Grants, New Mexico is located on the Historic Route 66 – a highway known to many for its rich culture and history.  The Double 6 Gallery, appropriately named for its location, brings you back in time with its facade of a 40’s style theater.

The Double 6 and the adjoining Cibola Art & Artifacts Museum are both part of the Cibola Arts Council which is dedicated to providing the citizens it represents, especially youth, with experiences in the arts by providing an educational resource, promoting area artists and celebrating our region’s rich cultural diversity.  In their recent newsletter they say, “The arts promote tourism, are basic to education, are fundamental to a robust economy, and art is cost effective!”

Photo by Jessica Haynie

As I toured the gallery there were a variety of photographs, paintings, and pottery to enjoy, as well as interesting mining artifacts in the museum.  The gallery is spacious, allowing for gatherings from musical performances to poetry readings and educational workshops.

The Cibola Arts Council was founded in 1976 by women whose husbands were in the local uranium mining industry.  It began as a performing arts series and later expanded to include the gallery in the early 1990’s and now the art and artifacts museum.  Robert Gallegos, the executive director of the Double 6 and–an artist himself–tells me, “The last 3 years the gallery has been very busy.  Last year alone the gallery and museum had 13 scheduled events and ended up providing 23 extra exhibits and events resulting in 2,740 visitors.”

The gallery really seems to go out of its way to accommodate both its artists and the community it serves.  As I wrote in the previous post, the Double 6 largely influenced Ava Peets’ professional career as an artist.  Ava commented, “Had the Double 6 Gallery not been available for me to begin showing my pictures I would not have known how to enter work into a gallery.  I had painted for a couple of years before showing my work and becoming an artist member.  By paying a small fee as an artist member I became knowledgeable of the way galleries do business to sell artists work.”  The Double Six is a consignment gallery.  Any artist who becomes a member and shows work has to sign a contract stating the percentage due to the gallery upon any sale of the individuals’ artwork.  “It made me aware of how to conduct business with a gallery.  My work was sold and I learned how to contact other galleries to show and sell my work.”

When I asked Ava what role she sees cultural entrepreneurship and tourism playing in Grants’ economy and future she said, “We have just tapped the beginning of tourists seeing the lovely Double 6 Gallery and the Art and Artifacts Museum.  We need much more advertising for the community in general.  Through the help of cultural entrepreneurship an awareness of the importance of arts in our community and the area will become much better known.  Nearly every successful community promotes the arts, its museums, boutiques, good restaurants and any business that attract tourists.  Through the help of cultural entrepreneurship our community will have an additional boost in being able to fulfill such goals.  We have the Historic Route 66, natural wonders and we are multi-cultured.  People want a great diversity when visiting a community and we have it all. There is a huge economic benefit to promoting all that we have here Grants and the surrounding area.”

Inside the Cibola Art and Artifacts Museum Photo by Jessica Haynie

And as Robert Gallegos sums it up, “Tourism is the key…Route 66 is our plaza.”

Ava Peets, a lifelong artist, became a professional artist in Grants, New Mexico.  Ava reflected on her joy of living in New Mexico: “It is such good fortune to live in this wonderful state–with all the beauty, cultures, and history, which serve as constant inspiration for innumerable subjects to paint.”

Ava was encouraged to become an artist at an early age by her parents.  She began drawing and cutting silhouettes at six years old.  Later, upon entering Southwest Missouri State University, she studied fine art and commercial art.  Her plans to become a commercial artist were changed when she married and had children, but she still continued to take various art lessons.  She stated, “The desire to pursue my artist interests has never left me.”

Ava had the opportunity to learn the fine art of porcelain painting during the mining boom days in Grants.  She did this for more than six years and then quit the medium completely moving on to pursue an interest in sports and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors of New Mexico.

One of Ava’s greatest loves was cross county skiing on Mt. Taylor, which is nearly in her backyard.  She participated in the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon and worked out to improve her skiing ability.  However, she injured her shoulders so severely it changed her plans to continue with cross country skiing.  As luck would have it, the opportunity arose for Ava to start painting again as she said, “It is a true joy in my life.” 

She began painting in oils, her favorite medium for about 14 years.  And after so many years she became a professional artist and attributes her success to the Double Six Gallery in Grants.  Most of Ava’s work is Southwestern, and in particular historical buildings, which is her favorite subject.

Even though Grants is a community with many artists and cultural entrepreneurs, Ava admits that it has its challenges.  “Much of it is recognizing that Grants has a large artist community.  Our community is very diverse, but the strong art presence still needs to be known throughout our state and beyond.  There are numerous sculptors, painters, potters, quilters, photographers, jewelry makers, however, this is just not seen or known for the amount of artists who live in the area.  We need a lot of publicity.”

However Ava believes that, “One of the greatest opportunities in Grants is to be able to show at the  Double Six Gallery.  There are other locations of art galleries and artists studios as well.”  Learn more about the Double Six Gallery and the group that got it all going, the Cibola Arts Council, in my next post!