ARTS TOUR

Old Town

Old Town Albuquerque is the epicenter for art galleries in the city. From traditional to contemporary art, you'll find everything here. 

Old Town galleries carry a great variety of Zuni fetishes, Pueblo storytellers, Acoma pottery, Navajo rugs, Hopi kachinas, silver buckles and jewelry, and carvings. Quality galleries line Romero and San Felipe streets from the Plaza to Mountain Road, as well as the side plazas. You’ll also find contemporary galleries with visual and ceramic arts, jewelry, photography and sculpture.

Native Art

Photo Credit: Jeremy Felipe/Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

The gift shop at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center carries a wide variety of art and crafts from the 19 pueblos in New Mexico. The collection of rings, jewelry, pottery, rugs, sculpture, books, paintings and recordings vary in price from kid-affordable to top dollar. Visiting vendors often sell their hand-crafted items during the traditional dance performances held every weekend. After shopping, sample the artistic blend of flavors at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen. The restaurant focuses on Native flavors and ingredients.

Bien Mur Indian Market

The Bien Mur Indian Market carries only the best tribal art from across the Southwest. Located across the road from the Sandia Resort & Casino, the two-story, round building is packed with the largest collection of fine Indian art that you’ll find in the city.

Hispanic Art

National Hispanic Cultural Center

Water pours from an overhead aqueduct into a pond in front of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. With the entrance styled to resemble a Mayan pyramid, the campus includes an art museum, performing arts complex, library and genealogy center and education center.  The center is in the heart of the historic Barelas neighborhood, a Hispanic community since colonial times. 

The center’s art museum exhibits an extensive collection of fine paintings and dimensional art. The subjects reflect the concerns and perspectives of modern-day Hispanic culture. Treatments vary from traditional iconic to whimsical, surrealistic, cultural-fusion and visionary. The Center also has an extensive events calendar, with everything from family-friendly reading time to movie nights and opera performances.

South Broadway Cultural Center 

The South Broadway Cultural Center is a few blocks from the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and displays and sells a small but impressive collection of Hispanic art. A public library and 300-seat performing arts theater complete the community center.

Art Museums

516 Arts

516 Arts is a museum-style gallery located Downtown. The gallery displays a mix of local and national artists who are emerging and established. 516 Arts also hosts a variety of lectures, workshops and youth programs.

Albuquerque Museum

Besides the New Mexico history collections, the Albuquerque Museum exhibits works from the late 19th century to the present. The halls feature contemporary and historical regional artists and traveling exhibits. Docents give tours of the Sculpture Garden that surrounds the museum from March through November. Dozens of realistic and abstract sculptures represent both historical and modern themes.

Downtown Albuquerque Artwalk

Experience a block-by-block art experience Downtown during the Albuquerque Artwalk. Artwalk typically takes place the on the first Friday of each month. Artwalk activates businesses throughout Downtown to bring art to the community, with different gallery showings and activations each month.

Public Art

Since 1978, Albuquerque has dedicated 1% of all general obligation funds for construction to public art. Now, more than 600 works of art decorate city parks, plazas, offices and buildings. Keep your eyes peeled for sculptures, paintings, metal works and more throughout town. Albuquerque also has many murals painted on the side of buildings. MurosABQ offers a public tour of the city's murals.

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