’s inability to maintain operations amid the abundance of streaming services Ultimately led its board of directors to vote to shut down the organization, despite a last-minute fundraising attempt, resulting in the loss of 14 full-time jobs. But the CCA had also been plagued by “a culture of instability”, former deputy director April Chalay said Hyperallergic in April, with at least 11 different directors leading the nonprofit over its past two decades.
Chalay also suggested that the CCA’s last executive director and chief curator, Danyelle Means – the first Indigenous person appointed to the position – did not receive support for her vision. “Not many people will say, ‘I don’t like it because it’s getting browner or younger,’ but that’s absolutely what happened when the CCA found out [Means]”, said Chalay Hyperallergic. “We had people start to criticize us and say, ‘Your producer is Indigenous and you’re doing an Indigenous show, are you just going to be an Indigenous arts organization? Because that’s not what I want to give to. “”Means, who is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, co-hosted self-determinedand under his leadership, the center obtained a three-year grant from the Ford Foundation of $100,000 per year.
The CCA cinema is now operating with Paul Barnes, a former board member, as general manager, but is not yet fully booked and has yet to announce its reopening on social media. The council is now looking for potential partners to help it maintain its operations and possibly develop additional public programming.
“The strategic partners under consideration will represent a new direction for the CCA’s gallery space, and the Board is excited about the potential for expanded programming at the CCA,” the announcement reads.
