Critique circle
Artists bring one work, describe what they are trying to do, and receive specific questions and observations from peers.
About the project
About ARTaos
ARTaos is a weekly critique circle, arts salon, artist directory, and cultural story archive for Taos and northern New Mexico.
Why it exists
A steady room for artists who are still becoming.
The project helps artists meet, share work, receive useful feedback, and build community around the work being made now in northern New Mexico.
Taos has deep art histories, but the living scene needs ordinary infrastructure too: invitations, calendars, notes, introductions, shared standards, and places where artists can talk about unfinished work without having to perform success.
ARTaos is intentionally practical. It starts with a recurring critique circle and grows outward into a public directory, a story archive, and salon-style gatherings that connect artists with writers, curators, collectors, students, elders, and neighbors.
Core commitments
- Hold a steady weekly critique gathering.
- Strengthen the artist community through practical feedback and hospitality.
- Support local Hispanic, Indigenous, Genízaro, Chicano, and northern New Mexico artists.
- Document Taos art culture through stories, interviews, and field notes.
- Build a clear artist directory that helps people find local work.
What ARTaos does
Four simple pieces of local arts infrastructure.
Artist directory
A public index of local artists, media, locations, cultural focuses, websites, and short biographies.
Story archive
Interviews, studio visits, essays, exhibition notes, and short records that make the living scene easier to find later.
Salon gatherings
Small conversations between artists, neighbors, patrons, writers, and cultural workers who want Taos art to thrive.
Welcoming path
Clear ways to attend, RSVP, introduce yourself, submit a story idea, or ask to be considered for the directory.
Shared standards
A culture of specificity, care, credit, consent, cultural honesty, and steady support for the room.
Who it is for
Artists, art workers, and curious neighbors.
ARTaos welcomes painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, printmakers, writers, designers, musicians, filmmakers, craftspeople, students, self-taught artists, and people returning to creative work after time away.
You do not need a gallery, a polished statement, or a finished body of work to attend. You only need respect for the group and a willingness to look closely.
How to begin
Start with one small action.
- Join the newsletter so you know the next gathering date.
- RSVP for a critique night when one is posted.
- Bring one work or come first as an observer.
- Submit a profile, story idea, or note when you are ready.