RAINBOW ARTISTS CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY IN JANUARY 2010

Rainbow Artists at their November meeting at OFFCenter Community Arts: (left to right: Gloria Hajduk, Jacqueline Hertel, Janine Wilson, Judith Kidd (founding member), Lonni Ann Fredman (founding member), Shari Adkisson, Martha Heard, Ginger Quinn, Roberta Delgado, Grace Collins, Suzanne Vizor, Thora Guinn (founding member), Joan Saks Berman).

RAINBOW ARTISTS CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY IN JANUARY 2010

Rainbow Artists: A Women's Collective celebrates their 20th Anniversary with an exhibit of their work, "Celebration!", and a party with refreshments and music at downtown OFFCenter Community Arts, 808 Park Avenue SW, Albuquerque. The party will be on January 15, 2010 from 5 to 8:30 pm with music by guitarist Abel Lemus. Please come and help celebrate! The exhibit of painting, photography and other media will be on display from Tuesday, January 5 through Thursday, January 28. Call OFFCenter for hours, 505-247-1172

Rainbow Artists was formed in 1990 by a group of women gathered at the old South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque. They met to express the difficulty women, especially women of color, had in exhibiting their artwork. Other artists' groups existing in Albuquerque at the time were not inclusive. The organization they formed is a multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-generational collective. The non-hierarchical format allows them to further their artistic endeavors, to encourage each other, to take on community projects, and to look for venues for group exhibitions.

During the past 20 years the members have shown in a variety of places in Albuquerque and other parts of New Mexico, from cafes and restaurants to public gallery spaces. Our exhibits have been seen in such places as the Kimo Theater Gallery, Arts Alliance, the Symphony Store, the Harwood Art Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) and the South Broadway Cultural Center (SBCC). The group has put on art exhibits with varied themes including "Sister/Sister, Honoring Women of Color", "Tango", and "Endangered Species."

In 2000, The Pocket Project, a collaboration between Rainbow Artists and the New York group, Entitled: Black Women Artists, was exhibited at the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque. At the end of its run here, it was moved to the Skylight Gallery in New York City.

Rainbow Artists worked with young students in the community to produce "Through the Eyes of Babes" and completed an installation in Main Library’s children’s section. For the past several years we have had an altar for the Day of the Dead at the SBCC for which we won the award presented by the Mexican Counsel for best traditional ofrenda (altar). During the March Celebration of Women at the NHCC we exhibited in the lobby of the Journal Theater.

The Albuquerque community acknowledged the enriching experience of working with women of many cultures and various ages with an award from the New Mexico Arts Alliance, the 19th Annual BRAVO for Outstanding Arts Organization 2003, and from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Multicultural Council, Inc for the "Keep the Dream Alive 2003".

Currently, Rainbow is supporting Global Pathways, a group of refugee women from Africa and Asia, in their activities here in Albuquerque. We are also contributing financially and artistically to OFF Center. We now hold our meetings there on the second Monday of the month.