Otero Arts Packs October with Photography, Music, Film and Free Workshops

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — Otero Arts has filled its October calendar with a month-long photography exhibit, a baroque chamber concert, an author reading, a lecture on ancient Egypt, a documentary screening and free hands-on workshops, nearly all of them at the Otero Artspace at 12th and Indiana.

The all-volunteer nonprofit, now led by newly elected Board President Kim Melton, opens the month on Thursday, Oct. 1, and keeps something on the schedule almost every week through Oct. 28.

Stan Ford's nature photography takes the walls

Nature photographer and Otero Arts member Stan Ford headlines the month with a solo show. An opening reception runs Friday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. After that, the exhibit is free and open Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m., until it closes Oct. 24.

Ford spent this past May as artist-in-residence at Valles Caldera National Preserve, the third time the National Park Service has chosen him to teach photography at one of its parks. His workshops usually focus on night photography, and this year's class caught a rare sight. Ford said the class was fortunate to see the Northern Lights. Images from the park, including a cabin at sunrise and the aurora over the caldera, are part of the show.

Ford will be at the Artspace on Friday, Oct. 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. to meet members and fellow photographers.

Free and hands-on: workshops for all ages

The monthly Free Art Workshop on Saturday, Oct. 10, teaches Imani paper pumpkins with instructor Pennie Espiritu. Reserve a spot by emailing mariaaragon64@gmail.com or signing up at oteroarts.org. The workshop is funded by Thrive! of Southern New Mexico. Espiritu will also preview the craft at the Oct. 1 Meet and Greet.

For more serious painters, Anita Louise West leads a three-day Plein Air Painting Workshop Oct. 13–15, painting historic villages and local landscapes. The cost is $200, and the class is limited to 10 students. A few spaces remain; tickets are at oteroarts.org, and questions go to oteroartsinc@gmail.com.

Evenings of books, baroque, the pyramids and Bosch

Reading Series, Friday, Oct. 16, 6 p.m. Jennifer Givhan, a Mexican-American and Indigenous poet and novelist from the Desert Southwest, reads at the Artspace. Givhan has received fellowships from the NEA and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices and won the Southwest Book Award. She has written seven poetry collections and five novels, most recently The Sleeping Sisters.

Cruzando Fronteras, Saturday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. The Baroque Chamber Ensemble performs music of Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Scarlatti. Players include Stephen Redfield and Carla Moore on baroque violins, Katie Rietman on baroque cello, Charlotte Mattax Moersch on harpsichord and Gerard Gibbs on recorder. Tickets are $25 at oteroarts.org.

JRI Lecture, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. In the monthly partnership with the Jornada Research Institute, Dave Greenwald presents "Historic Cairo and Ancient Nile Explorations." He previews the sites his tour group will visit this fall, including the Great Pyramids, the inside of the Pyramid of Khufu, the Sphinx and the wider Giza Necropolis.

Film Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m. The documentary The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch gathers the medieval painter's masterpieces from around the world in his Dutch hometown. Admission is free; donations are welcome.

Regular gatherings and around town

The month starts with the First Thursdays Meet and Greet on Oct. 1, 10 to 11:30 a.m., with coffee, conversation and Espiritu's paper pumpkin demo. Belly dance classes begin Thursday, Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m. and continue weekly; contact Claudia Powell at claudia@tularosa.net. The Otero Arts board meets Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 1:30 p.m., and members are welcome.

Elsewhere in the area, Alamogordo MainStreet hosts "Heroes on Mainstreet" Oct. 2, 4 to 8 p.m., on the 900 block of New York Avenue

The Flickinger Center screens the Banff Mountain Film Festival Oct. 9 and stages the Children's Music Theater's "Frozen" Oct. 16–18 and 23–24.

Thrive in Southern New Mexico, an Otero Arts grant provider, holds its Corks & Shells Wine & Pistachio Festival Oct. 17 at Alameda Park. 

The Cloudcroft Art Society's Holiday Show opens Oct. 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Otero Artspace is at 1118 Indiana Ave. in Alamogordo. For details, visit oteroarts.org, call 575-446-3880 or email oteroartsinc@gmail.com.

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