Working Classroom

Meow Wolf Santa Fe has chosen Working Classroom as their September 2026 partner for their Point of Sale Giving Program! All Meow Wolf shop customers can choose to make a donation to Working Classroom as part of their purchase. Spread the word to anyone you know heading to Meow Wolf this month! Thank you to our Meow Wolf partners!

“Without a Past we Have no Future”- Joe Stephenson 2nd and Central.
This mural depicts the ATSF railway (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) from 1859-1996. This railway connected the Midwest to the Southwest. ATSF ran through Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Illinois that covered a total of 13,000 miles. The message of this mural was to show the importance of the railway and the economic impact that it had, especially for trading. In the mural there is a newsletter featured headlining “decrying the destruction of many landmarks in the state”. This mural is one of Working Classrooms older murals that is around 31 years old. This mural has been documented in the library of congress. Unfortunately, we don’t know the names of the apprentice artists so if you or anyone you know worked on this mural shout them out in the comments.”

Working Classroom is closed Monday September 7th to Friday September 11th in honor of Labor Day. We are grateful to our community of arts workers and all human laborers. We will see you back Monday September 14th.

Wanna be chic too? Your donation is super chic.✨(Donation link in bio)

We are grateful for all the work that Manuel Hernandez has put into Working Classroom over the past 8 years. Today we are happy to announce the start of his 12 week sabbatical. Manuel will be resting (or making art, or doing whatever he wants) August 3rd. We look forward to seeing him back in action starting in November. Felicidades, Manuel for all of your hard work, creativity, and inspiration and commitment to Working Classroom’s community over the years.

“Passing the Torch/Pasando la Antorcha” was led by Joe Stephenson in 1996. The massive 3 story mural was approaching its 30th anniversary in 2021 when new owners of the building whitewashed the mural without warning. “La Antorcha” had been located on what was then Sunwest bank on 303 Roma St. 87103. Mural apprentices included Charles Castillo, Natalia Meneses, Marisol Aviles, Eric J. Garcia, Rosalba Gonzalez, Javier Lopez, Rebecca Mayorga, Gary Sena, and Lettie Thompson. This mural featured runners passing a torch toward the sun, which is depicted as a sunflower. The mural represents the value of passing down leadership from one person to another. This mural was also a reflection of what Working Classroom stands for - creating space for new generations to take on the leadership of our future. The mural was sponsored by New Mexico Arts, McCune Foundation, Sunwest Bank, Patent Construction Systems, and Wellborn Paint.