Santa Fe Gallery Association

Since 1982, the Santa Fe Gallery Association has been a highly-respected, professional organization representing galleries, dealers and museums active in the art community. Collectively, these entities form a vital contributing part of the social and economic life of Santa Fe. Members actively promote this diverse community and advance the business, artistic and educational interests of its members.

More than 200 art galleries and the talented artists they represent have helped to define Santa Fe as the nation's second most famous art scene. A magnet for internationally known festivals and markets, Santa Fe is a continual buzz of artistic activity that keeps visitors and collectors returning year after year.

The Santa Fe Gallery Association is proud to represent nearly half of these galleries, galleries we feel stand above all others. With strong operational ethics, eyes for excellence and a deep love for their community, these galleries merit a visit.

If you envision Santa Fe as being only splendid Southwestern landscape painting and fine traditional Native American crafts, you’re in for a surprise. Today Santa Fe offers connoisseurs of fine art a sophisticated art experience with numerous galleries showing contemporary painting and sculpture, opening up a limitless horizon of artistic imagination.

While there is an incomparable cultural mix -the historic Native American and Hispanic traditions - the fertile ground of natural beauty and the maverick spirit of early Twentieth Century artists made Santa Fe a vibrant art center for more than a century. A unique outlook flourishes here, cherishing the past while inviting exploration and inventive creativity that has blossomed into an extraordinary diversity of genres, mediums, and artistic styles.

A third of the city's galleries lie along a narrow street on the East Side of downtown. Shaded by leafy trees and lined with fragrant gardens, Canyon Road, contains galleries presenting varying genres, mesmerizing sculpture gardens, quaint side streets and alleys, and several cafes. The best strategy for exploring the Canyon Road district is to begin where Canyon Road meets Paseo del Peralta (just a few blocks east of the Plaza), and work your way up the hill, the walk is a bit more than a half-mile.

Santa Fe's downtown area reaches far beyond the frequented historic Plaza, the hub of local activity. In fact, whatever direction you walk, you will find numerous galleries to greet you and offerings to excite you. Again, galleries of all genres can be discovered down the many streets that surround the plaza. The Santa Fe Gallery Association publishes a very useful Gallery Map to guide you. From this web site, you can even customize your own walking tour by visiting the GALLERIES SECTION.

The recently enhanced historic Railyard District, provides visitors with yet a third gallery experience. Sharing the neighborhood with the Railrunner Express train station, the Railyard Park, several wonderful restaurants and the Farmers Market, you will find a growing number of exceptional galleries representing contemporary artists working a wide variety of media.

With the introduction of a free city shuttle service in 2009, visitors can easily see all the galleries wiithout a need for a car or the hassles of parking. The Santa Fe Pick Up links all art districts, every twenty minutes. For pick locations and shuttle schedule service please visit the Transportation Section of www.santafenm.gov

Mission Statement
The Santa Fe Gallery Association is a professional organization comprised of the city's foremost art galleries, museums, arts educational institutions and other arts-related businesses. As a vital part of the social and economic fabric of Santa Fe, we promote our multi-cultural community by advancing business, artistic, educational endeavors, and remain on the cutting edge of technology. Our member galleries adhere to ethical business practices.

How we achieve our mission:
The Santa Fe Gallery Association fulfills its mission by serving as an advocate for its members in community affairs, hosting an organization website and a video streaming website for member videos, holding educational membership meetings, contributing funds towards ARTsmart’s annual youth scholarship, offering discounts on advertising and fine art insurance, fielding questions regarding our industry to the general pubic and press, and staying abreast of new technology.