Previous Governor’s Arts Awards Recipients

2024 Award Recipients

John Garrett, a bald man with glasses.

John Garrett, Visual Artist, Las Cruces

John Garrett has been working with the application of textile technologies and imagery to various untraditional fiber materials for over 50 years.  The National Endowment for the Arts awarded him fellowships in 1983 and 1995.  In 2010 he was elected…

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Diana Ingalls Leyba, a woman with long hair.

Diana Ingalls Leyba, Major Contributor, Silver City

Diana Ingalls Leyba is a mixed-media artist, gallery owner, and founder/director of the Youth Mural Program. The twenty-one-year-old Youth Mural Program has created over 85 projects engaging several thousand area youth. The Mission of YMP is to engage and empower…

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Ross Kagan Marks, a man with dark hair.

Ross Kagan Marks, Major Contributor, Las Cruces

Ross Kagan Marks is an award-winning director, writer and producer. He has worked with Academy Award winners Al Pacino, Brendan Fraser and Faye Dunaway as well as Edward James Olmos and George Lopez. His more than sixteen films have won…

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Arlo Namingha a man with dark hair.

Arlo Namingha (Tewa/Hopi), Visual Artist, Santa Fe

Arlo Namingha (Tewa/Hopi) Arlo is a Santa Fe -based internationally known sculptor and multi-media artist with a love for his community and his cultural upbringing. He studied fine arts with a focus on architecture and business. From an early age,…

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Pamela Shirinne Smith, a woman with gray hair.

Pamela Shirinne Smith, Book Arts, Abiquiu

Pamela Smith launched her paper marbling career 50 years ago in tandem with her work as founding director of the Press of the Palace of the Governors. Curator, educator, award-winning book designer/letterpress printer, and proprietress of the widely recognized MarbleSmith…

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Jock Soto, a man with dark hair.

Jock Soto (Diné), Dancer, Eagle’s Nest

Jock Soto, a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (1981-2005), is celebrated for his powerful technique and artistry. Beyond performing, he has significantly contributed as a choreographer, teacher, and writer, leaving a lasting impact on the dance…

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Robert & Ellen Vladem, a man and a woman.

Ellen & Robert Vladem, Major Contributors, Santa Fe

Robert and Ellen Vladem were awarded the Mayor’s Art’s award for philanthropy in 2022. They are the lead donors of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Vladem Contemporary Museum, their contribution ensuring the museum would be built. At the Santa…

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2023 Award Recipients

A woman with long hair smiling.

Paula Castillo, Visual Artist, Belén

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A woman with long dark hair smiling.

J.C. Cervantes, Author, Las Cruces

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A Native American man.

Raven Chacon (Diné), Musician, Composer and Artist, Albuquerque

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A woman and a man with gray hair.

Judy and Ray Dewey, Major Contributors to the Arts, Albuquerque

A man in a cowboy hat and glasses.

Jim Harris, Major Contributor to the Arts, Hobbs

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A Native American woman.

Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), Fashion Designer, Taos

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A man with a chisel.

Mark Ian Saxe, Stone Sculptor, Dixon

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A woman with short white hair and glasses.

Judy Tuwaletstiwa, Visual Artist, Galisteo

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