Albuquerque's 516 Arts names new executive director

April Chalay learned weaving, knitting and embroidery at her grandmother’s feet in small-town Illinois.

After a national search, the fiber artist was chosen as the new executive director of 516 Arts, Albuquerque’s non-collecting contemporary art museum. Chalay arrived as interim director upon 516 founder Suzanne Sbarge’s departure in October 2023.

“We couldn’t have put 516 Arts on a better track than with April Chalay as our new executive director,” said governing board chair Tim Price. “She did an amazing job carrying the organization through a transition period of the past year. We are fortunate to have the depth of her operational skills and her passionate vision to help us grow our impact on the broader arts community and in making a new and expanded space a reality.”

Chalay will lead the nonprofit arts organization as it expands into an old warehouse space at 508 First St. NW with the help of the city of Albuquerque. The new home offers 16,000 square feet of space compared to 5,000 at its current location.

“We need room to grow,” Chalay said. “We’re going to move for expanded exhibition space and also artist studios. We know that’s what this community needs. We would like to provide a space for that lively activity to take place.

“The city wants us in October 2025,” Chalay continued, adding the date is flexible. “We meet with the architects every week. We’ll play it by ear.”

The city and state are contributing more than $5 million to the effort, while 516 will fund the operating costs.

The current location at 516 Central Ave. SW will eventually be sold.

“Of course, we would love it to stay as an arts and culture location,” Chalay said.

Chalay earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in fiber and material studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also holds a certificate in human resources management from Cornell University.

She came to New Mexico in 2014 as the operations director of the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center, then moved to deputy director of Santa Fe’s Center for Contemporary Art. She fell in love with nonprofit arts organizations.

“I love how collaborative it is,” she said. “People understand what you have, what your resources are and what your mission is.”

516 Arts will remain a non-collecting organization.

“When you become a space that has to store, market and catalog, that’s something very different,” Chalay said. “We are the place where you can be radical and experimental. We get to host it and provide conversations in the community”