Mural agreement is good deal for Santa Fe

It took a lawsuit, but the Multi-Cultural mural won’t be erased. Progress, of a sorts, although we agree with community activist Rick Martinez, who told The New Mexican this week it should not have required filing a lawsuit against the state Department of Cultural Affairs to at least preserve the imagery of the mural, if not the mural itself.

But that’s what happened.

The old Halpin Building on Guadalupe Street, once the state archives, is being transformed into the Vladem Contemporary art museum.

To achieve the makeover, designers decided to eliminate the 40-year-old mural on the side of the building wall. The mural, created by Chicano artist Gilberto Guzman and other locals, depicted our community’s great diversity. It is no exaggeration to call it beloved.

When community members learned the mural was being erased from the new museum, they protested, wrote letters, called public officials and generally raised a ruckus.

Guzman sued last year in federal court seeking to preserve the painting, with a judge ordering the department and the artist to seek a solution.

That led to the deal announced this week. In it, the department as agreed to display a small replica of the mural in the museum lobby, something the public can see even if they aren’t paying customers.

It’s not massive and on the side of the building, but the mural will remain free and available to all.

Outside the museum, the department will create a “high-definition rendering of the mural” with explanatory text, something that will be part of the museum for at least 12 years. Department officials and Guzman must “reasonably” agree upon the wording, according to the agreement.

While this does not keep the mural as it was originally, having a replica inside the contemporary museum will pay tribute to the artist and the many community members who created the piece.

The outside replica, about 4 feet by 6 feet, will demonstrate that when people disagree, they can keep talking to find a solution. This is a lesson Santa Fe needs right now, considering the long debates still to come on what should happen in the center of the Plaza in the absence of the traditional obelisk.

Particularly important in presenting the replica is a requirement for a smartphone application to be developed so viewers seeing the rendering can “access the history, photos, articles, information on the lawsuit, an oral history and other matters related to the mural and which will allow the user [to see], using augmented reality, the mural on the side of the museum.”

This will keep the mural alive for years to come.

This matters because the painting was about more than depicting a blending of cultures. It remained visible proof that what has become an increasingly affluent part of town had other influences.

The mural was vivid, colorful and drawn to dazzle. For locals, it was proof they still could relate to an ever-changing Santa Fe.

In its creation, people came together to create a depiction of the coming together of cultures.

How fitting that saving the mural became another multicultural effort, proving again that art matters in Santa Fe. Culture matters. Preservation matters. Neighborhoods matter.

Because individuals stood up, the story of this mural will continue to be told. And the mural will be seen. That’s a conclusion to celebrate.