On view

presented by The Wells Park Neighborhood Association,
in partnership with 516 ARTS

The Wells Park Rail Runner Mural Project is a neighborhood initiative intended to beautify and improve the Rail Runner corridor between Mountain Road and Interstate 40, to support local artists and encourage youth participation in the arts. At present, the rail corridor is the very visible “entrance” and “exit” to downtown Albuquerque by the Rail Runner’s over 117,000 riders per month and the large national audience of Amtrak. The murals are intended to enhance both the image of the area and the experience of the rail passengers. Several murals are now complete and visible from the Rail Runner comuter train

2013

516 ARTS and Wells Park Neighborhood Association are teaming up again to present two new murals this summer in conjunction with the exhibitions at 516 ARTS. Stay tuned to hear about the Native American artists selected for new murals and details about when they will be launched.

2012

The project includes four separate murals by four lead artists or artist teams assisted by 12 youth apprentices from youth organizations including Explora, the Harwood Art Center and 516 ARTS. The subject matter reflects vibrant, growing contemporary themes revolving around the intersection of art, science and technology as part of ISEA2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness. The murals are an outreach program as part of the regional collaboration for this international project. The subject matter of the murals range from the ISEA2012 sub-theme of the Cosmos: “Radical Cosmologies” to “Adaptive Mimicry” as it relates to machines, and communication of ancient and modern connections. The murals were unveiled as part of ISEA2012 conference in September 2012 when there were visitors from all over the world in the Albuquerque area.

Artists:

• Nanibah Chacon (Albuquerque) – Hozho Spider Woman
• David Leigh (Albuquerque) – Mirrored Robots
• Larry Bob Phillips (Albuquerque) – Trance Dance & Dualities
• John McClendon (Albuquerque) – Bees
• Nettrice Gaskins & Laurie Marion (Atlanta) – Augmented Reality for Open Spaces (AROS), mural and related workshop at Explora was part of the ISEA2012 Education Program sponsored by Intel.

The Wells Park Rail Runner Mural Project is spearheaded and directed by David Cudney, a Board member of the Wells Park Neighborhood Association and director of The 5G Gallery at the Factory on 5th arts complex. He joined together with 516 ARTS to develop the project on behalf of the Wells Park Neighborhood Association as part of ISEA2012, the 18th International Symposium on Electronic Art, which will be held in Albuquerque September 19-24. Visitors from around the globe will see the completed murals when they ride the Rail Runner at the close of the conference on September 24 to go to the next installment of ISEA2012 activities in Santa Fe on Tuesday, September 25. For more information about ISEA2012, visit www.isea2012.org.

IMAGE GALLERY

All photos 2012, courtesy of David Cudney

The Wells Park Rail Runner Mural Project is made possible in part by The City of Albuquerque Public Art & Urban Enhancement Program, The FUNd at the Albuquerque Community Foundation, Wells Park Neighborhood Association, Intel Corporation and local business supporters.

Image: (top) David Leigh, Mirrored Robots (mural detail), photo courtesy of David Cudney