70th Anniversary of the Belen Art League
It’s the vivid colors, deliberate composition and the constant creativity that shapes any art gallery. It’s the imagination and mastery of skills of local artists that chauffeurs that originality into their work.
Art offers a sense of rejuvenation. Whether it’s a painting, a sculpture or a crocheted scarf, art allows us to step back from the routines of life and reconnect with beauty and wonder and offers a deeper sense of life.
As you walk up to the Belen Art League Gallery and Gifts on Becker Avenue, you first notice Lily, a wooden zebra that has become the league’s mascot of sorts. Her black-and-white stripes are just a sneak peak into the blast of beautiful of what is found inside.
While the gallery has been open for nearly 25 years, the Belen Art League, a nonprofit organization, was founded 70 years ago in 1956, showcasing local artists, providing art education and community events.
The art league, the artists and their supporters will gather this weekend for a celebratory dinner, as special guest Lorraine Doty, a former president who helped establish the gallery on Becker Avenue.
Local artists Jo’l Moore, CeCe Aragon and Rosalind Ogawa, have all played a vital role in the community’s art scene as well as the art league.
For the past seven decades, members of the Belen Art League have been creating, educating, inspiring and donating their talents and skills to the community.
Aragon moved to Valencia in 2004 and began taking classes from Dorthea von Eckhart at BAL a year later.
“I had retired from Qwest Communications and I had always wanted to paint,” said Aragon, a past president and treasurer. “I saw a funny little sign pointing this way that said, ‘Art Lessons’ and that’s what brought me here.”
Ogawa remembers joining the art league after she retired in 2000 when the artists were still meeting at the Belen Public Library.
“They began their meetings with demonstrations from different artists from somewhere in New Mexico — we had people from Corrales and all over the place come,” said Ogawa, who has been an “amateur” photographer for most of her life, and the treasure of the BAL on and off over the years. “Then we had the regular business meetings afterward.”
The Belen Art League was founded in 1956 by Mary Lewis of Belen. According to a newspaper article in 1986, Lewis, then 83 years old at the time of the interview, said she was pregnant with her fifth child when she took up painting.
“The self-taught artist would go on to paint ‘hundreds’ of paintings and has given away as many as she has sold. Her paintings routinely went for $150,” the article reads.
Lewis said the reason for forming the Belen Art League was because there was “widespread interest in art” in the community.
That sentiment is still as true today as it was 70 years ago when Lewis first invited other artists into her home in Rio Communities to talk, to listen and to learn from one another.
The Belen Art League incorporated and became a nonprofit in 1975. In 2003, Lorraine Doty, working with the city of Belen, leased the building on Becker Avenue where Belen Art League is currently located.
When the art league moved into the empty building the city had been using for storage, they took on the task of renovating.
“They got donations to put in a big heater, and a lot of husbands who did a lot of the repairs,” Aragon said.
“They did a lot of electrical work,” Ogawa remembers. “We had a lot of rain coming down from the roof. There was a lot of work to be done.”
Along with a new roof and carpeting, the art league has investing thousands of dollars and countless hours making the BAL gallery what it is today.
When the gallery became into existence, the members made an agreement with the city for a lease, and the members would be responsible for the repairs.
The agreement has since changed in that the BAL pays for the building with an exchange for community, in-kind service. The artists have created many art pieces for the city, including murals at the Veterans Memorial and in the Belen Public Library, at the Belen Harvey House and the Southwest Model Railroad Museum and more.
Moore, who is the current and former (six times) president of the Belen Art League, moved to Valencia County in 2002 and joined the league several times but it never quite stuck. It wasn’t until she retired from the New Mexico Department of Corrections in 2016 when she finally joined for good — and forever it seems.
“I saw her paintings first at the Moose Lodge; she had a show there,” Aragon said of Moore’s artwork. “She wasn’t a member at that point, and everyone was trying to get her to join.”
Along with what’s inside the BAL gallery, the artists continue to work in the community with different events, such as the annual Scarecrow Festival and the Christmas Market. They also had a big hand in displaying the Bugg Lights when the display was in the Hub City.
“We do summer classes for the youth,” Ogawa said. “We finally ended up charging for them just to make sure the children would come.”
Aragon said the youth summer classes are a big hit with the students, and the volunteer instructors are always willing to lend a helping hand.
As the three artists sit in the workshop filled with art supplies, sturdy tables and quite a bit of nice light in the back of the gallery, they all ponder what it means to be a member of the league.
For Aragon, its about bringing education of art to the community, sharing and promoting art and the local artists.
Art isn’t simply an object, it’s a creation that evokes emotion, opens new perspectives and invites evaluation.
“What has brought so many artists to the art league is we don’t jury our art pieces,” Aragon said. “We allow anybody who would like to join and has a love of art to join. They can be beginners, they can be advanced.
“That was one of the things Lorraine Doty instilled in us was that we weren’t going to turn anyone away,” she added.
As the years have gone by and more artists join the league, the amount of homegrown and handmade art in the city of Belen and Valencia County has multiplied. The artists have become a lot more active in the community, including hosting art classes, helping with a lot of vendor events, such as during Christmas time, the St. Patrick’s Day Balloon Rallye, the Fourth of July celebration and more.
The Belen Art League has also made sure they are giving back to the community through its Mad Hatter Tea Scholarship event every March. The event raises money to give scholarships to local high school seniors.
“We have schools contacting us asking us to be a part of their career day events, if we can do private paint ʼn sips, if we can donate prizes to raffles,” Moore said. “We have the city contacting us to coordinate with them vending events. We have senior centers from Albuquerque calling us to help them arrange tour days.
“The Los Lunas Museum (of Heritage and Arts) contacted us to do shows. There is a strong cooperation between the library, the Harvey House and the BAL to coordinate events,” she said. “We’ve really grown in our community involvement and contribution to Belen.”
There are currently about 120 Belen Art League members, which include sponsor and supporters.
The art scene in Belen may not be what Santa Fe or Taos has to offer, but Ogawa says the Hub City is a destination for those who want to view and buy affordable art. She said it’s a place for people to acquire some very beautiful pieces without spending the big bucks like you would up north.
They all say it’s never too late to pick up paint brush, a crochet hook, metal wire or even a piece of wood to create something special.
“Let your inner creativity come out,” Ogawa says. “Use your free time, enjoy it and it’ll give you some peace. There’s nothing like creating something you’re proud of and that someone else will love.”
The Belen Art League will be holding a 70th anniversary celebration later this year, with the time and date to be determine