1 Go international.

The 12th SITE Santa Fe International exhibition since the art space’s founding in 1995, Once Within a Time, opens on Friday. Curated by Cecillia Alemani, Once Within a Time features 350 works by 71 artists from around the world, inspired by a cast of 27 “figures of interest.” These characters—some real, some fictional, some mythical—play an important role in New Mexico and the Southwest, including writers Willa Cather and N. Scott Momaday; Ultima, the curandera in Rudolfo Anaya’s classic novel Bless Me Ultima; and María Gertrudis Barceló, the notorious 19th-century Santa Fe saloon owner known as Doña Tules.

Taking its name from Godfrey Reggio’s 2022 experimental film, the expansive exhibition reaches beyond SITE Santa Fe’s home at Railyard Park to showcase works in venues throughout the City Different, including the Museum of International Folk Art, the New Mexico History Museum, empty storefronts, a park, and a toy store. Artists have created site-specific sculptures, large installations, performances, and weavings that incorporate texts, images, documents, and objects that help to connect the viewers to the figures of interest.

Friday’s free opening features a reception at 6 p.m. and an afterparty with a DJ set by Devendra Banhart at 8 p.m. It’s free to attend and all are welcome. See it through January 12.

Catch Esther Rose and Red Light Cameras live at Albuquerque's Winrock Town Center. Photograph courtesy of Winrock Town Center.

2 Rock out at a new venue.

Fresh off the release of her new album, Want, Santa Fe songstress Esther Rose brings her intimate and creative musical expressions of love, desire, and spirituality to the stage at Albuquerque’s new Winrock Town Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Rose and Albuquerque garage rock band Red Light Cameras perform as part of a new summer series, Live at Winrock, featuring free concerts from the bandstand at the lifestyle center off Louisiana Blvd. Expect food trucks, sips from Santa Fe Brewing Company, and water stations to keep you hydrated.

Experience the Santa Fe Opera's opening weekend with Puccini's "La Boheme" and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." Photograph courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

3 Attend the opera’s opening weekend.

Summer in the City Different means the Santa Fe Opera is on. The new season kicks off with La Boheme, the classic Puccini opera set in 1920s Paris that follows six bohemian friends through love and sacrifice, on Friday at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, Mozart’s comedy The Marriage of Figaro delivers the American debut of Italian bass Riccardo Fassi in the title role. Don’t forget to dress up—maybe in your best flapper attire for opening night—for the best tailgate in town.

This year, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is offering late night trips to make it easier for folks throughout the state to enjoy the Santa Fe Opera. On Saturday evenings starting this weekend, the final train will leave the Santa Fe Depot about 45 minutes after the end of the opera, with a shuttle taking attendees from the Railyard to the Santa Fe Opera and back. The Summer Saturdays in Santa Fe transportation package is offered at $25, and can be added to your ticket when you purchase seats through the opera.

Meet Jemez Pueblo storyteller Carol Lucero as she shares her process for creating clay figures at Coronado Historic Site. Photograph courtesy of New Mexico Historic Sites.

4 See an artist at work.

The Coronado Historic Site helps visitors learn about Pueblo crafts and traditions directly from the artists in a series of demonstrations on final Saturday of each month through October. “We wanted to host this program to focus on the Pueblos, and bring more visitors to the site,” says Robert Silas, interpretive ranger at the Coronado Historic Site.

On Saturday, Jemez Pueblo storyteller artist Carol Lucero will be on site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., crafting figures and talking to guests. Lucero, who learned from her mother, uses natural pigments and clay to form her sculptures of sitting figures covered by smaller figures, sometimes animals and sometimes children, that each tell a different story. “She will be able to engage with the visitors, talking about her process and how she learned to make storytellers,” Silas says.

Join the Santa Fe Studio Tour or the New Deal Art Tour in Gallup to explore artists' studios, including Bonnie Binkert. Photograph courtesy of Santa Fe Studio Tour.

5 Take an art tour.

Santa Fe Studio Tour

Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the second weekend of this expansive tour invites visitors into artists’ creative spaces throughout the City Different. Browse the impressive roster of artists alphabetically or by medium to make the most of your stops. You can see everything from sculpture work to jewelry to photography on your trip.

New Deal Art Tour, Gallup

Starting at the McKinley County Courthouse at 1:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month through October, art lovers can tour Gallup’s collection of works made in the 1930s and 1940s. Expert guides will lead attendees on the free tour through the town, stopping to see paintings, murals, and furniture made during the New Deal.

For more things to do, check out our online calendar of events.