GRANTS, NM – The Cibola Arts Council recently hired a new executive director, Brian Johnson.
Johnson has been with the arts council since April and has many new plans for events and for the gallery. He is also working towards getting more pay for the workers and funding for the arts council.
Brian Johnson, after hearing that the former Executive Director Robert Gallegos was stepping down, decided he wanted to apply for the position of Executive Director for the Cibola Arts Council. Johnson said that the process for applying for the position was interesting considering that many of the board members are new. Johnson said, “So when I came to the board meeting, for about 40 minutes I was a board member, and then I got hired as the director.” Johnson also spoke about how there are a lot of new and fresh ideas from the new board members and from himself. Johnson stated, “I am coming in with my own ideas and trying to learn what people have been doing. I finally feel like I’m sort of getting up to speed.”
Johnson spoke about how the arts council is working towards getting more funding. He stated, “The place has been running on fumes for quite a long time… The current status is, in terms of human power, I’m not getting paid at all. We are operating on the basis of 20 paid hours, that’s on minimum wage, and 60 volunteer hours.” The director has been trying to go to the board and the county to tell them that the current state of the art council and the gallery isn’t sustainable. Johnson stated, “What I really want folks to understand is that if they want something that is sustainable there needs to be an investment.'
When asked what his favorite part of the job is so far Johnson stated, “I really enjoy meeting the artists, and people who think real differently, creatively… I’m really excited about collaboration with other entities in the community.” Johnson said that he is currently working on collaborating with Main-Street, the Senior Center, Roberta’s Place, and the El Morro Arts Council. Johnson stated, “We’re working on ways that we can swap ideas and resources… so we can get more variety and things going on.” Johnson also said he’s excited for more performing arts such as poetry, music and theater and he is also wanting to collaborate with the college to use the theater to plan more events involving the performing arts.
When asked why art is important Johnson stated, “Try living without it, see what that’s like… Art is what people do when they have money, that’s why people work, they want to engage in something that allows their imagination to come out and play… Art is a fundamental piece of operations.” Johnson went further on to talk about research studies done that show that children perform better in school when they engage in imaginative and creative work, so he is hoping to become more involved with the school district to try to help students who are struggling, to engage in more of the arts. Johnson stated, “I’ve written a grant proposal to continental divide in order to be able to pay some small stipend for teachers, as well as for more art supplies and things.” Johnson wants to focus more on sustainability he said, “I want to work on making this institution sustainable… our processes, procedures, our agreements contracts. I want all of those to be very well organized so if I die tomorrow and you come in and take the job, you can find what you need to find in order to carry on.”
Some of the events coming up for the art gallery is the art swap and sale on July 22, which will give artists the opportunity to sell or swap pieces of art. The art gallery will also be selling art at 15 percent off. The gallery is also asking for those engaging in poetry to submit their work to be displayed on the inside and outside of the gallery, those that are interested can submit their poetry to cibolaarts66@gmail.com.
Johnson said he wants to do more interactive workshops for kids, and also make the gallery itself more interactive by including a chalkboard wall for children to draw on and express themselves, as well as a table with different interactive elements such as clay.
The arts council is always looking for volunteers. Those that are interested in volunteering for the arts council can go to the Route 66 Double Six Art Gallery located at 1001 West Santa Fe Ave. and speak to Johnson about their interest.