Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art

The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art (AMoCA) is an American art museum located in Roswell, New Mexico, that opened its doors in 1994. Formed from the Roswell Artist-in-Residence (RAIR) program, the museum is dedicated to showcasing works of art produced by former fellows of the residency. Today, the institution holds more than 500 diverse works of art across 12 galleries and 22,000 square feet of exhibition space. It serves as a source of knowledge and inspiration about contemporary visual art for the Roswell region, New Mexico, and the nation.

The origins of the museum trace back to 1967, when Donald B. Anderson, a founder and executive of the Anderson Oil Company who later became a painter and art collector, started the residency and art collection. His goal was to bring national art and artists to Roswell. The museum itself was established in 1994 to provide a public face to the private creative world of the residency program. Since June 2002, the museum has been administered by the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation. In 2017, the RAIR program won the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.

The collection provides a snapshot of the evolving issues in art over the last 45 years since the 1967 inception of the residency program. Encompassing photographs, paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture, the holdings range from figurative to non-objective works. This eclectic range of form and content showcases the diversity of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program, offering a focus on contemporary visual art that few other museums provide.

The museum collection features work by artists who have participated in the residency program, including Luis Jiménez, Milton Resnick, Olive Ayhens, Judy Richardson, Johnnie Winona Ross, and Robbie Barber. In addition to the visual art collection, AMoCA houses a Bösendorfer concert grand piano, a gift from Don Anderson in 2014, which is the only treasure at the museum not made with a RAIR affiliation.

The museum building contains 12 galleries and 22,000 square feet of exhibition space. In addition to its exhibition role, the facility functions as a favored community venue, having welcomed 261 events in a recent five-year period. AMoCA has partnered with 46 community groups, schools, and clubs to host meetings, receptions, hands-on art activities, and world-class performances. Almost half of the museum's yearly visitation is event-related.

The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art is located at 409 E. College Blvd, Roswell, New Mexico, 88201. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on New Year's Day, July Fourth, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It is administered by the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation and can be contacted at (575) 623-5600 or via email at email@RAIR.org.