Art City ambitions

About 2 1/2 years after moving here, artist Matt Monahan's efforts to make Tucumcari more of an artist-friendly city are ramping up.

He recently finished installing five travel trailers, composting toilets and a stage at his Sunlit Ranch home south of town that will be used for artist residencies.

Monahan recently closed on a purchase of 40 acres off Highway 104 a few miles north of Tucumcari that will become a so-called Art City - a sculpture park and luxury campground.

Monahan spoke during a Quay County Commission meeting on Jan. 29 about his Art City project and other initiatives to make Tucumcari more of an art destination. He elaborated on those plans before a small gathering and concert Saturday afternoon at Sunlit Ranch.

A nearly 20-foot-tall sculpture called "The Mind's Eye" - created by Launa Eddy for the Burning Man festival - recently was transported to Sunlit Ranch.

The sculpture, in pieces in a storage building, will be restored and reassembled at the Art City complex.

"The general idea is there's a whole bunch of artists with sculptures out there in the world that are looking for beautiful landscapes for them to be exhibited on," Monahan said. "Now that I have this 40 acres, I'm going serve the art community by allowing them to exhibit on my land.

"The hope is that we create a really unique environment for Tucumcari so that folks that are coming in to stay in hotels or whatever have a place to go to look at cool art."

Monahan said the other sculptures coming to Art City - he estimated there eventually will be 10 - will need to withstand New Mexico's weather and be somewhat complementary to the landscape.

As for the campground that will offer self-contained travel trailers and decks, "we'll hope that we'll be able to make some money renting out campsites. And we'll hope that we'll be able to sell these sculptures to different collectors that would like to see them out in the world."

Monahan said he hopes to have Art City operational by spring. He said he's meeting with contractors and utility providers "to get facilities out there as soon as possible."

"We're hoping it drives value to Tucumcari as a whole ... a new, unique offering that's not competing with any of the hotels or motels," he said. "We're not trying to have transient folks. We're trying to ideally have folks that are here to stay and contribute to the art community."

The Sunlit Ranch and Art City projects are part of a larger vision to boost Tucumcari's economy.

Monahan in 2016 founded The Most Famous Artist, a global community of hundreds of artists. A proponent of social media, his Instagram account has more than 162,000 followers.

He's created non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to sell and trade virtual art.

He also has said artificial intelligence will transform art and the world in general.

Monahan, a former resident of Los Angeles and Santa Fe, moved to Tucumcari in the latter half of 2021 in part because this mother and two aunts lived in town.

He also saw an opportunity to boost Tucumcari's tourism and attract permanent artist residents, much like Marfa, Texas.

He acknowledged it a while to adjust to the town's rhythms.

"I'll be the first to admit that I came in a little guns blazing, and I had to be be integrated into the community, meet the right people, make sure I kind of understand the pace of the community and the objectives of the community," he said.

"My strategy has developed and evolved. As long as I'm making a step forward, I'm not necessarily bummed out if I deviate from a path that I thought I wanted."

Monahan in the past year has been a proactive member of the city's Princess Theatre Task Force, which aims to renovate and reopen the long-closed venue as a performance art space.

He has said the theater can be an ideal spot for musicians on Interstate 40 between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque and beyond.

As if to emphasize that possibility, Los Angeles musician Ru Linn stayed overnight in one of the Sunlit Ranch trailers and played music on its stage Saturday afternoon, using an acoustic guitar and a setup that allowed him to play loops from his guitar and a drum machine.

Linn, who once lived in Kentucky, said he's been touring on the Interstate 40 corridor and was looking for a gig between Oklahoma City and Gallup. Then he saw one of Monahan's social media posts about Art City and became intrigued by it and Tucumcari's Route 66 history.

The Sunlit Ranch trailers and stage sit in the back of the property, giving a picturesque view of Tucumcari Mountain.

"I was blown away as soon as I rolled in," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, my God.' I was like, I want to continue to do this."