2026 Crossroads Feature Photo
Welcome 2026! Every year our organization sources a local photographer to feature an image of Downtown in our monthly, Crossroads newsletter. This year we're excited to partner with Joel Brandon. Joel is a Downtown artist, photographer, and leader of Mothership Alumni, an art space at the crossroads of Route 66. The space includes a gallery, shop, artist studio rentals, and services for artists (fine art printing, stickers, and shirt printing). Special thanks to Joel for giving us some insight into his work and the Downtown community. His image shows a rainbow over Downtown from 4th Street and Central Ave.
Tell us a little about yourself and your artistic pursuits.
I am an artist, father, and athlete. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, my family moved to Albuquerque when I was eight and I’ve lived here ever since. I began identifying as an artist in my early twenties. Creating was a way to understand myself and make sense of the world around me. I held my first group art show when I was 24, did pop-ups around town for a couple years before renting a studio and managing the gallery at the building I’m in now. Then in 2020, I took over the lease for the floor and expanded to create a gift shop and in-house merch production. My work and life are driven by a pursuit of self-actualization. Testing the limits of my abilities, refining a practice, and committing to an autonomous life that allows me to create without separating survival from purpose.
The Downtown neighborhood offers lots of great photo spots- what are your favorite spaces, places, time of day and/or people you like to include in your images?
I’m drawn to Downtown when it’s empty, so late nights and early mornings, before the day fully turns on. That’s when the atmosphere is strongest and the streets feel unguarded. I like working in those in-between hours when weather and light take over, storms are rolling in, heavy clouds, wind, and sudden shifts in temperature. Even in an urban environment those moments make nature impossible to ignore.
As both a working artist and manager of a Downtown art space, you have a unique lens in the Albuquerque arts scene. Do you have any tips or suggestions for creatives who are also working to uplift local art and artists?
For me, it really comes down to resilience. After ten years, it’s easy to get pulled into drama and petty grievances, and it’s just as easy to get emotionally drained by the more serious community issues that inevitably come up. You have to pick your poison, know what you can actually carry, and be honest about your limits. Uplifting a scene isn’t about reacting to everything. You have to keep your composure. At the end of the day, art is about knowing yourself, and if you don’t have that clarity, community work will burn you out fast.
Anything else you’d like to share about your photography and/or Mothership Alumni?
Right now, I’m deeply committed to my studio tenants. They’ve trusted me with their money, their art, and their momentum. I want to help create opportunity so they can focus on doing their best work. It’s part of the same long game, building something sustainable, and making sure the people around me have room to discover their full potential while stepping fully into who they’re capable of becoming. The space remains open to the public Thursday through Saturday from 12–4pm.
See more of Joel’s photography and art HERE.
Mothership Alumni: 105 4th St. SW