A former horse ranch in Tucumcari, New Mexico, has been converted into a new glamping and art destination known as Art City, founded by artist and entrepreneur Matty Monahan, also known professionally as Matty Mo.
Since launching the project less than a year ago, Monahan has worked to establish the 40-acre site as both a hospitality venue and a center for public art.
Positioned along the historic Route 66, Art City combines outdoor accommodations with large-scale sculptures by international and local artists.
The site offers a rustic but comfortable environment, including a Scandinavian-style sauna, a wood-fired hot tub, and a communal kitchen and dining area designed to foster social interaction among visitors.
“One of the design decisions was to make this big outdoor kitchen with seating for 12, and a communal bathhouse, so people are forced to gather and meet each other,” Monahan said.
Monahan, whose previous work includes digital art and installations exploring themes in social media and the art market, views Art City as a shift toward more authentic engagement.
His approach to developing the site emphasized community integration. Before breaking ground, he spent months connecting with locals through cookouts, meetings at the Elks Lodge, and local recreational activities.
“I’m just a crazy person with two rocks and a vat of water that’s boiling. Let’s see if people add their ingredients,” he said, referencing the collaborative spirit behind the project.
The site also includes a residency program that hosts artists, writers, technologists, and others who contribute creative work in exchange for accommodations.
These residencies result in new art installations, such as those by sculptor Kate Rusek, currently in residence.
Rusek is developing a new site-specific sculpture titled “Desert Fungal Emergence,” made from reclaimed Venetian blinds and aluminum fasteners, and inspired by the Tucumcari landscape.
“It’s tremendously influenced by the landscape,” Rusek said in a report published by Albuquerque Journal.
“Then, with the specificity of the rocks, the fossils, the cactuses, the flora … to allow that to metabolize through my body, and my eyes and my hands, and have that come out in the work, that’s the alchemy of making place-based objects and sculptures.”
Rusek, who previously created a large-scale work at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York City, plans to complete her new piece by the first week of June.
During her stay, she is living in a classic Airstream trailer and sharing the space with other residents and travelers. “Art City right now is a very meditative, quiet refuge,” she said. “It’s a place where you can find a mix of solitude and beautiful humans in equal parts.”
The site’s art installations include works by internationally recognized artists such as Serge Attukwei Clottey, fnnch, and veteran Burning Man collaborators Dave Keane and the Folly Builders.
For outdoor hospitality operators, Art City offers a case study in integrating artistic programming into glamping accommodations, potentially enhancing guest experience and generating new revenue streams.
Through curated artist residencies and communal design features, the project highlights a growing interest in experiential and place-based travel.
Visitors can purchase day passes for $11.11 or book overnight stays starting at $40. More upscale lodging options with electricity and Wi-Fi are available through Airbnb.