The Quiet Weeks to See the Roundhouse's New Art Before the Legislature Returns

When did you last walk into the Roundhouse on purpose? For a lot of people in South Capitol, the building at the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta is just part of the scenery. It sits a few blocks from the front door, round and familiar, and it's easy to pass for years without going inside.

This fall is a good time to change that. A new exhibition opened on the fourth floor on October 15. Several of the state's most respected Santa Fe painters already hang in the halls year-round. And the calendar gives you a set window: the 2027 legislative session opens at noon on January 19. Until then, the Capitol works as a free art museum at the top of the neighborhood, on weekdays.

The Saturday door closed in August

Weekends are when most people visit a gallery, and that's the catch here. The Legislature's visitor page lists self-guided hours Monday through Friday all year. Saturday hours run only from Memorial Day through the last Saturday in August.

So for the rest of 2026, a visit fits into a lunch hour, an early morning before work, or a weekday afternoon off. From most South Capitol streets, the walk up Don Gaspar or Old Santa Fe Trail is short enough that an hour inside is realistic. The same page has a free self-guided tour brochure in English and Spanish to download, and printed copies are at the Capitol during business hours.

Fourth floor: the last Governor's Awards of this administration

Start at the top. The Governor's Gallery on the Capitol's fourth floor is showing the 2026 Governor's Arts Awards Exhibition, which opened with a reception on the afternoon of October 15. New Mexico Arts lists nine 2026 recipients:

• Adrian Aguirre, visual artist, Las Cruces
• Anne Hillerman, author, Los Cerrillos
• Bill Barrett, sculptor, Santa Fe
• Carol Anthony, visual artist, Santa Fe
• Delbert Anderson, Diné musician, Kirtland
• Eli Levin, painter, Dixon
• Sam Scott, painter, Santa Fe
• Andrew Connors, major contributor, Albuquerque
• Institute of American Indian Arts, major contributor, Santa Fe

The roster grew after it was first announced. The state's July 30 press release named eight honorees and left out Carol Anthony. The current New Mexico Arts page lists nine. The same release describes these as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's awards "in her final year of office," which gives this show some added weight. It's the last set of these awards from this administration.

The program has a long history behind it. Governor Bruce King and First Lady Alice King started the awards in 1974, and nominations come from New Mexicans across the state each year.

Three of this year's visual artists work in Santa Fe. The state release describes Bill Barrett's abstract sculpture in bronze, steel and Carrara marble, along with large abstract canvases. He works from studios in New York City and Santa Fe. Pasatiempo noted that Sam Scott had a one-person show at the New Mexico Museum of Art back in 1974.

The New Mexico Arts page gives the opening date but no closing date, so plan to see the show this fall, not next spring.

Two floors down, the same painter stays put

Two of this year's Santa Fe honorees can be seen in the building after the Governor's show comes down. The Capitol Art Collection is a free public collection that runs through the Roundhouse, the Annex walkway, the North Annex and the grounds, and both artists are already in it.

Sam Scott has two large paintings in the building. San Juan Ascension II, painted in 1989 and donated in 1998, hangs in the 3rd Floor Rotunda and measures 82.5 by 68.5 inches. The Swan, a 72-inch-square oil painted and donated in 2001, is on the Annex Walkway. A Carol Anthony monotype is also in the collection.

That's why a fall visit is worth the trip. You can see an artist's new recognition on the fourth floor and then walk down to work the state has owned for decades, all without leaving the building. Here is a route that covers both in about an hour:

1. Take the elevator to the fourth floor and start in the Governor's Gallery.
2. Go down to the 3rd Floor Rotunda for San Juan Ascension II.
3. Stop at the East Rotunda Gallery for Intersection: Color and Form, a group show of contemporary mixed-media work by New Mexico artists. The Capitol Art Foundation's listing dates it through December 18.
4. Cross the Annex Walkway to see The Swan.
5. Finish outside on the grounds.

The sculpture walk outside

The last stop is the one many people already pass on foot without stopping. The Capitol Art Foundation lists the outdoor works on the Capitol grounds, and the names read like a short history of sculpture in New Mexico:

• Buffalo Dancer by Doug Hyde
• Earth Mother by Estella Loretto
• Emergence by Michael Naranjo
• Gate/Negate by Bob Haozous
• Passage by Dan Namingha
• Raindrops and When Friends Meet by Allan Houser
• Tug O War and Waterbearers by Glenna Goodacre

Seen after the galleries inside, the grounds feel like the last room of the same museum. It's a good way to end the visit and head back down into South Capitol on foot.

January 19 at noon

The official session calendar has the 2027 Legislature opening on January 19 at noon and adjourning on March 20 at noon. That's a 60-day session. From the session's first day, the Roundhouse is a working legislature again, with lawmakers and the public they serve in the building every day.

That leaves the weekdays of November and December as the easiest time for a neighbor to visit the art. If you'd like a guide, the Legislature asks visitors to call (505) 986-4589 during regular business hours to book a tour. The Governor's Gallery show and the East Rotunda exhibition are both temporary, so plan on a weekday before the holidays rather than waiting for the new year.

Robyn's years in Santa Fe have taught her that the best parts of a neighborhood are often the places you can walk to and keep meaning to visit. If you live near the Capitol and have a favorite piece in the collection, or a question about life in South Capitol, Robyn Tyra would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.