PROJECT TEAM
VALERIE MARTINEZ, CO-DIRECTOR
Valerie Martínez is an arts administrator, consultant, educator, poet, and collaborative artist. She is the Founding Director of Artful Life (2015-present) whose arts engagement projects are designed to transform communities through the beauty and power of collaborative art. From 2006-2015 Valerie was a core team member and Executive Director with Littleglobe, a Santa Fe-based 501 (c) (3) that is committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative art projects that foster life-affirming connections across the boundaries that divide us. Valerie’s large-scale arts and community development projects include Rivers Run Through Us; Lines and Circles; Common Ground TOC; Lifesongs; Memorylines: Voces de Nuestras Jornadas; Stories of Route 66: The International District; El Puente/Barelas; El Puente/South Valley; Women and Creativity, EKCO, and TIASO. Prior to her work in the non-profit sector, Valerie was a college/university professor for over 20 years, teaching literature, writing, and interdisciplinary studies. She served on the faculty of the University of Arizona, Ursinus College, New Mexico Highlands University, University of New Mexico, College of Santa Fe, Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA), and the University of Miami. Valerie is also an accomplished poet, author of six books of poetry, one book of translations, and her work appears widely in journals and magazines. She was Santa Fe, New Mexico’s second Poet Laureate from 2008-2010. Valerie has a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.F.A. from The University of Arizona. She is a recipient of two Creative Bravos Awards (2014 and 2019) for significant contributions to Albuquerque’s creative economy and was awarded an Albuquerque Journal/SAGE Magazine Award for “Twenty New Mexico Women Who Have Made a Difference.” She was the Director of History and Literary Arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center from February 2018 to July 9, 2021. Valerie was born and raised in Santa Fe.
CHART PROJECT TEAM
The CHART Santa Fe team will be formed through an open call to Santa Feans to apply. Team members will be chosen for their commitment to the Artful Life process, their expertise and experience, and their ability to work collaboratively. See the OPEN CALL page for details.
JENICE GHARIB, CO-DIRECTOR
Jenice Gharib is an arts administrator with a special interest in community and economic development through the arts. For a public funder she has managed the distribution of approximately $1M in annual funding to over 200 arts organizations, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and government and tribal entities including sixty organizations based in Santa Fe County. She has had oversight for programs in traditional arts, arts and the military, social services, and accessibility. Across the state, Jenice has regularly gathered the arts community through in person and online gatherings, conducted surveys and field research, and led strategic planning efforts. Jenice proposed, designed, and implemented the New Mexico Arts, Culture, and Creativity Network found on Facebook. She was the primary liaison for the Americans for the Arts (AFTA) 2016 New Community Visions New Mexico forum, one of ten across the country, as part of two-year effort to explore the future of local arts in America and the role of community-based arts enabling organizations, funders, cultural institutions, and artists in shaping that future. She was the local representative for the New Mexico Creativity Connects 2015 roundtable, one of ten across the country, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to explore how the arts contribute to the nation’s creative ecosystem, investigate the ways in which the support systems for the artists are changing, and explore how the arts can connect with other sectors that want and utilize creativity. Jenice was a planning committee member and presenter at the 2015 and 2014 Building Creative Communities Conferences created to foster collaborative local and state efforts that integrate commercial district revitalization, arts, tourism, and preservation. She has made presentations on grant writing and economic and community development via the arts for such organizations as the Institute for American Indian Arts and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. She is the former director of Santa Fe Performing Arts and the Southwest Literary Center of Recursos de Santa Fe. Jenice is a published writer and produced playwright. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (2006) and a BS in Accounting (1980).
