Artists helping with La Plaza project

Tucumcari residents in the next few weeks and months might bump into out-of-town artists who are helping the owner of the long-closed La Plaza Court motel renovate and convert it into artist housing.

Two artists from Florida and Montana began their work last week on La Plaza's office and manager's living quarters, which likely will be converted into a kitchen area for tenants of the artist housing complex because individual rooms lack sufficient power for typical cooking appliances. The two already were thrilled to find original hardwood floors under the worn carpeting.

Brenner owns La Plaza and the operating Roadrunner Lodge Motel next door. He had owned both for years, but restoration work of the late-1940s La Plaza didn't begin until August, when the roof was replaced.

It wasn't long after that when Brenner said he partnered with new Tucumcari resident Matt Monahan and The Most Famous Artist collective that Monahan founded for a mutually beneficial arrangement. Monahan has bankrolled several new murals by collective members in Tucumcari this summer and fall, and he previously said he anticipates other artists eventually will move to the city.

"You come to Tucumcari, you work over the winter on this, and you get first dibs that on the first room that's available at a fairly low cost for up to two years after the completion of the renovation," Brenner summarized of the La Plaza arrangement.

Artists working on La Plaza for the next few weeks or months are given a room and its amenities at the Roadrunner for the duration they're here.

Brenner doesn't have a firm timetable when the work will be finished, but previously said it would take at least a year.

The first people from about two dozen applicants accepted into the arrangement were Kincaid Day of Billings, Montana, and Rebecca Tuennerman of Tampa, Florida. Day said he'll stick around for five or six weeks, and Tuennerman said she might stay for as long as a few months. Both are part of The Most Famous Artist, or TMFA, collective that has more than 500 artists as members.

Brenner said he expects more artists from the collective to work on La Plaza in the coming weeks.

"We should see more people coming along; I have the expectation of more arriving in January," he said. "This is something we're doing to help the art scene in Tucumcari in general."

La Plaza workers also use at least one day a week for community contributions, which can include helping clean up another property, working on a mural or, in the case of Saturday, Tuennerman helping install Christmas decorations at Tucumcari Railroad Plaza.

Day explained what brought him to Tucumcari to renovate a long-closed Route 66 motel.

"I was really inspired by what was happening in the (TFMA) community, and the community was talking about this project, the partnership with David," he said. "What we're doing is putting in the groundwork now for our fellow community members to come here to enrich Tucumcari with art.

"I see the vision. I see how Route 66 can be enriched through the murals, through the art that's going to be generated here in the next couple of years," he added. "I can literally envision this place being covered with art and murals and artists and what they can do for tourism."

Tuennerman said she was excited by the possibilities of the project and others.

"I believe in this type of an idea to revamp a community through art, bringing people in, creating connections and ... having a foundation we're laying for something much bigger," she said.

"Tucumcari is adorable. It's obviously small ... the smallest town I've ever been in. It's not so much a blank canvas, but it has so much potential. That's what so awesome about this project: We have this space where we can bring people in and make things happen."

Day said his girlfriend, who has a background in interior design, will help create a layout for the new kitchen area at La Plaza.

Asked about his impressions of Tucumcari, Day raved about the food.

"I had the best shrimp tacos I've ever had the other day," he said. He said he also bought some salsa from local restaurant and surprised to also find several dozen types of salsa available at the town's grocery.

Both Tuennerman and Day said they are grateful for the welcomes they've received from locals, including during the Tucumcari City Commission meeting they attended Thursday.

"If we were not so well-received, I probably would have different thoughts on the project," Day said. "I'm so happy with the response we're getting, I'm going to tell friends and community members that the community wants you here. You can come down here and make an impact.

"That's really huge; not everybody is open to these type of things. It sounds like the town is ready for rejuvenation, and it's inspiring."

Tuennerman said she looks forward to the time when the La Plaza project is finished and artists can move into the complex.

"I'm excited that when we come back, we'll keep in touch with everybody to see how this blooms into something better," she said.