Oct. 2—Mosaic tile works adorn plenty of buildings in Downtown Albuquerque.
The exterior walls of the Albuquerque Convention Center have a few of those creations.
Each was done by the Apprenticeships for Leaders in Mosaic Arts (ALMA), which is an Albuquerque-based organization.
Margarita Paz-Pedro, ALMA co-director, says the organization is always looking for creative ways to educate the community not only about ALMA, but mosaic arts.
This led to the organization to partner with the city of Albuquerque last year during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
The event was so successful that ALMA and the city have partnered up for the "Mosaic Workshop & Balloon Glow Lawn Watch Party." The annual fundraiser will take place from 4-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.
"We've been trying to think of a creative way to put an event on that showcases what we do as an organization," Paz-Pedro says. "We will talk about mosaic arts, as well as offer the guests a little extra."
ALMA was founded in spring 2015 by the leadership team of the Mayor's Art Institute.
ALMA is now the administrator for The ALMA Summer Institute (ASI) formerly known as Mayor's Art Institute (MAI).
MAI had a few different homes in the past; the city of Albuquerque from 1999-2005 and the Harwood Art Center from 2006-2015.
ALMA provides mentorship and training to youth through our apprenticeship model, creates world-class handmade tile mosaic artworks, and provides opportunities for the community to engage with the mosaic process.
"We've always wanted to do more workshops to get the community familiar with the organization," she says. "We hope to make this an annual event and grow it to more days during the Balloon Fiesta."
Paz-Pedro says tickets include museum admission, ALMA Mosaic Workshop, evening Balloon Glow museum lawn watch party, a New Mexican dinner, and parking. The ticket does not include admissions to the Balloon Fiesta.
Parking is also limited to the first 40 participants.
"Once those are sold out, participants will have to arrange a ride drop — off and pick up to and from the museum."