Joseph M. Montoya Building
1100 S. St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Albuquerque Office
500 Marquette Ave NW Suite 640
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Creativity is more than art, it’s an economic powerhouse. In New Mexico, our creative economy extends far beyond artists and performers. It fuels museums, digital media, software design, architecture, gaming, publishing, and more. The intersection of culture, technology, and innovation presents immense opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities to thrive.
Creative Industries Season 2025 takes place from March 15 through June 15 and will include:
This year’s theme, Collaboration in Creativity is dedicated to fostering connection and partnerships across New Mexico’s creative economy.
Seven grant awardee events will be sponsored and showcased as creative economy collaborations taking place throughout the season:
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology – Performing Arts Series
“All Hands on Deck!”: Stage Production and Entertainment Technology for a Small-Town Musical.
March 29-April 6
Location: Macey Center Theater and Conference Center in Socorro, NM.
New Mexico Tech’s Performing Arts Series will host workshops and hands-on training for Theater Sound Technologies, Theater Light Design, and Keeping the Ship Afloat – a set and stage design skill building class, connected to producing the annual musical at the Macey Center, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” The workshops will be followed by a hands-on experience with the production crew to produce the annual spring musical, a creative industry collaboration among academic programs at NMT, NMT Performing Arts Series, Macey Center Theater & Conference Center, and Socorro Community Theater. This event will provide professional development on critical aspects of the entertainment industry for local creative businesses, community members, and students considering careers in creative industries, ultimately helping to address workforce gaps in the live entertainment industry in southern New Mexico.
Bear Robe
Dates: May 8-11, 2025
Location: Santa Fe Railyard
Native Fashion Week Santa Fe will take place in the vibrant Santa Fe Railyard, marking a historic milestone as the largest Indigenous fashion week in the U.S. This groundbreaking event is dedicated to showcasing the artistry, innovation, and cultural heritage of Indigenous fashion designers and artists. Native Fashion Week provides a platform for creative expression, industry collaboration, and meaningful storytelling through runway shows, panel discussions, fashion pop-ups, live-streamed interviews, and interactive installations. Rooted in Indigenous knowledge, tradition, and contemporary artistry, this is more than a fashion event — it is a cultural movement that uplifts Native voices in an industry where Indigenous representation has been historically underrecognized. Through engaging programming, the event will bring together designers, artists, cultural leaders, fashion industry professionals, and audiences from around the world, positioning Santa Fe as a global destination for Indigenous fashion.
Taos County
Taos County Creative Entrepreneur Exhibition & Symposium
May 9-18, 2025
The Stables Gallery at the Taos Center for the Arts. 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571
The Creative Entrepreneur Exhibition and Symposium will expand the initial creative entrepreneur business development opportunities that Taos County facilitated as part of the inaugural Creative Industries Division (CID) Grant program in FY24; while also weaving together EDD-supported efforts to establish a Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program. As the BRE program is launched, the county will continue to engage 59 individuals who participated in the CID-funded Artist Inc Express workshops to provide practice opportunities for the skills learned and offer exhibition and sales opportunities at the Taos Center for the Arts Stables Gallery between May 9-18, 2025. Additionally, free training and workshops will be provided by Taos SBDC on business formation, business structures, and navigating the NM GRT system, as well as tax workshops from Rio Grande CPA to creatives who have not previously engaged with the program.
Los Alamos Arts Council
Arts and Crafts (And Literature!) Festival
May 10-11, 2025
Los Alamos, including the Fuller Lodge, Samizdat Bookstore, local library locations, and local restaurants/craft breweries
The Arts and Crafts (and Literature!) Festival in Los Alamos will expand the 47th annual Spring Craft Fair into a longer weekend festival, piloting a literature festival program with the Samizdat Bookstore and Teahouse and local library system. The event will bring together professionals from the artist community, including authors, illustrators, and speakers, to host several professional development workshops and engage patrons and small local craft businesses. Collaborators include the Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District. who will identify new and upcoming creatives to highlight over the weekend and ensure access to ongoing professional workshops.
Explora
May-June 2025
X Studio, Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum of Albuquerque, 1701 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Explora’s Maker in Residence program is a cornerstone initiative designed to foster creativity, education, and community engagement by hosting local Albuquerque artists from underrepresented communities for intensive residencies at X Studio. During these residences, the selected Makers collaborate with Explora educators to offer hands-on, STEAM-based workshops for museum visitors and teens, drawing upon their unique talents and experiences. Programming is free and open to the public, underscoring Explora’s commitment to using STEAM to explore the connections between creative practices and broader humanistic themes, such as cultural identity, preservation of cultural traditions, and the interplay between art and science. By providing access to X Studio’s Makerspace, exhibit workshops, and experienced staff, Maker in Residence fosters an environment of shared learning and creative exchange.
Parallel Studios Inc.
CURRENTS 2025: Art & Technology Festival + Symposium – Art & Technology in a Culture of Speed
June 13-15, 2025
El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, 555 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, NM 87501
The division will be sponsoring the 16th annual international CURRENTS 2025 Festival. The festival brings together artists and visitors from around the world to celebrate 21st century art making, blending interactive experience with beauty and wonder. Taking place at El Museo Cultural in the Santa Fe Railyard Arts District, 50-60 artworks from New Mexico, across the US, and countries around the world will be presented in several categories including: Installations (Interactive and non-interactive), Outdoor Installations and Projections, Experimental Single Channel Video/Experimental Documentary/Animation, Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality Environments, Artist/AI Collaborations, Robotics/Kinetic/Electro-Mechanical Objects and Installations, Multimedia Performance, Digitally Generated or Fabricated Objects, and Wearables. The Symposium will examine critical issues of contemporary life such as the pace and pressure technology imposes in the digital age and invites artists, technologists, scholars, and the public to examine how speed shapes our modern experience.
LeeCooks CHURCH
June 14-15, 2025
LeeCooks CHURCH has hosted Taos’ annual Juneteenth Festival for the past four years. The all-ages, alcohol-free event includes workshops, a fashion show, art exhibit (gallery and performance art), free food, raffles, breathwork classes, and music. The festival is accompanied by a seasonal market, where startups and small business owners showcase their talents and wares. CHURCH was built from the bottom up and they seek to help make that process easier for new businesses, providing one-on-one knowledge on how to succeed. New this year, the event will also include stationary exhibits supported by a visual artist that will bring the Taos Juneteenth world to life through smartphone imagery transformation. After over a year of construction on Taos’ main road, Paseo del Pueblo Norte, the event will revitalize the nearly finished area.
Join us every Friday throughout Creative Industries Season to chat with local creatives about their experiences and how collaboration has supported them in actualizing their projects!
Register for the live discussions:
Upcoming discussions:
New Mexico Economic Development Department
Main number: (505) 827-0300 (se habla español)
Email: info@edd.nm.gov
Joseph M. Montoya Building
1100 S. St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Albuquerque Office
500 Marquette Ave NW Suite 640
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Mailing Address:
New Mexico Economic
Development Department
P.O. Box 20003
Santa Fe, NM 87504-5003
The mission of the New Mexico Economic Development Department is to Improve the lives of New Mexico families by increasing economic opportunities and providing a place for businesses to thrive.
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