Bob Diven: Downtown Las Cruces Partnership’s first artist in residence

Las Cruces artist Bob Diven has been chosen as the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership’s (DLCP) first-ever artist in residence.

It’s part of DLCP’s new program to “showcase and celebrate the artists already creating in our district,” DLCP said in a news release.

The narrative Diven provided to DLCP, along with his application to the program, is as follows: 

“I have lived and worked in downtown since the early 1990s, in two address on Campo Street and an office on Main (which I moved out of only last year as the building was being sold — I currently reside in the North Alameda Street area on the edge of the Las Cruces Arts and Cultural District). But my work has long had a locus in downtown, from my 40-year association with Las Cruces Community Theater (as actor, scenic designer, playwright, performer and board member), to my art bus stop shelter in front of City Hall, to murals and street art (including founding, with DLCP, the “Avenue Art” street painting festival).

“I debuted my original one-man play ‘John Singer Sargent: Painting Madame X,’ at The Black Box Theater, created a mural for the new splashpad on the Downtown Plaza, exhibited my paintings in Main Street galleries and museums, and taught art classes at The Branigan Cultural Center. I’ve sung my original songs in many downtown venues and even recorded my live album at The Black Box Theater.

“And, along with all of that, I’ve been creating an original Sunday editorial cartoon for The Las Cruces Sun-News for the last 15 years (my book of those cartoons is on sale at COAS Book Store on Main Street). Finally, I just installed a small ‘hidden’ mural downtown for people to discover.”

Because state public health orders prevent a live, in-person exhibition of Diven’s work for the DLCP program, he has submitted a series of short, online videos produced by NMCo, a creative agency based in Las Cruces (https://nmcomedia.com/) about his work.

DLCP has selected five artists in addition to Diven for the artist in residence program: Mel Stone,

Marcus Xavier Chormicle, Diane Alire, Michael Ponce/The Mandrake Fine Art and Trisha McCaul.

DLCP and the Las Cruces Arts and Cultural District (ACD) will hold virtual events – or, depending on public health orders, live, in-person exhibitions for each artist continuing through May 2021. DLCP/ACD plans a collaborative show featuring the works of all six artists June 4, 2021.

For more information, contact DLCP Community Coordinator Susan Greenwald at 575-525-1955 or  assistant@dlcp.org. Visit www.las-cruces.org.