Fresh visions: "New Iconic Signs" exhibition reimagines Albuquerque’s legendary markers

Albuquerque is known for its unique character, and a big part of that is its quirky signage. However, as the city has evolved, Lindsey Fromm said that many of our iconic signs are fading away.

“In 1978, Albuquerque passed an ordinance, which restricted the height, scale, lighting, and articulation of new signs, and this business owner told me that the ordinance was the death of iconic signs in Albuquerque,” said Fromm, project director for Friends of the Orphan Signs.

Subsequent laws have eased the effects of that change, but the city still shows the impact of the limitations, she said.

“There have been people in the government that have seen how special these signs are, and how special funky signage is to the city, and how they’ve defined the way that people imagine Albuquerque,” she said.

“New Iconic Signs,” a new exhibition currently on display at Gallery One in City Hall, seeks to reimagine the future of Albuquerque’s signage. This collaborative project, a partnership between FOS and Risolana, a community risograph studio, brings together 15 local artists to reimagine five iconic, yet now-vacant, signs across the city.

Artists include Aiko Jio, Alayne Ballantine, Blythe Mariano, Carlos Contreras, Celine Gordon, Dusty Deen, Gael Luna, Gus Tafoya, Isabel Tafoya, Joseph Stacey, Kori Wood, Maya Key-Towne, Roberta Begaye, Shawn Smith Newcomm and Zahra Marwan.

Fresh visions: "New Iconic Signs" exhibition reimagines Albuquerque’s legendary markers

The exhibition features risograph prints, with each artist offering a unique vision for what new iconic signs could be.

“How do we think about what we make today lasting decades into the future, like our previous signs did?” Fromm said. “We’re creating things that 50 years from now, they’re looking back at us, saying ‘Oh wow, that’s a really classic work of urban art.’”

The project involved a series of design charrettes, bringing together artists, designers, and community members to brainstorm ideas and develop guiding principles for the new signs.

“Bringing these artists together was a really exciting process,” Fromm said. “We put out a call for anyone looking to be involved artistically: artists, designers, people in the field of architecture, philosophers, anyone who wanted to think deeply about signs.”

Five unique, empty signs served as the focus for each charrette, resulting in three designs created for each sign. Fromm said that this collaborative approach made sure there was a range of perspectives and ideas.

All the designs, along with artist statements, are free to view and open to the public at the exhibition until Feb. 14.