Adrián Aguirre is an artist whose experience crossing the El Paso–Juárez border daily informs his exploration of displacement and immigration.
Source: New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico Arts
Cover Image: Courtesy
SANTA FE, NM – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham honors eight arts luminaries for the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts in her final year of office. The recipients represent the unique and rich artistic heritage of the state.
“Every year I am astounded by the talent and passion that recipients infuse into our state’s cultural fabric,” Lujan Grisham said. “This year’s awards culminate with eight honorees from across the state who truly represent what it means to embody the arts in New Mexico.”
The Governor, New Mexico Arts, and the New Mexico Arts Commission are proud to recognize these awardees who represent artistic achievement and dedication.
Adrián Aguirre, Visual Artist, Las Cruces
Adrián Aguirre is an artist whose experience crossing the El Paso–Juárez border daily informs his exploration of displacement and immigration. Drawing from news imagery and travels to refugee camps, he creates paintings and drawings that examine asylum, border enforcement, and their human consequences. Aguirre holds an MFA from the University of North Texas and was named one of Southwest Contemporary’s “12 Artists to Know in New Mexico” in 2022.
Delbert Anderson (Diné), Musician, Kirtland
Delbert Anderson, a Diné (Navajo) jazz trumpet artist, composer, and educator, stands at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene. His work, deeply rooted in his Diné heritage, seamlessly integrates Navajo “spinning songs” of love, healing, and courtship with jazz and funk, thus marking him as a community-minded Indigenous individualist. His compositions are inspired by Navajo Nation landscapes, historical events, and the desire to preserve and educate about Diné history.
Bill Barrett, Sculptor, Santa Fe
Bill Barrett has wielded bronze, steel, and Carrara marble to create dynamic, abstract sculptures, as well as large abstract canvases from his studios in New York City and Santa Fe. Bill received a BS in Design, an MS, and an MFA, from the University of Michigan. He has taught at University of Michigan; Cleveland Institute of Art; SUNY New Paltz; City College and Queens College in New York before devoting fulltime to his career. Barrett’s sculptures and paintings can be found in public and private collections worldwide.
Andrew Connors, Albuquerque Museum Director, Albuquerque
Andrew Connors is Director of the Albuquerque Museum and previously served as its Curator of Art. His career includes roles at Albuquerque Academy, National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others, where he developed collections and exhibitions focused on Hispanic, Latino, Native American, and Folk Art. In 2022, President Biden appointed him to the US Department of State’s Cultural Properties Advisory Committee, where he continues to serve.
Anne Hillerman, Author, Los Cerrillos
After an award-winning journalism career with publications in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and beyond, Anne Hillerman stepped into the world of mystery fiction. Her first novel, “Spider Woman’s Daughter,” paired characters her father Tony Hillerman made famous with Anne’s own creativity. That book and the nine that followed celebrate New Mexico’s vivid landscape as a setting. All have been national best sellers. The Hillerman characters inspired the popular “Dark Winds” television series.
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Santa Fe
Since its founding in 1962, IAIA—the University for Indigenous Creative Excellence—has empowered creativity, leadership, and innovation in Indigenous arts, scholarship, and cultures. IAIA is the only higher education institution dedicated to contemporary Native American and Alaska Native arts. Chartered by Congress and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, IAIA serves approximately 500 Native and non-Native students representing nearly 100 federally recognized Tribes.
Eli Levin (a.k.a. Jo Basiste), Painter, Dixon
Unable to cross the Rockies on his small motorbike, Eli came into Santa Fe in 1964 and met members of the old art colony, so decided to stay. He is known for his bar scenes and strong social commentary after the leftist artists of the 1930’s. He has run a drawing group since 1969 that continues to this day, and he co-founded the Santa Fe Etching Club in 1981. He still paints every day.
Sam Scott, Painter, Santa Fe
Sam Scott was the first living painter to be given a one-person show by New Mexico Museum of Art in 1974. This institution also presented a 30-year retrospective of Scott’s work in 1997-1998 entitled, “Sam Scott, an American Voice.” In the following two years, 1999–2000, Scott was honored to represent the western United States as attaché for the resumption of cultural relations with the republic of Vietnam.
New Mexico Arts, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New Mexico Arts Commission will host events in October recognizing this year’s Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, 5 p.m. at the St. Francis Auditorium of the New Mexico Museum of Art Plaza building. The ceremony will be followed by a public reception in the courtyard with light refreshments and a sparkling cider toast. An exhibition of work from the 2026 recipients will be on display in the Governor’s Gallery on the fourth floor of the Roundhouse Capitol Building beginning Thursday, Oct. 15 with an opening reception from 2 – 3:30 p.m. that day.
About the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts
The Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts are presented by the New Mexico Arts Commission and New Mexico Arts division in collaboration with the New Mexico Museum of Art. Established in 1974 by then-Governor Bruce King and First Lady Alice King, the Governor’s Arts Awards celebrate the significance of art in the economic and cultural life of New Mexico. For more than 50 years, a diverse and prestigious list of arts practitioners, supporters, and philanthropists have been honored. Learn more at nmarts.org/all-programs/governors-arts-awards.
This year’s Awards are made possible in part by major contributions from Allen Theatres, Jerry and Connie Hines, Sheryl and Steve Parsley, the New Mexico Music Commission, and the New Mexico Arts Commission.
About New Mexico Arts
New Mexico Arts (NMA), the state’s federally authorized arts agency and a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, administers the One Percent for Public Art program, awards grants to nonprofit organizations for arts and cultural programs, and provides technical assistance and educational opportunities for organizations, artists, and arts educators throughout the state. Serving as a hub for the arts and culture sector in New Mexico, NMA is committed to ensuring New Mexicans across the state have access to the arts in their communities. Learn more at www.nmarts.org.
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