Give your best scissors and most beloved camera a long, hard look before you head out to see the new crop of exhibitions opening on Third Friday this month. Because you might be amazed by what some local artists have accomplished using these tools most of us tend to take…
When you picture sunrise in Old Town Scottsdale, a double set of flashing disco lights might not come to mind. But that’s what you’ll find at a new fitness studio called Studio 103, where even the 6 a.m. classes blend calorie burning with club-style dance. Located at 4385 North 75th…
Turn to any cable news channel, and you’ll hear endless chatter about borders and immigration, both in the Americas and abroad. But for all the talk, anti-immigrant policies still prevail. So San Francisco-based artist Ana Teresa Fernandez takes a different approach, engaging community members along the U.S. and Mexico border…
April’s First Friday in Phoenix was bustling as people descended on downtown to check out the latest Fortoul Brothers show in their 40 Owls pop-up gallery, hit a MOD-AZ show at Chartreuse that helped to usher in Modern Phoenix Week, and explore shoes decked out in everything from rhinestones to…
When Roosevelt Row landed on the radar of the Arizona Legislature earlier this year, it seemed like everyone knew (or thought they knew) what was best for the area, which is recognized as one of the country’s top neighborhoods and art districts. The Phoenix City Council voted on January 20 to…
In an urban landscape dominated by billboards, fast food signs, and other uninspiring fare, it’s nice to stumble on a nice work of public art now and then. Public art reminds us that there’s more to life than logos and taglines. And the Valley just happens to be one of…
You’re well ahead of the curve if you made the gallery rounds during Art Detour, which featured several exhibitions that will still be up for April’s First Friday – including the Fortoul Brothers show at their 40Owls Pop-Up Gallery. Several additional shows continue this week – including exhibitions of works by…
Turns out, you don’t have to be an architect or urban planner to have a say in how your city looks or functions. During Phoenix Urban Design Week from March 31 to April 7, you can be part of brainstorming a temporary art installation in Roosevelt Row. And that’s just one of…
Thirty-three large tear-shaped drops made from off-white paper file folders hang suspended at eye level inside a pop-up gallery space in central Phoenix. They’re part of the latest local exhibition by Isaac and Gabriel Fortoul, ages 36 and 39 respectively, who operate a nomadic gallery called 40Owls. Using the name Fortoul…
Picture a tiny ballerina, with hair bun and tutu, methodically turning inside an old-fashioned jewelry box. For some, it’s the quintessential image of a dancer. Everything is evenly-paced and predictable. But that’s not the sort of ballet featured in Today’s Masters, a two-hour program being performed by Ballet Arizona through…
Last year, Mesa Arts Center put out a call for artists interested in painting pianos as part of a public art project, offering $500 honorariums for selected artists. Today, 24 pianos painted by chosen artists dot various spaces in Mesa, serving as reminders of what can happen when creative types…
The Phoenix arts scene is humming along. Creative types are opening new venues, artists are collaborating across disciplines, and First Friday art walks are bustling. Art is popping up in all sorts of unconventional places – including bars, churches, and hair salons. And public art, from murals to light rail…
Curious types, take note. More than three dozen students with ASU’s School of Art are opening the doors of their studios in the Phoenix warehouse district this weekend for all to explore. Which means you can check out work spaces of some serious creatives and talk with them about their…
The ASU School of Art now ranks 20th in the country among fine arts graduate schools, according to the 2016 U.S. News & World Report rating of best colleges and universities in the U.S. Last year, it ranked 22nd. Based on the 2016 report, ASU School of Art now ranks…
Become one with the art. That’s pretty much the crux of this year’s Spark! Festival of Creativity at Mesa Arts Center, which happens from noon to 10 p.m. both Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19. Mesa Arts Center has presented the free festival, which typically blends interactive arts experiences…
Mesa is making a strong showing in the local mural scene, thanks to a newly commissioned piece by Miles MacGregor, or El Mac, one of the world’s most noted street artists. The Los Angeles-based artist with Phoenix roots just finished a towering mural depicting a woman holding a rose at…
It’s abundantly clear each time First Friday rolls around that spending one evening each month exploring Phoenix arts and culture just doesn’t cut it. There’s too much art out there, and it takes more than a few hours to see even a fraction of it. But once a year, there’s Art…
On Friday, March 11, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2440, which killed the Roosevelt business improvement district created by the Phoenix City Council on January 20. The district would have taxed property owners in a specified area to fund services beyond those already provided by the City. Ducey had…
There’s a long wall running along the south side of Bentley Projects in the Phoenix warehouse district. Topped by barbed wire, it once looked like a stark separation point between the neighborhood it borders and the arts and event venues operated by Bentley Calverley. But now, Calverley says, it feels…
Visitors who take a left after walking into a new gallery space in Mesa will encounter iconic images created by William Wegman, an artist renowned for using his own Weimaraners in his compositions. They’re displayed across from Red Vapor for Ripe Strawberries, a 2013 oil-on-panel piece by Phoenix artist Rachel Bess. Nearby,…
Maybe you’ve wondered how much of what you read on Wikipedia is actually true or wished there was a way to make Wikipedia content more accurate and comprehensive. If the topics near and dear to your heart include art or feminism — or both, then you can help to make…
What happens in the studio shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit is a monthly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This month: Christine Cassano, whose most recent exhibition featured 330…
