Open Hours
Monday - Friday:
10 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 9 am - 1 pm
Sunday: closed

Location
501 North Main Street
on the north end of Main Street Downtown (Downtown Mall), next to the Museum of Art.
(map)

Contact Us
Phone: (575) 541-2155
FAX: (575) 541-2152

Museum Manager
Garland Courts
gcourts@las-cruces.org

Branigan Cultural Center
501 North Main Street
Las Cruces, NM 88001

HOME | Branigan Cultural Center | Museum of Art | Museum of Natural History | Railroad Museum | Education Programs | Volunteer Program | Museum Calendar | Photo Tour | Staff

What’s
Happening

History and Culture
The Branigan Cultural Center has as its focus the history and culture of the region.  Built during the Great Depression to serve as the City’s main library, this building was rededicated as a city cultural facility in 1981.

The Branigan Cultural Center is comprised of several small galleries and the larger Shannon Room, which is a temporary exhibition gallery and performance hall.  Permanent and changing exhibitions and educational programming provide insight into the region’s interesting past and lively present.

Admission
Admission to the Branigan Cultural Center is FREE.
The museum is ACCESSIBLE and open to the public.

Summer 2008 Newsletter (pdf)

Exhibitions

Las Cruces: Crossroads of History
Permanent Exhibit

A comprehensive look at the history of Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley spanning the past 400 years, through the use of photographs, documents, artifacts and narrative, the story of the Las Cruces crossroads from dusty collection of adobe settlements to the vibrant city of today is unveiled.

Website

Playing For Keeps: Children & War In Africa
Photography by Martin Lueders
June 6 - July 26, 2008

Lueders, an internationally recognized, award-winning, freelance photographer, was commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development's Displaced Children & Orphans Fund to document child soldiers in four African countries for this traveling exhibit.

Reception will be held Friday, June 6, 2008,
5 – 7 pm

More info (external link)

Heart of the Home
Patricia Burnett
July 3 - July 26, 2008

Reception will be held Thursday, July 3, 2008,
5 – 7 pm

More info (external link)

“Visit Our Ancestors”
Cemetery Tours for 2008

Every other month meet with staff from Branigan Cultural Center to tour cemeteries in the Mesilla Valley.  Participants will find familiar names of those whose legacy embodies the origins of Las Cruces and Mesilla Valley.  Allow for 2 hour walking tour, little or no seating, over often uneven terrain.  Program starts at 10:00 a.m. at the designated cemetery.  There is no fee to participate.  Contact 541-2219

Visit Our Ancestors (pdf)
Dona Ana Guide (pdf)
San Albino Guide (pdf)
Masonic Cemetery Guide (pdf)

9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition
Traveling Exhibition
August 1 - September 13, 2008

An invitation-only exhibition sponsored by the University of Hawaii Department of Art & Art History, artists were challenged to create a sculpture dictated by the size of a shoebox.

Reception will be held Friday, August 1, 2008,
5 – 7 pm

More info (external link)

Paintings / Drawings
The Monday Studio Group
August 1 - August 30, 2008

Reception will be held Friday, August 1, 2008,
5 – 7 pm

More info (external link)

Three Dreamers
September 5 - September 27, 2008

George Mendoza, Virginia Maria Romero, and Paul Hoylen, Jr. are known for their outsider, visionary artwork.

Reception will be held Friday, August 1, 2008,
5 – 7 pm

Keith Wilson
October 3 – November 1, 2008

Selected images and poetry of native New Mexican, Keith Wilson.

Virginia Maria Romero
October 3 – November 1, 2008

A solo exhibition encompassing a variety of works.

INK: Tattoos & Personal Expression
November 14 –January 24, 2009

A look at the rich and varied community of people with tattoos.

La Charreada: 
Photography of David Shaw
November 7 – December 27, 2008

A look at the Mexican style horse rodeo through silver gelatin prints.