For Love and Money

Art's capacity to heal gets a boost on Thursday, March 13, when downtown Scottsdale's weekly ArtWalk takes a charitable twist. Twenty-some businesses and galleries along Marshall Way will participate in "Art for Life" by donating 10 percent of the evening's sales to Phoenix Body Positive, an HIV/AIDS research and resource center. Businesses taking part include art galleries, salons, and shops ranging from bakeries to jewelers. From 7 to 10 p.m., folks are invited to wander in and out while enjoying wine and live music."We are very fortunate to have so many business owners who support what we do," says Body Positive executive director Brian Helander. For more information on Art for Life, call 602-307-5330 or see www.phoenixbodypositive.org. Jill Koch

3/14
First Impressions
If you're enthralled with Phoenix Art Museum's current exhibition chock-full of luscious 19th- and 20th-century masterpieces and you want to see more of the same, head over to Trailside Galleries, 7145 East Main in Scottsdale. Celebrating 40 years as a specialist in traditional American art, Trailside recently opened its new European Art Gallery, devoted to 19th- and early 20th-century European painters from the Academic, Impressionist, Realist and Barbizon schools. Julien Dupre's 1883 piece Haying Scene (shown above) is a brilliant example of the caliber of work on display. To RSVP for the grand opening at 7 p.m. Friday, March 14, call 480-945-8100. Michele Laudig

3/14
Body of Work
The folks at Alwun House are having a ball, in more ways than one. To close their 2003 Exotic Art Show with a bang, they're hosting a night of libido and libations: the Exotic Fetish Ball, on Friday, March 14.

If you haven't yet seen the hormone-fueled exhibition, you now have no excuse to miss it. Featuring the work of 69 artists (wink, wink) in a range of media, the show presents a whimsical, creative take on sexuality.

Alwun House director Kim Moody says the ball is "a night of individual fetishism." People are welcome to attend in fetish gear, "to dress for success as they define it," he says with a laugh.

There will surely be plenty of eye candy, between the art and the crowd, but provocative performances will also add some spice. Moody says the Middle Eastern dance of local troupe Unity in Motion is "for those of us who don't believe in war, but art." Infinite Momentum dances with mud for the ultimate earthy sensuality, and Open Dance, just back from a European tour, offers eclectic "post-rave" expression.

Doors open at 7 p.m. at Alwun House, 1204 East Roosevelt. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event. Call 602-253-7887 for details. Michele Laudig