Opening: Nosotras: Portraits of Latinas May 16, 2008

The Branigan Cultural Center will be exceptionally busy during the month of May opening three separate exhibits on each of the first three Fridays of the month.

Opening on May 2, 2008 is the Las Cruces Arts Association Membership Show. An artist reception will be held from 5:00 7:00 p.m. as part of the 1st Friday Downtown Ramble. The 46th annual mixed-media art exhibit will feature works by more than 25 members. The Las Cruces Arts Association has been exhibiting at the Branigan Cultural Center, formerly the Branigan Library, since 1971. The exhibit runs through Saturday, May 31st in the Shannon Gallery.

The second event and exhibit of May for the Cultural Center is an artist reception for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program of NMSU. The Las Cruces Museum of Art and the Branigan Cultural Center will both display works from graduating seniors. A joint reception will be held in the courtyard of the Cultural Center on Friday May 9th, from 5:00 7:00 p.m. The BFA exhibit runs from May 9 13, 2007 in the Richardson Gallery.

The third exhibit opening in May is a traveling exhibit Nosotras: Portraits of Latinas, on Friday, May 16th. This exhibit was organized by Virginia Dodier who is a photography historian, curator, and director of the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center in New Mexico. Dodier, a Mexican-American born on the border and raised in middle America, like many other Hispanic women and girls, experienced the feeling of living in two worlds. She organized Nosotras: Portraits of Latinas to present positive images of womens lives lived between here and the homeland.

Nosotras (Spanish for the feminine us or we) features 50 photographs, both black-and-white and color, from eight emerging photographers documenting the lives and culture of Latinas, most first- or second-generation immigrants to the United States. These striking images convey dignity and strength in the faces, families, and traditions of multiple generations. The exhibit will remain on display through Saturday, June 21st.

The Cultural Center, 501 N. Main, is located at the north end of the downtown mall. Parking is available at intersection of Water and Hadley streets. There is no charge and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 .am. to 1 p.m. For more information about any of the exhibits, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Centers web site at http://museums.las-cruces.org.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of lcms.