About the Arte Escondido Project

The vision for the Arte Escondido (Hidden Art) project was developed over eight years ago by community members who live and work in the West Central area. The goals of the project are to identify hidden artists in our community, provide them with an opportunity to showcase their art work, provide them with technical assistance to grow their art career, create community gathering spaces on West Central to promote and feature local art,  and highlight the history of Rt. 66 and West Central through art. 

The goal is to provide an opportunity for new, young, elder, non-traditional artists, and professional artists to exhibit their art work and develop their art portfolio and grow their art career, thus making art opportunities more accessible. This project provides an opportunity for community members to join together to share their stories and experiences to build a collective visual history of Rt. 66 and West Central.

In 2019, the Arte Escondido Project partnered with El Chante: Casa de Cultura LLC to coordinate the "First Annual Celebrate West Central Rt. 66 Street Light Banner Project" where 16 art pieces, by 15 artists, were selected. Each artist received a stipend of $200.00. The Arte Escondido Project held its first pop-up art opening and exhibit on June 2019 at the West Central Community Development Office which featured local poets, music, low-riders, food, and artwork by the 15 artists selected for the first annual street light banner project. The project was sponsored by City Councilor Klarisssa Peña, City Councilor Ken Sanchez, City Councilor Cynthia Borrego, County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, City of Albuquerque, Bank of the West, Gilbert Sanchez Tax Services, and the McCune Foundation.

In 2020, the Arte Escondido Project partnered with El Chante: Casa de Cultura LLC to coordinate the "Second Annual Celebrate West Central Rt. 66 Street Light Banner Project" where 18 art pieces, by 17 artists, were selected. Each artist received a stipend of $200.00. The first Arte Escondido website was created to highlight the work of the artists featured in the street light banner project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2nd Annual Celebrate West Central Rt. 66 Street Light Banner Project was unable to conduct an art exhibit opening, rather the art work and artists are featured virtually in the newly created Arte Escondido website. The project is sponsored by City Councilor Klarissa Peña, City of Albuquerque, and El Chante: Casa de Cultura.

If you would like to become a sponsor or support this project in the future call (505) 836-2976 or send an email to info@wccdg.org.

Arte Escondido is a project of the West Central Community Development Group.