David Leigh is an Albuquerque-based artist, curator, and educator. After receiving a BA in Art History from Arizona State University, he attended the University of New Mexico, where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing. From 2004 to 2015, he focused his energy on arts collaborations, founding and directing multiple galleries in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. During that time, he worked with other artists and educational institutions on large scale projects, and his own work was included in numerous national and international exhibitions. Before coming to Albuquerque High School, he taught painting and drawing at the University of New Mexico and Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and he supported the development of public art and community engagement as Visual Arts Director at Working Classroom.
He has received multiple grants for site-based projects at AHS, organized a monthly Art Mart sale with fellow teacher René Palomares, where students develop a deeper understanding of the business around being an artist. In 2021, through a partnership with 516 Arts, he started a two-year school-based artist-in-residence program that hosted artists Joanna Keane Lopez and Margarita Paz-Pedro. He also led two large-scale mural projects which were funded by the APS Education Foundation. will be hosting its second artist this spring. Currently, he is writing a book about the importance of art education, which he hopes to have finished sometime next year. He teaches drawing and painting at Albuquerque High School and was named New Mexico Art Education Association teacher of the year in 2022.
