A Space for All.
All Mediums.
All Voices.
All Ages.
Taos Art Institute is founded with the goal of fostering more connection & more diversity across the rural art communities of Northern New Mexico. Despite having the third-largest art economy after New York City and Los Angeles, the majority of communities in Northern NM lack access to fine art facilities, equipment, and most importantly, education.
Located in Taos, NM, our high-altitude desert town remains as one of the last artistic outposts for the state. Taos has been home to some of the most acclaimed artists of the 20th century since the conception of a Taos art colony in 1898. Continuously featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Hyperallergic, & more, Taos preserves as an example of what could be.
RURAL HEARTS & RURAL MINDS
Even with international recognition, esteemed accolades, & a population brimming with creatives, Taos itself lacks the ability to support all that is possible. A major absence TAI is working to fill is a center for photography. That includes a space to practice, purchase, exhibit, and learn about traditional and alternative photographic processes. A community darkroom is open to the public for one-on-one mentorship or for self-guided experimentation. Limited supplies are also available for purchase.
In addition, TAI is offering 6-week educational courses in select mediums, by both local professionals & national artists. Any medium is eligible to be taught at TAI when an instructor is available on-site. Contact us to become a teacher or a student.
Youth ages 12+ are welcome to join the TAI community through an afterschool program for local & surrounding students to pair with an artistic mentor in their desired medium(s). Any minors under the age limit are welcome to create in the children’s studio under the guidance of a guardian.
No Big Corporations. No Government Funding.
We are leading a change to match the current times by demonstrating the power of the people. No big corporations, no government funding. Why? Because it is time we show how much impact just a small group of passionate people can make, without the government’s say.
MEET OUR BOARD
Taylor Janell
Co-Director + Secretary Treasurer
Taylor Janell is a psychotherapist, artist, and co-founder of the Taos Art Institute. As Co-Director and Secretary Treasurer of the Board, they bring together a background in clinical practice with a deep commitment to community-centered arts education. Taylor’s creative practice spans painting, sculpture, and sound installations, with a focus on participatory and conceptual works that blur the line between healing and art.
In their role at TAI, Taylor leads public programs and educational initiatives, and co-curates the institute’s annual fundraising festivals and interdisciplinary projects. They are passionate about building platforms where artists, community members, and audiences can experiment, learn, and collaborate across mediums.
Rooted in Taos/Carson, Taylor balances their therapeutic work with a vision for TAI as a vibrant, inclusive hub for contemporary art, experimentation, and cultural dialogue.
Montanna Binder
Co-Director + Visionary
Montanna Binder is a storyteller based in Taos, New Mexico, who embodies photography to uproot the self and the identity in order to re-shape and re-story how we view worthiness, place, and connection. Their work has been exhibited in over 30 shows around the world including Taos, NM; Santa Fe, NM; Chelsea, New York, NY; Brooklyn, New York, NY; London, United Kingdom; Nizhniy Tagil, Russia; Tuscon, AZ; Bellingham, WA; Sydney, Australia; and Hong Kong.
After living internationally while completing their Bachelor of Arts, and continuing their process of research post-graduation, there remains intimate and professional experiences in documenting stories from rural communities and tribes in places such as Kenya, Thailand, South Africa, and the Outback of Australia. It is here that the importance of communal space, the impact of art on the local environment, and the sheer faith in a better world were witnessed and instilled in them.
TAI is their vision of returning the offerings of belonging, innovation, and creative inspiration that have been gifted to them during their years spent living with Elders, children, and local creatives around the world. Gallery Manager of 203 Fine Art for more than three years, they now live off the grid in Taos County in their hand-built home.
mk
Board Member
mk is an artist living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 2017, they received their BFA in Photography and Digital Media from the University of Houston and an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico. They are originally from a small rural town by the name of Sulligent, Alabama, and this place has become a driving force for the mass majority of their work. Working in a variety of mediums ranging from photography, printmaking, and sculpture to pursue and question their upbringing, identity, family, and the terms of loss and memory.
Using found items, stories, and the longing to be back in this small town, mk investigates coping mechanisms through the function of photographic memory within the last remaining archives of their immediate family. They work in a variety of mediums, ranging from photography, printmaking, and sculpture, in order to pursue and question their upbringing, identity, family, and the terms of loss and memory. They have shown at institutions such as the Blaffer Art Museum, The National Hispanic Cultural Center, and SITE Santa Fe.
Sarah Rosie Rosenthal
Board Member
Sarah Rosie engages in a direct and intuitive process of artmaking that relies on inspiration from the material itself, allowing subconscious themes to show themselves in the work. Carving stone has become her primary medium, while painting, drawing, and installations still hold a place in her practice. Her life began in the mountains of Colorado and has already meandered through many states and countries. She currently splits her time between Taos, NM, and Marble, CO.
Sarah Rosie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Santa Fe University of Art and Design, works at the MARBLE/marble carving symposium each summer, and has shown work in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, British Columbia, and Peru.