Editor’s Note: This story was updated April 21, 12:03 p.m., to state the that Galería Lincoln is located at 3915 Rosa Ave. next to Lincoln Park.

In the city’s heart stands a hidden gem, a small white house full of color. Galería Lincoln is located at 3915 Rosa Ave. next to Lincoln Park and the freeway pillar murals

Galería Lincoln was first established in early 2020 by Tino Ortega and former business partner Diego Martinez. The gallery was created to highlight the area’s art and culture and showcase other local artists.

“The gallery started as a passion project. I always had the idea of opening a gallery, and the location was always key to me,” said Ortega the owner and founder of Galería Lincoln. “I consider this area to be the heart’s district because it is in the heart of the city; it’s the main artery for all car travel in the city. I never saw myself as someone who could produce enough artwork to fill an entire gallery. I knew I wanted to highlight other people in the community and the art that they produce and to bring emphasis to the large artist community that El Paso has.”

Ortega is widely known for the various murals he has painted in the sun city, particularly the 3D balloon murals. The city also chose him to create the new August 3 memorial that will be at Ponder Park.

Ortega always had dreams of be-coming an artist ever since he was young. Before becoming a full-time artist, he was an airplane technician for the U.S. military.

“I never saw myself as someone who could just make a living off of my art,” Ortega said. “So, I went to school and had a career for 14 years, but I realized that I wanted to live my life to the fullest and become a full-time artist.”

Many different events are held at Galería Lincoln all year round with various artists and bands, with art on the walls constantly changing.

The Slow Goblin Coffee shop is located inside the gallery, which is also open during store hours. Visitors are invited to have a delicious cup of coffee while they admire the art.

“We try to keep artists for three months per show, and then we revolve,” Ortega said. “We’ve had bands from all over the country play all genres of music here. As a gallery, we are very versatile in what we do and what we can create. A lot of big local names have showcased their art here, we do both group and solo exhibitions. Lots of people attend the events, it’s great to see the support from the community.”

Saturday, May 14 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the gallery will be holding the 2022 Art Gala and Auction. All proceeds from the auction will be used for community projects, and cultural empowerment funds to help local artists working on the Lincoln Park preservation projects.

The event will be held in the War Eagles Air Museum and tickets are $75. Artwork from various artists such as Tino Ortega, Christin Apodaca, Voodoo, Babak Tavakoli, and many more will be sold.

“We’re following the blueprint of Chicano Park in San Diego,” Ortega said. “Lincoln Park is considered to be Chicano Park number two. We want to make this an artist’s destination, a focal point in the city where people can come to appreciate and expand on art to build the community as a whole. To me, it’s about expressing our culture and being able to have that visual representation of where we come from. I feel like we sometimes forget where we come from. It’s nice to have a little bit of history and be reminded of who we are.” Ortega said.

The gallery is open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and is closed Sunday through Tuesday.

For information about Galería Lincoln visit its Instagram and Facebook page @galerialincoln.

To purchase tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/art-gala-auc-tion-tickets-300939808067 or call 575-589-2000.

Alyson Rodriguez is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on Twitter.