Selected nominees will be recognized by the Governor at the annual award ceremony in the fall, and their work will be featured in an exhibition at the Governor’s Gallery in the Roundhouse State Capitol building.
Source: New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
Images: Courtesy
What: There is only ten days left to nominate artists, organizations, or art supporters for the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Nominations are open through February 26, 2026. It’s easy to nominate individuals and arts organizations in New Mexico using an online form. Self-nominations and nominations by immediate family or members of the same household will not be accepted. Selected nominees will be recognized by the Governor at the annual award ceremony in the fall, and their work will be featured in an exhibition at the Governor’s Gallery in the Roundhouse State Capitol building.
Who: New Mexico Arts Commission and New Mexico Arts
When: Nominations close Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, at 5 p.m. MDT.
Where: Nomination form online: nmarts.org/all-programs/governors-arts-awards/governors-arts-awards-nomination-form/
Why: The Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts were established in 1974 by then Governor Bruce King and First Lady Alice King to celebrate the significance of the arts to the State of New Mexico. For five decades a prominent and diverse group of painters, weavers, sculptors, dancers, musicians, storytellers, poets, actors, playwrights, potters, and supporters of the arts have been honored.
Looking back at the 2025 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, two names stand out for southern New Mexico: poet Connie Voisine of Las Cruces and musician Nacha Mendez, who grew up in La Union and now works in Santa Fe. Voisine, a longtime faculty member at New Mexico State University, has published widely—including The Bower, Poetry, and The New Yorker—and earned a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship. Mendez, a nationally acclaimed singer and composer, has received a National Endowment for the Arts Award and the New Mexico Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award, and through her music scholarship program, she continues to empower young musicians statewide.
These awardees illustrate how the Las Cruces region contributes to—and benefits from—the broader arts ecosystem of New Mexico. Their achievements show that the state’s creative landscape is not confined to Santa Fe or Taos but is vibrant and evolving in communities large and small.
With that legacy in mind, the New Mexico Arts Commission will be accepting nominations for the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts starting January 5. This is your chance to recognize artists, organizations, and contributors who shape the cultural life of New Mexico—those who, like Voisine and Mendez, inspire creativity across the state.
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