Nicholas Herrera in Conversation with Carmella Padilla

Sit down with Nicholas Herrera and award winning journalist Carmella Padilla for an intimate conversation about Herrera’s life and career.

About Nicholas Herrera

Born and raised in El Rito, New Mexico, Nicholas Herrera is a folk artist whose family was among the earliest settlers in the region. Claiming Spanish, Native American, and Mexican ancestry, Herrera identifies as mestizo and descends from farmers and outlaws, landowners and soldiers, craftsmen and artists. He grew up around the Spanish traditions of Northern New Mexico and came of age with a fast-paced lifestyle that resulted in a serious car accident at the age of 26. After awakening in the hospital and recovering from a coma, Herrera felt called to become a saint maker.

Herrera’s work is held in the collections of the American Folk Art Museum, New York,  El Museo del Barrio, New York, the Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, N.M, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

About Carmella Padilla

Carmella Padilla is a journalist, author and editor who explores intersections in art, culture and history. She has published extensively in newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, American Craft and El Palacio, and has written several books, including The Work of Art: Folk Artists in the 21st Century; El Rancho de las Golondrinas: Living History in New Mexico’s La Ciénega Valley; Low ‘n Slow: Lowriding in New Mexico; and The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest. A native Santa Fean and multigenerational New Mexican, Padilla is a recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Literary Arts. She is currently at work on a book highlighting the historic makers and movements in twentieth-century New Mexican furniture.   

Image Courtesy of Beth Wald

This program is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.