After being closed since March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Mexico State University Art Museum—which had its grand opening on Feb. 28—reopened to the public on Sept. 19 with a capacity of up to 10 visitors at a time.

The museum’s first exhibition “Labor: Motherhood and Art in 2020” was first showcased for two weeks in until the museum was forced to close in March by state public health orders.

Director of the University Art Museum Marisa Sage said the museum will be showcasing this exhibition once again until Dec. 6 after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham allowed museums to reopen in September at 25% capacity under the revised public health order.

“This exhibition was our first exhibition in this new museum,” Sage said.

Sage said that the exhibition addresses some of the realities of being both a mother and an artist in this country.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Selema Graham

Artwork is displayed in open drawer.

“All artists who [are featured] are addressing the choice of becoming mothers and laboring as both mothers and artists simultaneously and the institutional support of mothers in our country,” Sage said.

Two featured artists from the exhibit include NMSU’s own Katrina Chandler and Maggie Day who participated in Lanka Clayton’s “An Artist Residency in Motherhood”—a self-directed residency from Aug. 2019 to Jan. 2020 that included childcare for the artist-mothers, Sage explained.

“During their residency we actually gave them childcare during the times that they were making work in their studio,” for four hours a week, Sage said.

 Their work is on display in the Mullennix Bridge Gallery.

The University Art Museum’s reopening guidelines follow suggestions from the CDC and the NMSU Ready plan to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Sage explained some of the protocols being implemented at the museum.

“In May we created a plan for reopening which was based upon CDC guidelines as well as the NMSU Ready Plan,” Sage said.  “We’ve created a time entry system—people can reserve spots. We have 10 spots available per half hour increments when we’re open.”

After every group leaves, spaces in the museum will be cleaned before the next group is let in. Guests are asked to sanitize their hands before entering and throughout their time in the museum, as hand sanitizer stations are offered around the building.

Sara Harper, an artist who is working on her master’s degree, attended the recent reopening and grand opening events and said she enjoyed them.

“It’s just beautiful to see all of the spaces are extremely well thought out for the different arts that you’re studying, and I loved seeing the museum space,” Harper said.

Harper said she thinks talking about the issues women and mothers face is important.

“I think that those issues are things that are hidden in our culture and not considered as important as other things,” Harper said. “Even though they maybe are of primary importance to all of us and so I really love seeing women’s issues elevated in a context like this.”

The museum will now be open from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m.