Events and Programs

These projects are supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, by the National Endowment for the Arts, by the Devasthali Family Foundation Fund, by the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, by Creative West, and by the Sacramento Mountains Foundation

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Opens August 7

Dance Classes Weekly

Sue Nichols, The Light of La Luz -- 2026-2.jpg

Otero Arts will present “The Light of La Luz”, an exhibition of paintings and stained glass by New Mexico artist Sue Nichols, with an opening reception from 5 – 7 PM, August 7, at Otero Artspace, located at 1118 Indiana Avenue, Alamogordo. The show gathers thirty-three works in oil, watercolor and stained glass, drawn from across a career spent looking closely at one corner of the world. Nichols did not come to the land by birth. Born in Carlsbad and raised in Alamogordo, she was a young woman working at the Ruidoso Downs racetrack when she married her high school sweetheart and moved to his family’s orchard ranch in the Sacramento Mountains near La Luz. She has been there ever since and for decades that ground has been her great subject.

The exhibition ranges widely while holding to a single sensibility. Paintings of the working land, among them “Way of Life” and “Hell or High Water,” share the room with wildlife studies such as “Late Summer Meadows,” quiet still lives drawn from her own rooms and gardens, and figurative work that catch ordinary people in unguarded moments. Also on view are works in stained glass, the discipline Nichols has practiced for decades through her studio, Canyon Glassworks, including the three-panel Spirit Dancers screen and the Peace panel.

“I try not to be too specific in the narrative, so the viewer can complete the story and have their own relationship with the work,” Nichols says. “Much of the world I paint is quietly vanishing. My hope is to preserve a little of its beauty and its history, and to help someone feel it the way I do.”

Nichols earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at New Mexico State University. She has completed more than seventy commissioned stained glass works and is a trusted source for stained glass restoration throughout southern New Mexico. Her work is held in private collections and shown in galleries across the state.

Upcoming Events and Programs

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EVENT LIST

2026

Weekly Belly Dance Classes, Thursday evening, 5:30-6:30

January

2 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception: Juried Photography Exhibit, 5-7 PM

8 Members Meet and Greet 10-11:30 AM

15 Open Meeting about Women Veteran Arts Showcase

16 Otero Arts Reading Series: NM Author Phillip Connors, 6-8 PM

20 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8 PM

25 Veteran Writers' Workshop, 4-6 PM

February

5 Members Meet and Greet 10 AM

6 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception: John Glass Watercolors

11 Art documentary film: Exibition On Screen: Caravaggio, 5:30 PM

14 Kids Workshop: Matisse cut-outs, 10-12 AM (Maria)

14 Adult Workshop: Notans/Matisse, 1-3 PM (Shari)

17 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8 PM

March

5 Members Meet and Greet, 10 AM

6 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception: "Art Speaks" 3 Women Fabric Artists: Art Quilts and Photography

8 Bonus quilt/fabric workshop, 1-3 PM

14 Kids Workshop (Sand Painting) 10-12 (Pennie)

14 Adult Workshop (Sand Painting). 1-3 (Pennie)

18 Evening Workshop: Collage Large 5-7 (Maria)

April

1 Exhibition Opening first rotation of Student Art Show

2 Members Meet and Greet 10 AM

3 Grade School opening reception 5 - 7pm

11 Kids Workshop (Gelli Print/process), 10-12 (Shari)

11 Adult Workshop (Gellie Print process),1-3 (Shari)

15 Exhibition Opening Second rotation Student art Display

17 Otero Arts Reading Series: Charmayne Samuelson, 6pm

21 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series: RINGING ROCKS OF THE SOUTHWEST, 6 - 8 PM

May

1 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception 5-7 PM: Veterans Art Showcase

8 Spring Concert: Lone Piñon 7:00 PM

9 Kids Workshop (Cardboard Critters). 10=12 (Taylor)

9 Adult Workshop (Abstract Painting). 1-3 (Maria)

15 Women Veterans Empowerment Workshop 4-8pm

16 Civilian/Caregiver Workshop on Women Veteran Empowerment 3-6pm

17 WVET 11AM-12:30PM Workshop and Brunch
Spoken Word and Performances That Heal: Creating Artistic Spaces that Don't "Re-traumatize" WVET Hosts OPEN MIC 1-4pm

19 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, A Bazillion Sherds, 6 - 8 PM

23 Journal Jam Workshop, 1-3 PM, (Shari)

27 Flutist Samuel Pollack, 7 PM

30 Drum Circle and Showcase Closing Ceremony 4-6pm

30 Journal Jam Workshop, 2-4 PM, (Shari)

June

3 Veteran and Family Members Public Reading, 6 PM - 9 PM

4 Members Meet and Greet 10 AM

5 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception 5-7 PM: PABLO VESEY

6 Journal Jam Workshop, 2-4 PM (Shari)

10 Evening Adult Work Shop: One Page Wonder, 5-7 PM (Shari)

13 Kids Workshop: Mini Mural, 10-12 (Maria)

13 Adult Workshop: Mini Mural, 1-3 (Maria)

13 Journal Jam Workshop 3-5 PM (Shari)

16 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8 PM

17 Art documentary: Exibition On Screen: Frida Kahlo
Wednesday, June 17⋅5:30 – 7:00pm

20 Journal Jam Workshop 2-4 PM (Shari)

28 ICE CREAM SOCIAL FUNDRAISER AND SILENT AUCTION 3-5 pm

July

2 Member Meet and Greet 10 AM

3 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception 5-7 PM: SMALL WORKS

11 Workshop for children, String Art, 10 AM (Taylor)

11 Workshop for adults, String Art, 1 PM (Taylor)

11 Journal Jam Workshop 3-5 PM (Shari)

1

17 Otero Arts Reading Series: Anne Hillerman

21 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8 PM

August

6 Member Meet and Greet 10 AM

7 First Friday Art Exhibit Opening Reception 5-7 PM: SUE NICHOLS

8 Workshop for children, Rock Painting, 10 AM (Pennie)

8 Workshop for adults, Rock Painting, 1 PM (Pennie)

18 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8

September

3 Member Meet and Greet 10 AM

4 First Friday Art Exhibit Reception 5-7 PM: Sue Nichols

12 Workshop for children, Air Dry Clay – Plaque Faces, 10 AM

12 Workshop for adults, Air Dry Clay – Plaque Faces, 1 PM

15 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8

October

1 Member meet and greet 10 AM

2 First Friday Art Exhibit Reception 5-7 PM: Stan Ford Photography Exhibition

10 Workshop for children, Yayoi Paper Pumpkin Art, 10 AM

10 Workshop for adults, Yayoi Paper Pumpkin Art, 1 P

16 Otero Arts Reading Series: TBA

20 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6 - 8

November

5 Member meet and greet 10 AM

6 First Friday Art Exhibit Reception 5-7 PM: Members' Exhibition

14 Workshop for children, Holiday workshops: beads/cards, 10 AM

14 Workshop for adults, Holiday workshops: beads/cards, 1 PM

17 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6

December

3 Member meet and greet 10 AM

4 First Friday Art Exhibit Reception 5-7 PM: Collectibles Exhibition

12 Workshop for children, Abstract painting, 10 AM

12 Workshop for adults, Still Life, 1 PM

15 Jornada Research Institute Archeology Lecture series, 6