gallupARTS received a $30,000 Digital Projects for the Public “Discovery” grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant will fund the planning of a virtual art exhibit featuring Gallup’s collection of 90+ New Deal/Works Progress Administration (WPA) artworks, one of the largest such collections in the State.

Currently, Gallup’s collection of WPA architecture, Spanish Colonial-style tinwork, oak furniture, murals, prints, western American paintings, Native art and contributions to the Index of American Design, is housed in four different locations, which are not all open to the public.

Through a multi-faceted, interpretive website, gallupARTS hopes to restore the legacy of the WPA, unifying the collection, making it widely available as a unparalleled artistic and historical resource, and using it to promote community building.

The proposed website will contain both academic information as well as creative content, being developed by experts and designers in collaboration with Gallup’s artists and community members. The following teams, with gallupARTS

The planning of the website will also involve opportunities for the community to learn more about Gallup’s WPA art collection and contribute to the website in the form of public tours and talks.

“Gallup’s WPA art collection is perhaps its best kept secret,” gallupARTS Executive Director Rose Eason said. “This planning grant is the first step towards shedding light on our impressive collection, breathing new life into it and giving it back to the community to which it belongs. Our WPA art collection is something Gallup should be proud of and should show off. Now we have the chance to tell its story and to ensure it lives on in Gallup’s imagination for many generations to come.”

gallupARTS appreciates the support of Gallup’s WPA-hosting institutions, including McKinley County, the City of Gallup and its Octavia Fellin Public Library, and the Gallup McKinley County School District in making this project possible.

The grant gallupARTS received is the largest Digital Projects for the Public award made by the NEH in the State of New Mexico. It is one of eight Digital Projects grants awarded across the country, and one of only three “Discovery” grants awarded in the category.

The NEH’s Digital Projects for the Public Division receives an average of 140 grant applications per funding cycle for an average funding ratio of eight percent.

Visit: www.galluparts.org