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Arts-based Community Development Investment for Los Lunas

The Village of Los Lunas, in partnership with University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning: One of 60 National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Projects Selected Nationwide.

Los Lunas, NM — National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced 60 awards totaling $4.1 million supporting projects across the nation through the NEA’s Our Town program.  The Village of Los Lunas, working with the UNM School of Architecture and Planning, is one of the recommended organizations for a grant of $25,000 to support design and planning for the Los Lunas Route 66 Museum & Visitors Center.

“The variety and quality of these Our Town projects speak to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as the Village of Los Lunas in Los Lunas, NM, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be awarded this grant. The proposed project for a Route 66 Museum has been in the Village’s plans for several years and will become a focal point for our community.  We are excited to partner with the UNM School of Architecture and Planning to develop the design concept and look forward to engaging the Village residents and businesses in the effort.” – Charles Griego, Mayor, Village of Los Lunas

“The School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico is very excited to collaborate with the Village of Los Lunas and honored to be awarded the NEA ‘Our Town’ grant.  The School of Architecture and Planning has had a legacy of working with many communities in the state of New Mexico. The faculty and students are excited at the opportunity to work with the community of Los Lunas to design and plan for the Route 66 Museum & Visitors Center.” – Tim B. Castillo, Associate Dean, School of Architecture and Planning

“We feel this collaboration is a great opportunity for students to work on a real-world planning and design project in partnership with a local municipality.” – Moises Gonzales, Professor of Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture and Planning

The Village of Los Lunas, in Valencia County, NM, incorporated in 1928, has recently purchased a historic property on which to develop the Route 66 Museum & Visitors Center: an expansion of our existing Heritage Museum dedicated to telling the history of the Mother Road when it extended through the Village from 1926 to 1937. The Village will be working with several professors at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico to offer studio courses focused on this museum project. Through these courses, students will work with asset mapping, site planning and design, historical preservation inventory and planning, and architectural design.

For a complete list of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please tag the NEA @NEAarts and use the hashtag #NEASpring18.