The New Mexico State University Art Museum celebrated its grand opening with the inaugural exhibit “Labor: Motherhood and Art in 2020” on Feb. 28 in Devasthali Hall.

Opening night and the ribbon cutting ceremony were held at Devasthali Hall, where the museum is housed. There were many people in attendance including patrons, artists and students. The night also included a dance that incorporated ceramic pieces by Jessica Jackson Hutchins and a live band. Other artists featured in “Labor: Motherhood and Art in 2020” are Patty Chang, Shelby Lee Adams, Larry Sultan and Yoko Ono, among others. More information on the featured works is available on the University Art Museum’s website.

When asked about the application of motherhood to art, NMSU undergraduate and graphic design major Abraham Hernandez spoke about his own experiences growing up with his mother.

“I remember seeing my mom coloring, and always [projecting] that onto me. When [my sister and I] were small, we would always be painting,” Hernandez said. “Every holiday [my mom, my sister, and I] would end up painting the [glass screen door] with a different theme, and it was always just something that we got to look forward to.”

Undergraduate studio art major Rebecca Robinson said the idea of motherhood being applied to art was “interesting” and something she had “never seen, heard, or really thought of.”

“I think as a whole, our society tends to forget that mothers are people as well. They experience a whole other world outside of their family and children that isn’t really talked about,” Robinson said. “I think [mothers are] really a voice people tend to forget about.”

NMSU graduate art student and mother herself featured in “Labor: Motherhood and Art in 2020,” Maggie Day, said the exhibit and the community’s response was “incredible.”

“These relationships and really deep things that are happening in those relationships with people and their mom,” Day said.

With her work being featured in the exhibit, it’s the first time Day’s work has been included in a show that also features nationally and internationally renowned artists. She said she looks forward to what the art department will be capable of in the newly constructed Devasthali Hall.

“In our old building [D. W. Williams Hall], we were so limited,” Day said. “But now we have three different gallery [spaces], and so we have this option now where we’re able to show off our collections that we’ve had before, just stored away, that nobody knew existed.”

Hernandez agreed that the future holds great things for the University Art Museum.

“I for sure know that there’s going to be so much more galleries that are going to be open and it’s going to be amazing. It’s exciting to see that this is a new start to something amazing,” Hernandez said.