Cloudcroft Bear Pride: New Mural Thanks to State Grant
Samantha Odom's latest public art piece brings school spirit to gymnasium
Samantha Odom continues to “paint the town” with another series of murals funded by the Creative Industries Grant Awards, this time at the Cloudcroft High School Gymnasium, titled “Bear Pride.”
The Cloudcroft High School murals (pictured) are part of the first phase of projected goals for the grant money, with a third mural by Odom in the future, location and date to be announced.
Lead artist for the VoC project, Odom, said, “We are working on [this mural] night and day.” The “we” includes herself and her husband/art assistant Bruce Odom, assistant Lydia Boverie, student assistants Lara Kefeli, Micah Gutierrez, Bryanna Bradshaw, and Shaylee Edwards. (Often, you will see Odom’s sons Ocean, Forest, Rivers, and Ridge assisting as scaffold movers and water “gophers.”)
The Village of Cloudcroft (VoC) received $100,000, along with 17 other communities and pueblos within New Mexico. (The Creative Industries Grant Awards total $1.8 million across the state.) Odom and VoC Project Coordinator Vyanca Vega coordinate the VoC portion of the grant.
Mural apprentice and Cloudcroft High School student Bryanna Bradshaw said about creating public works in her hometown, “The mural was an amazing opportunity for me! I always loved paintings and watching people paint, but I never thought I could be the one to create something beautiful! Starting with the [“Greetings from Cloudcroft” mural], I found a confidence that I could paint.”
“These murals also taught me about communication and teamwork skills, “said Bradshaw. “I had to communicate with Sam and the other apprentices to see what we thought looked good…[and to] get the mural done in the given time frame. The two murals I have been a part of so far have been amazing and taught me a lot of skills and about myself.”
Other projected grant expenditures include “capstone projects” by mural apprentices and artists Lydia Boverie and Julianna Brinegar, including payment for their public murals in the village.
Another boon for Cloudcroft creatives: the grant will pay ten $500 scholarships for Cloudcroft Art Workshops, a series of weekly workshops between June 10th and August 2nd, 2024. Apply here by March 15th. (Full disclosure: Cloudcroft Reader Senior Editor Hannah Dean is an instructor for Cloudcroft Art Workshops.)
Upon the completion of public works and murals paid for by the Creative Industries Grant Awards, an “Art Walk Map” will be developed to guide visitors to the various murals in the village. A local videographer is also documenting the “Paint the Town” project, capturing the project as it unfolds.
More on the grant:
“The grants flow from House Bill 8, passed during the 2023 Legislature, establishing the Creative Industries Division as part of the Economic Development Department (EDD).
EDD Deputy Secretary Jon Clark said, ‘These awards will provide crucial support for a wide range of initiatives, from cultural preservation and arts education to community engagement and economic development.’
In shaping the new division, EDD chose Creative Startups, in partnership with Vital Spaces and the Poeh Cultural Center, to engage New Mexico’s creative community and develop a statewide plan, exploring program models, budgets, and industry analyses.”
The Cloudcroft Reader spoke to Creative Startups’ Mike Young about the initiative, who stated, “1 in 9 people in New Mexico make a living in the creative industries.” Young elaborated that for 2025, NM state legislation was passed for the EDD to fund the Creative Industries Division for $200,000 and create two full-time employment positions to facilitate the awards' mission.
Please visit this page for more coverage of the EDD Creative Industries Grant Awards in the Village of Cloudcroft.