BRANIGAN CULTURAL CENTER

The Branigan Cultural Center hosts changing cultural exhibits, as well as educational programs, classes, and other special events. The building is on the National and State Registries of Historic Buildings.

FREE ADMISSION

PARKING

Parking is at 500 N Water Street on the north end of Main Street Downtown, next to the Museum of Art.

Landscape photo of the Branigan Cultural Center Building

TOUR INFORMATION

To book a tour, please email Museum Education or call the tour coordinator at (575) 528-3330.

Exhibits

CatrinaLa Calavera Catrina

Oct 1st-Janurary 8th 2022


La Catrina appears as part of the celebrations of Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) held throughout Mexico, where death is not treated with mournful commemoration but as a colorful celebration of life. It is believed the souls of the deceased return from October 31 through November 2 to enjoy the pleasures of life. Families create altars with photographs of the departed along with offerings including candles, incense, marigolds, and bread baked in the shape of skulls. La Calavera Catrina exhibition is one of the ways Branigan Cultural Center observes this important cultural tradition.

 

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Take off Aviation

Cleared for Take-Off:

Aviation in Southern New Mexico

Oct 1st-Summer 2022 


Cleared for Takeoff examines over 100 years of regional aviation history, both military and civilian, in southern New Mexico, using photographs, oral histories, and historic objects. Starting with the introductory use of military airplanes in 1916 after Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, NM, the exhibition explores the local impact of aviation-related training programs offered through the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts during World War II and the post-war era. It addresses the flourishing of civilian aviation in the 1950s–1960s, with the formation of flying clubs and shuttle airlines dotting southern New Mexico. With the decline of leisure flying beginning in the 1980s, it notes the changing nature of local aviation in the 21st Century. Come learn more about aviation history in southern New Mexico.

 

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black and white photo graph of an old building covered in graffiti.Place and Re-Place

October 15th 2021-January 15th 2022


The Branigan Cultural Center is pleased to announce Place and Re-Place: Las Cruces Urban Renewal, 1960–1975, a new exhibition that provides a multi-faceted examination of the urban renewal efforts in Las Cruces that dramatically changed the nature of its downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. It was curated by Jennifer Olguin and Dylan McDonald of the NMSU Library, Archives and Special Collections.


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Calendar