Stewarding ‘the stories of our time’

The New Mexico Museum of Art enters a new chapter with the appointment of Marisa Sage as its new executive director. Beginning on March 28, Sage will oversee both the NMMA and Vladem Contemporary, guiding all aspects of the Santa Fe-based art institutions, from curatorial and collecting practices to fundraising and strategic planning.

Sage, who most recently served as the director and head curator of the New Mexico State University Art Museum in Las Cruces, previously directed the Rema Hort Mann Foundation in New York City, as well as her own contemporary gallery, Like the Spice, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The New York native brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having organized over 100 international exhibitions during her two decades in the art world.

“I’m absolutely over-the-moon thrilled,” Sage said of her appointment.

She said one of her first priorities will be to increase synergy and cross-coordination between the NMMA and Vladem campuses.

“Having shared programming and shared exhibitions, and definitely tying together what is happening in the Plaza building with what is happening at the Vladem … (will help us) navigate the story of past, present and future,” Sage said. “Our contemporary museum, the Vladem, needs to show contemporary work and think contemporaneously. But how are those stories shaped by the collection that exists within the Plaza and what’s being shown in the Plaza? And how do we tell those stories simultaneously? … By connecting those exhibitions, connecting that programming and connecting that storytelling, visitors will know that the two museums are connected and can understand the lineage of Southwestern art.”

Although Sage is a native New Yorker, she’s been coming to New Mexico since 2003, when her sister first moved to the state, and she has been living here for the past 12 years.

“I would come out here all the time,” Sage said. “And I’m an explorer, so I love to drive all around the state. There’s very few parts of the state I haven’t seen.”

Over the years, Sage has gotten to know many New Mexican artists and has championed their work. Among others, she has exhibited Nikesha Breeze, who is currently featured at this year’s Sydney Biennale, and Daisy Quezada Ureña, who was in last year’s SITE Santa Fe International.

“Right now (in New Mexico), we have some of the most important artists making work in the United States and abroad,” Sage said. “And there are many things happening in this region that are impacting the whole United States. The artists we have here telling those stories should also be shown here.”

Sage also wants to make sure the museum shows art from the entire state of New Mexico, not just Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos.

“There’s so much good work being made in Roswell. There’s so much good work being made in Gallup. I mean, that’s where Eric-Paul (Riege) is from, who was also in the (2024) Sydney Biennale,” Sage said. “I’m really thinking about this state as a whole state.”

Sage’s love of New Mexico is not confined to art, either.

“I love this state. I love it. I love the north, south, east and west. I mean, when you go see El Malpais, in between Gallup and Pie Town, and you see that volcanic landscape, it’s mind blowing,” she said. “Those millions and millions of years of geological (formations) are something you do not see in any other state.”

Beyond having a strong creative vision, other important requirements of the executive director role, Sage said, are being a good fundraiser and having the ability to navigate complex bureaucratic structures.

“Both parts of the New Mexico Museum of Art are a Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) museum. So, it’s a really interesting structure. You’re working with state entities and with the regents of New Mexico, but you’re also working with the Museums of New Mexico Foundation. … So, it’s a multiparty job of really working with, and existing within, those structures, which I love,” Sage said. “And I have the experience, because that is exactly how NMSU operates as well.”

Although Sage got into arts administration because of her lifelong love of art, she quickly discovered that she enjoys working within bureaucracies.

“I love it. I know, it’s so weird,” she said. “I’m assuming that’s another reason why they really liked me for this position. It’s like a puzzle, and I love puzzles. I love to think about different ways to exist within these very different structures, and how these structures are formulated, and how you work within them.”

Sage said it’s incredible what DCA is able to accomplish.

“It’s so cool to be an executive director within that system, because you’re within a system where people really value cultural entities and how cultural entities hold the stories of our time.”

Sage is hoping to increase NMMA’s collaborations with other museums and cultural institutions throughout New Mexico.

“What’s really strong about DCA is (the potential for) collaborating with other museums. … and I cannot wait to start collaborating with them,” Sage said.

Sage said she feels very comfortable stepping into her new role. She sees it as a natural extension of everything she’s done in the past.

“I feel like, with a lot of what I’ve been building — the networks and the artists I’ve been working with, and the students I’ve been mentoring and working with — it just feels like the perfect progression,” Sage said.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the Albuquerque Journal. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at @loganroycebeitmen.