A new exhibit, “Honesty of Construction: The WPA and Spanish Colonia Style Furniture,” opened Nov. 29 at Branigan Cultural Center (BCC), 501 N. Main St., the City of Las Cruces said in a news release.
The exhibit, which continues at BCC through the summer of 2023, “examines the Works Progress Administration (WPA)-era vocational training program in New Mexico that drew upon Spanish Colonial furniture to teach young men and women a marketable trade in woodworking,” the city said.
Drawing from the University Museum collection at New Mexico State University, the exhibit features a wide range of furniture pieces that were made during a 1930s community vocational training program that was established in Las Cruces at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, now NMSU.
The furniture was made in the Spanish Colonial style that is characterized by using Ponderosa pine, mortise and tenon joinery, rounded edges and decorative embellishments, the news release said.
The furniture on exhibit includes a bench, chairs, bookcase, tables, desk, jewelry box, and a trasteros (cupboard).
An examination of the cultural changes and economic stresses in New Mexico during the early 20th century provides context for the economic need for craft-based vocational training, the city said. The exhibit also presents information about 1930s WPA work relief programs and the National Youth Administration that led to the production of the furniture.
BCC is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday.
There is no admission charge.
The museum is accessible from RoadRUNNER Transit Route 1, Stop 1.
For more information, call 575-541-2154. Visit www.lascruces.gov/museums.
