Join us for the second annual Southwest Contemporary Art Party fundraiser!

The Art Party celebrates the writers, editors, artists, curators, gallerists, readers, supporters, and all who have championed Southwest Contemporary's work as the leading contemporary art publication representing the greater Southwest region.

The party will feature a live performance by Tone Ranger, an exclusive art auction featuring contemporary artists from across the region, raffle prizes, cocktails, and the launch of our Fall-Winter 2026-27 issue of Southwest Contemporary magazine.

This year, building on the beyond-our-wildest-dreams success of last year's inaugural fundraiser event, we have expanded the event to include an installation of auction artworks to be on view during the party at CCA Santa Fe. The party is also the culmination of Southwest Contemporary Weekend, featuring a registration-only Summit.

Come raise a glass with the Southwest Contemporary team, bid on art, and boogie down!

What: Southwest Contemporary Art Party
When: Saturday, September 5, 6-9 pm
Where: CCA Santa Fe, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM
Dress: Creative attire suggested 🍸

Live Performance by Tone Ranger

Tone Ranger crafts infectious dance music rooted in the mysterious beauty of the American Southwest. A composer, producer, and sought-after collaborator, he draws on a decade of wanderings through desert plateaus, remote forests, and multicultural borderlands to create soundscapes that are at once ancient and futuristic.

Since his 2018 debut EP, Tone Ranger has become one of the most distinctive artists in the Southwest. From opening slots for electronic icons Orbital and Thievery Corporation to recent appearances at Shambhala and Burning Man, he has forged a reputation for transporting crowds into vivid sonic landscapes.

Set by DJ air sign

Santa Fe-based DJ air sign hosted the earth tones radio show on KNCE 93.5 FM in Taos. She cut her teeth producing DIY shows in Oakland, booking local heavy hitters alongside artists from across the international underground. Her genre-agnostic sets pay homage to expansive subcultural music legacies, cultivating a sonic ecosystem lush with gradients of house, disco, electro, techno, global club, alt-pop, wavy synths, field recordings, and more.

Benefit Art Auction

Our exclusive online art auction will be open for bidding August 28–September 6, featuring works by artists in our extensive community of artists across the Southwest. A selection of auction works will be on view during the Art Party.

Auction artworks by: Adrián Aguirre, Alanna Airitam, Johannes Barfield, Beedallo, Michael Bergt, Nikesha Breeze, Mira Burack, Eli Burke, Paula Castillo, Judy Chicago, Marcus Xavier Chormicle, Natalie Christensen, Liz Cohen, Amanda Curreri, Jenny Day, Cara Despain, Johnny Draco, Lydia Farrell, Welly Fletcher, Moira Garcia, Lex Gjurasic, Nancy Good, Paulina Ho, Grace Kennison, Patrick Kikut, Kat Kinnick, Nick Larsen, Caroline Liu, Nicola López, c marquez, Zahra Marwan, Emily Margarit Mason, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Anh-Thuy Nguyen, Lara Nickel, Aimee Odum, Karl Orozco, Lily Reeves, Jon Revett, Jorge Rojas, Cara Romero, Anna Rotty, Elijah Ruhala, Madeline Rupard, Carmen Selam, Hills Snyder, John Sproul, Raychael Stine, Jeff Suina, Shane Tolbert, Jake Trujillo, Kaitlyn Tucek, Judy Tuwaletstiwa, Vahid Valikhani, Bianca Velasquez, and Tamarind Institute.

Bidding opens: Friday, August 28, 3 am MDT.
Bidding closes: Sunday, September 6, 8 pm MDT.
All bidding takes place online.

Raffle Prizes

We are grateful to our friends and partners for contributing books, swag, gift cards, and experiences to be enjoyed near and (for select items) far.

Raffle tickets are $10 for one or $45 for five, and 100% of raffle proceeds support Southwest's independent art journalism. Purchase raffle tickets now through Saturday, September 5, 7:30 pm MDT, when we will draw winning tickets during the Art Party. Can't join us at the event? You do not need to attend the Art Party to win!

Raffle Prizes Include:

A two-night stay at the Hotel Willa (Taos) ($500 value).
High Road Wineries & Art Tour for Two ($570 value) from Heritage Inspirations.
Private Voice Lessons bundle from Laura Stack of VoiceLove Studios ($600 value).
A $150 gift card to Farm & Table restaurant.
Art book Maia Ruth Lee: Bondage Baggage by Radius Books ($60 value).
Art book Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) by Radius Books ($65 value).
Art book Much Here Is Beautiful by Radius Books ($65 value).
A gift from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Store.
A $40 gift card from Artful Tea.

Southwest Contemporary Weekend

This year, the Art Party is part of an expanded Weekend of programming! After our successful first Art Party last year, we saw an opportunity to gather our regional community to not only celebrate and support independent art journalism, but to engage in conversation about the regional art ecosystem. Enter the inaugural Southwest Contemporary Summit.

Building on Southwest Contemporary's role as a platform where voices and stories from across the region intersect, the summit brings that work into physical space. The Summit panel discussions will take place Friday, September 4, also hosted at CCA Santa Fe. On Saturday, September 5, Summit attendees are invited to take private art tours and explore the arts across the city.

Together, we'll have candid conversations about the material conditions of the visual art field across the greater Southwest. Panels and discussions will explore trends in art infrastructure and collaborative work, financial sustainability and the shape of the art market, and the broader picture of the art ecosystem.

Focused on success stories, knowledge-sharing, and community-building, the summit brings peers from neighboring communities together to share tools, resources, and inspiration.

Learn more and purchase tickets to the Summit (Summit registration includes free Art Party tickets).

Thank You to Our Generous Sponsors

About Southwest Contemporary

Southwest Contemporary advances culture and community through local art journalism and critical discourse. Based in Santa Fe since 2019, we publish award-winning local art journalism on a regional scale. With a focus on art journalism that informs, empowers, and inspires, our work directly supports Southwest-based artists and art organizations by sharing their work, shedding light on local and regional issues that affect them, and connecting a geographically dispersed creative community.

Southwest Contemporary is a small, locally owned business with a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Tiny News Collective. Contact publisher Lauren Tresp, lauren@southwestcontemporary.com, for information about tax-deductible donations.

southwestcontemporary.com

Southwest Contemporary 2026 Art Party Fundraiser + Auction

Support independent art journalism for the Southwest.