A Petri Dish of Culture

Linda Burton posting from Santa Fe, New Mexico – Everybody loves a party, and there’s been a big one going on this year in New Mexico. It’s a Centennial year, celebrating New Mexico’s 100 years of statehood; on January 6, 1912 it became the 47^th state. Festivals and events have been happening from one corner of the state to the other; there was even a Culture Pass for sale! It cost $25 and offered access to the 8 museums and 6 monuments that fall within the aegis of New Mexico’s Department of Cultural Affairs. http://www.newmexicoculture.org/index.php . This department, headquartered in Santa Fe, was created back in 1978 and, according to its website, is dedicated to “preserving and celebrating the cultural integrity and diversity of our state.” It oversees a broad range of New Mexico’s arts and cultural heritage agencies (15 divisions); there are 500 employees and about a thousand volunteers who put in 70,000 hours annually. Every year more than $2 million goes directly to New Mexico’s cultural activities to fund arts and cultural programs; over three million people are served. But back to that Culture Pass, and the doors it would open. » read more