After whooping it up in Super Bowl mode during recent days and weeks, we figure it might be tough for some of you to do the quiet, contemplative art thing during this month’s First Friday. So we’re thinking it’s a good week to check out shows with a heavy entertainment…
You don’t have to be an art expert to enjoy art. But every now and then, it’s nice to give the neurons a nice workout while learning a bit more about all things visual arts — so we’ve assembled a list of ways you can learn more about everything from…
Americans have a thing for Persian rugs, which have their roots in the region that makes up modern-day Iran. We love the symmetry of their central designs and detailed borders, which typically sport beautiful medallions or floral patterns that conjure images of idyllic lands. You’ll find a different sort of…
As rain drenched the myriad of locals and tourists gathered for pre-Super Bowl activities in downtown Phoenix on the evening of Thursday, January 29, a warm glow emanated from a pop-up Roosevelt Row welcome center set up inside Capture 12 gallery as people explored neighboring small businesses. Across the street,…
It’s an especially exciting season for dance lovers in metro Phoenix as local, national, and international companies present diverse offerings that incorporate everything from architecture to spoken word performance. With all these choices, even folks who rarely hit the dance scene will find a little something that strikes their fancy…
After retiring from New York City Ballet last October, Wendy Whelan had no intention of curtailing the physical and intellectual movement that’s been the hallmark of her esteemed career. Instead, the ballerina with a gift for contemporary dance turned her considerable energy and insatiable curiosity towards developing new collaborative projects…
Curious members of the human colony descended on Lisa Sette Gallery on Saturday, January 10, for the opening of “The Brief Forever” featuring works by Mayme Kratz and Alan Bur Johnson, and “Nostalgia” by Neha Vedpathak. Drenched in honey-colored light from the impending sunset, the gallery sat quiet like an…
When the top 10 finalists from Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance hit the stage at Comerica Theatre on Sunday, January 25, Tempe-born Bridget Whitman will be among them — performing not only for fans of Fox’s hit TV show, but also friends, family, and fellow dancers…
Business types will tell you it’s best to keep a one-minute “elevator speech” at the ready. Typically, that’s about all the time you get to reply after someone asks about what you make or do. But 32 Arizona artists and arts organizations had the luxury of a full six minutes…
What started with a petition to save one building is poised to morph into a full-blown movement protesting developments that significantly would change the urban landscape of Roosevelt Row. Though some are preparing pop-up art experiences for Super Bowl fans who visit Roosevelt Row, arguably the best-known arts district in…
We’re figuring the year’s first Third Friday is bound to be busy, after a relative lull in some parts of the metro Phoenix art scene for First Friday earlier this month. By now, you’ve either recovered from New Year’s festivities, or you need a little jump start to make it…
While the trio of petitioners who’ve so far gathered just over 900 signatures continue to hope for a final-hour reprieve on the fate of the building at 222 East Roosevelt, home of the GreenHaus until Cole and Dayna Reed move their business to Portland, there’s no real reason to expect…
We caught muralist El Mac in the act of art-making at The Heavy Pedal, 1309 E. Van Buren last week, working on his latest Phoenix mural. It’s a collaboration between El Mac, Pablo Luna, and Mando Rascón that took a full week of steady work to execute. The results are…
When we first popped in to see the Mesa Urban Garden a couple of years ago, it was a relatively simple affair. Raised beds had just been filled with dark, moist soil. Kyllan Maney and Lauren Lee had painted the first of many murals to don garden walls. Community members…
Figuring there’s at least a bit of artist in all of us, we went in search of some of the coolest beginning art classes and workshops for adults in metro Phoenix — and found a little something for everyone, from blacksmithing to printmaking. We appreciate the lure of affordable options,…
Poetry. Circus Performance. Improvisation. Sewing. Video projections. They’re all part of innovative projects moving forward thanks to funding from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, which announced late last month the names of 13 artists receiving 2015 Artist Research and Development Grants. Ninety-five artists applied for the grants, which provide…
Cold weather did little to deter the party atmosphere as colorful club-style lights and music blared along Roosevelt Row during the first First Friday of the year, although things were considerably calmer in some other parts of the Phoenix arts scene. Never fear if you missed it, because most of…
Once you’ve done the whole ringing in the New Year thing, it’ll be time to jump back on the First Friday horse to show your love for local artists is still going strong. Weather and hangovers be damned. Make the year’s first First Friday one to remember. Art 360: Nicole…
Four Chambers, a Phoenix-based literary magazine and small press, has partnered with Phoenix Art Museum to “assemble a small collection of poetry and prose responding to exhibits and collections within the Phoenix Art Museum.” There’s a lot to respond to these days, with a total of seven exhibits currently on…
After recent visits by the ghosts of art exhibits past, present and future, we awoke with five resolutions certain to help all sorts of artists up their creativity and community engagement. Work outside your comfort zone. Maybe you’ve been so keen on supporting the arts in your own familiar venues…
While most of us were scurrying around with holiday errands and festivities, artists participating in a public art program called IN FLUX were readying a diverse assortment of works you’ll soon be able to enjoy in several Valley cities. Think of it as a public art-a-palooza — with support from…
In a city progressively known internationally for its downtown’s mural art, arguably the oldest surviving murals in downtown (along with the building housing them) are now threatened with imminent destruction. So reads the opening salvo of a petition crafted by a trio of Phoenix residents hoping to preserve the building…
