Artists from 17 states and Canada are featured in the American Plains Artists (APA) 32nd Juried Exhibit & Sale that opens in August at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces.

The opening reception for the show is from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 3. The reception is free to the public and refreshments will be provided. The show will be on display in the museum’s Legacy and Traditions galleries through Nov. 5, 2017.

The exhibit includes 104 two- and three-dimensional realistic and representational artworks in traditional media that depict the American Great Plains region – its landscape, wildlife, people, and way of life. The show is held at a different venue in the region each year and was last held at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in 2011.

“The show is international and the artwork is exceptional,” said Judy McElroy, the APA Show “Chairlady.” “It’s a very prestigious show to be in and we have some of the top artists from across the nation and Canada.”

The Awards Juror for the show is renowned Western artist Alfredo Rodriguez.

“We have been asking Alfredo Rodriguez if he could be our juror since 2009 and we are so pleased that our schedules finally worked,” McElroy said.

While the artists are from all across the U.S., the artwork must depict life in the American Great Plains region, which McElroy describes as including parts of New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, and all of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.

“The artwork shows everything from bison and other animals, to American Indian culture, to farming and ranching … past and present,” she said. “We enjoy what we do and one of the biggest pleasures is the people we meet. We’re so glad to have the show back in Las Cruces again.”

The Museum is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road, and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, the Museum features animals, demonstrations, a greenhouse, barns, theater, a gift shop and snack bar, and indoor and outdoor exhibits on 47 acres. For more information, call (575) 522-4100.

The American Plains Artists was organized in 1982 as a small group of artists who banded together to highlight through their art, the variety to be found in the vast region known as the American Plains. The APA has expanded into a nonprofit organization with a growing membership of both signature and associate members. The goals have remained the same — to educate the public through traditional and representational art works about the American Plains region including the landscape, wildlife, peoples and way of life in historical or modern times.