The arts board of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, is seeking proposals from artists to create sculptures along Route 66 from the east side of Albuquerque to Tijeras.
Sculptures also will be along Highway 14, aka The Turquoise Trail, to Sandia Park north of Tijeras. All will be part of Phase 3 of the Outposts public arts project. The budget is $25,000 per sculpture.
More from the county’s call for proposals:
“Outposts” was conceived by the Bernalillo County Arts Board and evolved from an idea of exploring the diversity of the communities and landscapes found within Bernalillo County and the Southwestern region. The entire scope of the project is to create a “Public Art Trail” of 25 sculptures throughout Bernalillo County. Outposts Phases I and II consisted of ten sculptures installed along the Alameda Drain Multi-Use Trail on Second Street in Albuquerque’s North Valley. When Phase III is complete, a new call for art will be issued for five additional sculptures in another part of Bernalillo County, and so on until there are 25 sculptures by 25 different artists on key roadways of Bernalillo County forming the public art trail. […]
The purpose of the project is to create a public art trail that connects the five geographically and culturally diverse districts of Bernalillo County, from the rural east mountains to the primarily agricultural South Valley, to the highly urban center of the city, the mixed-use north valley to the primarily residential areas of the west mesa. These areas are enhanced by natural features including the Sandia mountain range to the east, volcanic cinder cones and a volcanic escarpment to the west, and the north/south running Rio Grande river through the valley.
Each new sculpture will be 15 feet all and must be designed to last at least 25 years. The deadline for artists to apply is Jan. 25.
Projected installation of the sculptures is spring 2025.
It’s not an Outposts sculpture, but my favorite in that area is the “Aluminum Yucca” along the Route 66 corridor in the east mountains of Albuquerque. That striking artwork is marking its 20th year in existence.
(Image of “Bat Family Cruising,” an Outposts sculpture at Montano and Second Street in Albuquerque, via Bernalillo County)