Albuquerque, NM – For 25 years, the National Hispanic Cultural Center staff has scanned your tickets, patrolled the Center’s 20-acre campus, and designed your favorite performances and exhibitions. And now, the Center’s staff takes center stage in the organization’s first-ever exhibition comprised of artworks from staff and partners. What We Bring to the Table opens at the Center’s Visual Art Museum on September 5.
“Since the Center opened in 2000, our staff has been the bedrock of all the work we do as an institution,” said National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) Executive Director Zack Quintero. “As we approach our 25th Anniversary celebration in October, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than highlighting the creativity, talent, and dedication of our intrepid team for the public to enjoy.”
What We Bring to the Table celebrates the creative influences that inform all aspects of the Center through the artistic sensibility of the staff and friends who work there. When not on the clock, many staff members of the National Hispanic Cultural Center spend their free time creating their artworks, a creative process that informs how they approach their work at the Center. To celebrate the NHCC’s 25th birthday, the exhibition explores artworks by the artists who spend their days keeping the NHCC going in service of art and culture.
Comprising nearly 40 artworks, this first-of-its-kind exhibition spotlights the artistry of the staff featuring artworks by those who have regular creative practices as well as those who may not consider themselves artists but are nonetheless inspired by the creativity that surrounds them at the NHCC. Artists interweave their influences of family, culture, community, and religion into their artwork across various mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography.
“There is something unique about the community that develops around the Art Museum, said NHCC Curator hazel batrezchavez. “Artists who are staff members bring their expertise, share their knowledge, and fill in gaps when needed to keep the Center going. This opportunity to showcase our staff’s artwork creates a space of solidarity, recognition, and honoring of their creative craft that has come to inform how they approach their work at the Center.”
What We Bring to the Table will be on view from September 5 through June 7, 2026. Celebrate the grand opening with a free reception from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., including a chance to explore the exhibition and meet the artists. More information, and a full list of participating artists, is available at nhccnm.org/museum.
More about the National Hispanic Cultural Center The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and advancement of Hispanic culture, arts, and humanities. The NHCC presents mission-related events throughout the year, some produced by its history, literary, performing, and visual arts programs, and others by partnering with external organizations. Events take place at its 20-plus-acre campus, which includes a plaza, an art museum, a historically designated building, a library, and a genealogy center. The NHCC is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is further supported by the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation.