Las Cruces artist Crystal Evans will explore the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument this month, producing art, a community workshop and a ‘zine’ showcasing the monument’s landscapes as the OMDP’s artist-in-residence.
The program is a joint project of the nonprofit Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Las Cruces office. The position pays the selected artist a stipend for the month of September, through the nonprofit Friends organization; and BLM provides onsite housing for the artist, who agrees to develop a community project, a public event and an art project promoting the monument.
Per a news release, Evans’ workshop will engage the community in developing works of art and publish the images in a ‘zine format, while also producing her own work on canvas.
The OMDP marks its 10th anniversary this year since being designated by President Barack Obama in 2014. It includes the Organ, Robledo, Sierra de las Uvas, Doña Ana and Potrillo mountains and is managed by BLM.
“The BLM Artist-in-Residence program is founded on the belief that artists look closely at the way the world works, notice things that others may have missed, challenge ideas, experiment, and create new opportunities to look at the world and its resources,” the BLM website states. “Through the program, artists are encouraged to use their observational skills in portraying the variety of cultural and natural resources on BLM lands such as historic structures, artifacts, cultural landscapes, geologic features, and plant and animal life.”
