When I started Galeria ARTopia as an "in house" gallery out of my living room two years ago, my mission statement was  "Making the Unique Accessible."

The formula for my venture was simple: to provide professional exposure to non-mainstream artists, struggling young artists, and overlooked mid-career artists.

I have used my thirty-plus years of experience as an artist and arts professional to assemble the most provocative and lively exhibits I possibly could.  And have had fun doing this-- fun for myself, for my artists, my visitors and clients.

As the gallery nears the start of its third year, I am amazed at how closely the reality resembles my original vision. In fact, Galeria ARTopia has, in its first two years, returned over $20,000 to the Albuquerque art community in the form of payments for works sold by local artists.

Recent events, some local, some in the world at large, have led me to reevaluate my mission and to rephrase my goals to reflect a shifting set of circumstances.

Other for-profit galleries, large and small, new and established, continue to fail. Magnifico, Albuquerque's leading non-profit organization devoted to contemporary art, has lost its exhibit space and has closed.

Our national leadership has created a cultural and economic climate that is at best indifferent to art, if not openly hostile.  This is an environment in which only the most highly adaptable and resourceful arts venue will survive.

My own experiences of the past two years and feedback from sources I respect inform me that I have begun to create with Galeria ARTopia an institution that has a unique presence in our area's art community- and that may have the potential to positively impact the larger community.

If this is true, it is because I -- and our artists and supporters -- have taken both the "unique" and the "accessible" parts of the gallery's mission statement seriously.

Perhaps Galeria ARTopia is meant to be a new type of hybrid institution: for-profit, but socially responsible, diverse, and highly flexible; not an artists' coop per se, but artist-driven.

I am asking for support in the form of financial investments in the programs and activities of Galeria ARTopia.

Contributors to the gallery will be treated as members of an ultra-exclusive club. The benefits will include:

• Invitations to private previews of exhibits where they will be able to enjoy closer interaction with the artists


• "First dibs" on works of art before the general public sees them


• Discounts on artwork


• Gift packages designed by gallery artists


• Automatic subscription to a new semi-annual gallery newsletter that will have both visual and literary art components.

It's easy to support Galeria ARTopia: