Friends of the Orphan Signs, a nonprofit trying to keep the artistic history of Route 66 alive, is showcasing some of its work at Fusion Gallery in downtown Albuquerque. The art exhibit features abandoned road signs that have been revitalized along the historic route.
“We adopt the orphan signs, and we work with artists and community members to collaborate to create new artworks for the signs,” Friends of the Orphan Signs Incoming Executive Director Lindsey Formm told KRQE.
The exhibit displayed much of the work the nonprofit has accomplished since being founded in 2010 by Ellen Babcock.
“We have fully revitalized four signs,” Formm said. “We definitely hope to do more in the future of our organization. We have done, over the lifetime of the organization, 30 projects.”
The exhibit runs until Sunday at the Fusion Gallery on the 700 block of 1st Street where organizers are looking for members of the public who might be interested in supporting the nonprofit.
It is currently working on revitalizing a sign located on 8th Street and Central at what was formerly The Hotel Blue. Creative Director Sara Rivera told KRQE the sign will honor all the different languages people speak.
“We wanted to capture that experience and to capture some of these little phrases and moments that are passed down in people’s families,” Rivera said.
According to its website, Friends of the Orphan Signs is "a collaborative public art organization of artist-educators that creatively revitalizes abandoned or unused road signs with artwork, with a particular focus along historic Route 66 in Albuquerque. FOS facilitates innovative collaborations and educational workshops with local communities with the aim of designing new imagery to install in the signs as public art pieces. We work to revitalize the visual landscape of disinvested neighborhoods while centering the voices of its residents. Our signs are public, accessible on foot and by car, and are on major thoroughfares throughout Albuquerque."
Since 2010, FOS has worked to preserve relics of past roadside culture. Its projects also encompass gallery exhibitions and outdoor video screenings meant to inspire broad public participation in the reimagining of signs and empty lots as sites for artworks.
