The New Face of Public Art in Albuquerque

When Michael Ogilvie stepped into his new role overseeing Albuquerque’s Public Art Program last fall, he wasn’t just taking on a leadership position, he was joining a city he had long admired from afar. 

“It’s been great,” says Ogilvie of his first few months in Albuquerque. “Albuquerque is a very special, unique city.”

Ogilvie brings more than three decades of experience in the arts, including leadership roles in multiple public art programs. He moved to Albuquerque from the Bay Area, where he spent nearly 10 years serving as the public art director for the city of San José. Before that, he held public art positions in Nevada, working as the public art manager for Clark County and as the public art coordinator for the city of Las Vegas. 

Ogilvie was selected as the city’s new Public Art Urban Enhancement Division manager after a national search. For him, the opportunity was as personal as it was professional.

“It’s a place that both my wife and I have long wanted to be,” says Ogilvie. “And when the opportunity arose, we threw our hat in, and we were fortunate enough to be able to do it.”

What drew Ogilvie wasn’t just the position, but the foundation already in place. Albuquerque’s public art program has existed since the late 1970s and has built a national reputation over decades. Ogilvie said he was familiar with the program long before applying and sees his role as continuing a legacy rather than reinventing it.

“I was aware that this was a very successful program, and that’s a testament to the leadership that came before me, as well as the teams that have managed the program before me,” says Ogilvie.

One of the oldest public art programs in the country, Albuquerque’s Public Art Program manages a citywide collection of more than 1,100 works and uses its 1.5% for Art ordinance to commission and preserve art that reflects the city’s diverse communities and public spaces. 

Ogilvie also sees a natural alignment between his philosophy and the city’s broader cultural values. “Culture is a way of life here, and art is embedded in so much of our existence here,” says Ogilvie. “My perception of the value of public art really aligns well with the city’s mission, as well as the people that exist here.”

Ogilvie brings nearly three decades of experience managing public art programs, both as an administrator and as an artist. His career has taken him through cities with very different political climates, funding structures and cultural expectations, experiences he says shape how he approaches the work now.

“Location has its own unique set of challenges, as well as its own cultural perspective,” says Ogilvie. “What I bring to it is a wealth of experience and knowledge in the process.”

That process, Ogilvie emphasized, is as important as the finished artwork. “There’s a procedure to making public art happen, especially when public funding is being used,” says Ogilvie. “And part of that is ensuring that the public is part of that process.”

One lesson he hopes to carry forward is the importance of consistency. In some cities, Ogilvie has seen arts programs falter when political leadership changes. Albuquerque, Ogilvie said, has avoided that pattern.

“One of the beautiful things about Albuquerque is it’s remained relatively consistent over the past four decades, in regards to its support for the arts,” says Ogilvie. 

Expanding opportunities for local artists is a key focus of Ogilvie’s early vision. He points to the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund as a major asset, noting that few cities nationwide have a comparable model.

“There’s not many cities in the United States that have a trust fund set up for the arts,” says Ogilvie. “Albuquerque has been doing this since the early ’80s, so they’ve got a pretty big head start on almost every other city in the nation.”

Ogilvie says he and the trust fund board are exploring ways to grow and strengthen that resource, potentially by looking at models used in other cities. At the same time, he’s thinking about more practical needs artists face on a daily basis.

“Having been an artist myself, I know how important studio space is,” says Ogilvie. “It’s difficult to get studio space here.”

While he said he’s still unsure what role the city could play directly, Ogilvie hopes to help create environments where artists can work, collaborate and share ideas. “If there’s a way to help create a situation like that, to provide studio spaces for artists, or at least a center for artists to go and work and to think and to share ideas, I think that that would be wonderful,” says Ogilvie.

His own background as an artist, Ogilvie says, gives him empathy for those navigating the public art process for the first time. “It can be a hard transition to break into the public art world,” says Ogilvie. “As an artist, you do kind of have to have a thick skin.” That understanding, Ogilvie hopes, will help him support both emerging and established artists. 

In the near term, residents can expect to see plenty of activity. Ogilvie says the department is currently overseeing close to 70 projects in various stages of development.

“Many of these projects will be highly visible,” says Ogilvie. “Many of them will be in the public realm, so people will see a lot of continuing, ongoing art activations.”

Much of that work will be concentrated along Route 66, with murals and installations tied to the upcoming centennial, as well as projects funded through a recent bond measure.

“It’s a pretty exciting place to be,” says Ogilvie. “The people that live here have embraced it and want to see more of it, and they’re doing it themselves.”