Megalopolitan Life

Delusion is a powerful motivator of men, and never more so than with the flock of advisers and yes-men who lick the loafers of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, the former ice-cream magnate who squeezed through a crowded Republican primary in 2014 with a plurality and went on to score a perfunctory win against a hapless Dem in the general. Though the shrubby Ducey, with his helmet hair and robotic mode of speaking, is about as inspiring as a late-night laxative commercial, his retinue of butt-kissers refers to him as “The Natural,” cultivating the pipe dream that when Donald Trump loses the White House to Hillary Clinton, a scenario Ducey’s peeps are banking on, folks will be ready for a true conservative four years hence, backed by the Koch bothers, to defeat the Democrat dragon lady. Problem is, Ducey has all the charisma of a bowl of cold Cream of Wheat. Imagine Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker without the shimmering personality (sarcasm alert). If they think selling a stiff like Ducey as POTUS to the American public will be like selling Cold Stone Creamery scoops in an Arizona August, they should think again and talk to some of the franchisees who lost their shirts on a Cold Stone venture before Ducey sold the chain for beaucoup bucks.

Tom and Judy Nichols know a thing or two about writing, and they certainly know the road — their journalism careers have taken them many places. So when they announced that they had quit their jobs, sold most of their earthly possessions, purchased a Roadtrek (lovingly nicknamed The Epic Van), and were blowing this Popsicle stand, we considered hitching along. Then we heard they planned to document the trip, so we decided to stay home and follow along from afar. We have not been disappointed.

Unlike Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty, the Nichols haven’t lost everything in Vegas — yet. But they have had some adventures. You can read about them on the blog, follow their route on Google Maps, and even catch some tips and tricks for hitting the road yourself. After the first year, they documented their spending and reflected on what went wrong and right. All of it makes for great reading from (full disclosure: their son Nate writes for us) two members of the extended New Times family.

Former Arizona Republic columnist Jon Talton now lives in Washington state and writes about economics for the Seattle Times, but the Grand Canyon State remains very much on his mind. His David Mapstone mysteries are set in Arizona, and he maintains a regular blog on all things Phoenix, entitled “Rogue Columnist,” where he opines on everything from Phoenix’s lost (or about to be lost) architectural gems, to the unsolved and unresolved Don Bolles case, to the Republican’s misplaced faith in tax cuts, and so on. Consider this: He writes the blog pro bono publica, despite having to churn out several columns a week for the Seattle paper. Now that’s love, baby. True love. Because it’s obvious from Talton’s blogs that he cares deeply about Phoenix and Arizona and the quality of life here, and so expends a terrific amount of intellectual energy on serious discussions of Phoenix’s past, present, and future. We hope Talton never grows tired of writing about Arizona, because we know we’ll never grow tired of reading him.

She is liberal, hear her roar. Local lefty firebrand Donna Gratehouse is an unrepentant Democrat and feminist in a state dominated by Republicans hell-bent on doing everything they can to restrict women’s reproductive rights as well as pissing on the poor every chance they get. No wonder Gratehouse is ticked off all the time, and she takes all of that righteous anger, wads it up, pours gasoline on it, lights it afire, and sends it hurling like a flaming bocce ball into the Republican night. Granted, her kills are purely rhetorical, but in a state dominated by Koch-brother suckups, ammosexuals (you know, gun nuts), and anti-abortion fanatics who wear lapel pins made to resemble little fetus feet, Gratehouse holds aloft the progressive flame like an Arizona version of Lady Liberty. Only, she’s more likely to take that flame and jam it up the backsides of some sexist pig tuskers, if given the chance. Rock on, Gratehouse. Rock on.

Gone are the days when Republican political operative Shane Wikfors’ Sonoran Alliance blog was the center of ex-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ world, spewing endless streams of pro-Thomas screeds written by anonymous writers many believed to be Thomas’ henchmen. Thomas was disbarred in 2012 for his many ill deeds, and since then, Sonoran Alliance, like the Arizona Republican Party in general, has taken a turn toward relative (and we do mean relative) moderation. That is to say, it ain’t no vitriol-spitter like Seeing Red AZ (a past winner of this award), but that’s a good thing, at least for diversity of thought. Wikfors himself is a gentleman of the highest order, and unlike many of his peers, can talk to Democrats and journalists without foaming at the mouth. In other words, he’s one of the potty-trained Republicans, and despite this, his site remains a must-read for local political junkies, providing a mix of news, opinion, and press releases from selected politicians.

Sure, KJZZ is home to fantastic syndicated programs from NPR — we’re big fans of Jesse Thorn’s weekly pop-culture talk show, Bullseye, and the Moth Radio Hour — but the station really makes its bones as Phoenix’s go-to audio news source. Home to thoughtful reporting and insightful commentary, the station’s reporters dig into economic trends, cutting-edge ASU research, and of course, our always-turbulent political frays. Hardworking local reporters offer analysis and deep dives that distinguish the station from its news radio competition. 

Go to any political event, protest, or important public meeting, and there’s 12 News reporter and anchor Brahm Resnik, holding a microphone, ready to talk about the situation at hand. To us, Resnik’s talent as a reporter goes much deeper than his ability to cover a wide variety of topics and break news — we think it actually stems from his determination to hold local politicians and government agencies accountable. Case in point: In one of the most controversial local stories of the year, Arizona’s March 22 presidential primary fiasco, Resnik’s coverage was spot-on. Not only was he the first to tweet a map showing the 60 percent reduction in voting sites in Maricopa County, and the first to get County Recorder Helen Purcell to admit she “screwed up,” but Resnik continued to advance and deepen the story on his weekend TV show, Sunday Square Off. At a time when most TV news reporters tend to gloss over important details or fail to ask tough questions in interviews, we’re glad to know the Valley has a reporter like Resnik reporting the news.  

In the age of cellphone cameras, you should probably always assume that if you say something offensive, even in private, it will come back to bite you. Such was the case when a video surfaced showing Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski making homophobic and anti-LGBT remarks despite having publicly stated he supported same-sex marriage and equality in the past. “I never thought I would see the day that men and men would be married. Or that people are allowed to go into the same bathroom as my daughter. … This world is changing, and it’s time for us to take the leadership and change it back to the way it should be,” he was caught saying. It remains unclear who exactly filmed the speech, but it was sent to local activist Leonard Clark, who posted it to YouTube. Within hours, the local LGBT community called for Nowakowski’s resignation, and the mayor and other public officials condemned his remarks. While Nowakowski issued a public apology and refused to step down, the video at least serves as a good reminder that two-faced politicians will be caught, and that the greater Phoenix community has the back of the LGBT community. 

As long as Arizona remains a one-party state, or anything close to it, Frosty Taylor’s MCRC Briefs, a daily newsletter regarding all things AZ GOP, will remain required reading for politicos, sort of like The Arizona Capitol Times’ Yellow Sheet, ‘cept the MCRC Briefs (“MCRC” standing for Maricopa County Republican Committee) is as free as the beer at a frat party. Taylor, once the award-winning editor of the erstwhile Paradise Valley News-Progress, fills her tusker tip-sheet with the latest gossip, statements from Republican politicians and party activists, links to innumerable articles of interest to GOPers and those who follow them, and coverage of Republican activities in the state. For reporters, it’s a gold mine of possible stories on the Republican ruling class on one side, grassroots Tea Partiers on the other, and everyone in between. 

For claiming the medical marijuana led to a spike in heroin overdoses, calling U.S. Navy veteran Don Ream an “enemy” because of his cannabis use, and accepting $8,050 in donations from big alcohol to campaign about the “dangers of marijuana,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is Arizona’s best cannabis prohibitionist. There couldn’t be a better example of a completely hypocritical and out-of-touch politician weighing in on the issue of cannabis legalization. He and his cronies Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk and conservative talk-radio host Seth Leibsohn are joining forces to oppose the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the group sponsoring the recreational-use proposition that will be on the November 2016 ballot. These people are not blowing smoke.

Few Arizona cannabis advocates are as committed as Kathy Inman. Her organization, MomForce AZ, leads outreach efforts explaining the benefits of legalizing medicinal and adult-use cannabis around the state. Inman chooses not to focus just on mobilizing the community of cannabis users who already understand and support the legalization effort; instead, she reaches out to groups that tend to be some of the staunchest opponents of cannabis use: the elderly, parents, and law enforcement. She teaches continuing-education courses about the benefits of medical cannabis, and stages events and rallies around the state. One of her biggest victories so far was getting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to attend one of her events last October in Sun City. At the event, Arpaio affirmed that cannabis was medicine and could be used by those with a prescription from their doctor. Inman selflessly volunteers her time for the benefit of the Arizona cannabis community. As she says on her website, “I am not a paid lobbyist. I am just a mom. The more ordinary people stand up for what is right, the less there will be that is wrong.”  

Let’s face it, without its political fruitcakes, Arizona might be a lot saner, but oh, so dull. Whether it’s Arizona Governor Evan Mecham in the 1980s claiming to be divinely inspired to be the state’s chief executive, or current state Senator Sylvia Allen contending that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, Arizona politics is known for its (mostly far-right) wackos, and this election season, it’s Kelli Ward, former state Senator, and primary challenger to U.S. Senator John McCain, who has stepped up to the plate. Not only did Ward once host a public forum in her district to address constituents’ concerns that they were being poisoned by “chemtrails,” she’s also appeared on Texas conspiracy titan Alex Jones’ radio show, where she suggested that the McCain forces might be out to do her physical harm. More recently, she accused a McCain staffer of attacking her mom, when all the guy did was bump into the lady while videotaping Ward. Is Ward, a well-educated physician, really meshugganah, or is she just playing to her fan base, which is decidedly woo-woo? Doesn’t matter, because, as expected, McCain flattened her in the primary with all the subtlety of a sumo wrestler sitting on a walnut.

Peter Corbett has been hitting the Arizona trails forever — both by foot and on wheels — and has compiled a wonderful guide to places far and wide, but all within the Grand Canyon State’s boundaries. The longtime newspaper editor (he recently joined the Arizona Department of Transportation’s communications team) has been using his vacation time wisely, documenting spots from Bisbee to Yuma and many in between. He also includes information about lodging and national parks. We come for the pictures and stay for the stories. You will, too. Better put in that vacation request first.

Citizens of Maricopa County and the rest of the state were outraged at the epic failure of the March 23 Presidential Preference Election, during which some voters stood in line for up to five hours. A few days later, protesters descended on the State Capitol. One of them was Jonathan McRae of Paulden. He was targeted for arrest by state Department of Public Safety officers in the gallery viewing area of the State Capitol; they claim he was making a disturbance. His Guy Fawkes mask probably didn’t help.

In a video made of the squabble, McRae can be seen passively resisting officers as they try to arrest him. He was ultimately taken to a Capitol police facility to be searched before being transferred to county jail. And that’s when a pin in McRae’s shorts pricked one of the troopers. “The safety pin was attached to the subject’s shorts and was pointing out so that the sharp needle end was facing outward,” a police report reads. The officer had to be treated at a nearby hospital. McRae was later charged with resisting arrest and trespassing, but prosecutors refused to charge him with aggravated assault for the pin as DPS wanted. After all, he was just sticking up for his rights.

Talk about crappy journalism. CBS 5 News reporter Jonathan Lowe was on assignment in that toddlin’ town of Goodyear in May, reporting on some dude who killed his family’s dog and stuffed the remains in a barbecue smoker, when he felt the irresistible call of his innards and chose to relieve himself on a nearby front yard. A neighbor witnessed Lowe fertilize the lawn in question and head back to the TV van, leaving the evidence of his crime in the open for all to see. To Lowe’s surprise, the Goodyear police responded to the neighbors’ call, arrested Lowe, and cited him for public defecation. When the cops asked him why he didn’t drive a mile or so to a local Fry’s to use the facilities, Lowe replied that he couldn’t leave because he had to report the dog-barbecue story, and so had to make like a canine on someone’s lawn. Thing is, eyewitnesses to Lowe’s squat said that if he had just knocked on their door, they would’ve let him enjoy the comforts of indoor plumbing. New Times was the first local outlet to report on this stinky tale, and Lowe was shit-canned by CBS 5 after the incident. Interestingly, other local news outlets present decided not to poop on one of their own, and so ignored the matter. But would they have looked the other way if a cop or local official had made the same mess? Oh, hell no.

It takes stones to take on the gun lobby in Arizona, home to a Republican Party that believes the Second Amendment is one of the Ten Commandments. This state is home to some of the laxest gun laws in the nation, where you can carry firearms concealed, have them on you at a bar or at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, and despite being a prohibited possessor, can still purchase them openly from a private dealer at one of the state’s many gun shows. Any restriction, no matter how common-sense, is guaranteed to engender a backlash among gun lovers here, so U.S. Senator Jeff Flake knew exactly what he was doing when he stood in support of a proposed federal law that would stop people on “no-fly” lists from purchasing a weapon. Even in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, when an ISIS-inspired, homegrown terrorist took out 49 souls and wounded 50 others at a gay bar in that city, the bipartisan proposal failed to get the votes needed to advance. Predictably, the far right pilloried Arizona’s junior Republican senator on the issue, and it likely will be remembered by his detractors when he runs for re-election in 2018. Let’s hope voters see it for what it is: an act of political courage that put public safety above the demands of a myopic, selfish few.

It’s more than fitting that Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan has appointed Arizona historian Jack August to serve as historian and director of institutional advancement in the Division of Library, Archives, and Public Records. Though Reagan is a Republican and August is a Democrat of the old-school New Deal variety, August is a public intellectual and bon vivant who can converse with Rs and Ds as well as commoners and kings. In turn, politicos of every stripe respect the mustachioed professor for his scholarly chops and his area of expertise: hydropolitics, a subject of perennial interest in our desert state. Also, we suspect, since August has authored books on U.S. senators such as Carl Hayden and Dennis DeConcini, and other political figures, such as former Arizona Governor Raul Castro, that some of these politicians hope August will one day help plant their names in history books. Dare to dream, pols, though you’ll have to rise to a certain level before August shows an interest in you.

Whether it’s her determination to improve health care, get dark money out of politics, or make Arizona a more environmentally friendly place, Debbie McCune Davis has been a progressive Democrat in a pool of conservative Republicans for decades. And she’s kept her head above water. She’s proven to be that rare breed of politician who can remain principled, yet also compromise and work with opponents to actually get laws passed, which is why we were so sad to learn she’s retiring at the end of the year.

During her time in office, McCune Davis has sponsored plenty of bills and taken up many causes worth applauding, but it’s been the work she’s done as a member of the Child Safety Oversight Committee in the last two years that has really stood out. Time and again, she’s the committee member holding the agency’s feet to the fire, demanding its leaders be held accountable for the progress they often promise to deliver. In a state with a beleaguered child-safety agency, Arizona’s children are better off with McCune Davis in office. We’re sorry to see her retire.

Indie rock royalty and a fashion empire go together like Sam and Anita Means. Which is to say, almost annoyingly adorably. Sam is the musician, a solo artist formerly one half of the Format with Nate Ruess. He co-founded Hello Merch back in 2008 as a way for bands to sell T-shirts and assorted goods online and on tour without restrictive contracts. A spinoff of the rock-wear company is Hello Apparel, the brainchild of Anita, who wanted to sell leggings for babies on Etsy. Much like Sam’s single “A Little Bit of Yeah Yeah,” a bona fide hit in the Netherlands, the companies have taken off. What will the duo do next — besides share envy-inspiring pics of their home, pups, and preternaturally stylish kid on Instagram? We can only assume it’ll be cool, cute, and worth wearing (or singing along with).

There’s a monumental shift happening in performance art, as companies grapple with the growing difficulty of getting butts in seats. Creatives are finding new ways to take performance art to the people, which is something dancer and choreographer Nicole Olson has mastered. Olson, who serves as assistant director and choreographer for Scorpius Dance Theatre in Phoenix, has performed at diverse locations including the Heard Museum, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Art Museum, and several local art galleries. She’s choreographed work for local theater companies, including Stray Cat Theatre and Nearly Naked Theatre, and served as director of dance for Metropolitan Arts Institute. She’s best known for being the fierce queen of the vampires in Lisa Starry’s A Vampire Tale, but has also performed in Center Dance Ensemble productions. As a lovely dancer with long, fluid lines and a choreographer skilled at storytelling through movement, Olson elevates the metro Phoenix dance scene. A true collaborator and trailblazer, Olson embraces the call for contemporary dancers to move outside their own art form to work with, and support, artists in myriad other fields.

Terry Johnson’s Hysteria requires a cast who can perform and respond to both broad slapstick and stagy melodrama, often in the same scene. Fortunately for theater audiences last fall, director Patrick Walsh assembled such a cast for the Southwest Shakespeare production of this peculiar masterpiece, which reimagines the meeting between psychologist Sigmund Freud and surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. Despite stiff competition from a gaggle of thespians, all of them running in and out of doorways and bellowing, Beau Heckman stood out as an especially fabulous Freud, both fearful of and besotted by his own knowledge of the emotional world.

She’s nothing if not versatile. Mid-year, local star Johanna Carlisle delivered the best line of the play (“Just because I moved to Yorkshire doesn’t mean I have to sit on it!” she bellowed when asked to take a seat on the ground) in Phoenix Theatre’s Calendar Girls. As a British gal “of a certain age,” she elevated a one-dimensional role with some subtle movement and more than a little wisecracking. A few months later, she stomped off with a well-polished production of Next to Normal at Nearly Naked Theatre, directed by company founder Damon Dering. As a suburban mom doing battle with bipolar disorder and trying to keep her family and life together, she sang and danced and emoted like crazy. Carlisle is a world of talent, all of it her own.

Photographer Tom Kiefer spent more than a decade working part time as a janitor for a U.S. Border Patrol facility near Ajo, Arizona, where he used his camera to document the personal effects seized from migrants, then thrown away — including wallets, underwear, rosaries, soap, birth control pills, and more. He grouped objects by type before photographing them, then turned his photos into an exhibition meant to prompt reflection on the dehumanization at the heart of turning such personal objects into trash. Through this powerful body of work, Kiefer highlighted commonalities shared by people across cultures and reminded viewers that border-related policies have significant implications for real people.

Zarco Guerrero, mask-maker and musician, knows about the power to transform with his ethnographic masks, with his physicality, and with his words.

Catch him at Dia de Los Muertos PHX Festival, a free event held at Steele Indian School Park, using his highly expressive calaca masks to tell stories that mix humor and a zest for life with remembering those who have passed. Or, find him collaborating with Childsplay at their fall event, the El Puente Theatre Festival & Mask Procession, where he performs as Zarco Guerrero and the Dancing Dragons.

The Mesa native is a member of the Cultural Coalition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and aims to provide unique cultural programs dedicated to the promotion and development of indigenous arts and artists in Arizona. Guerrero was greatly influenced by Cesar Chavez as a young man, and joined his movement for farm workers. The civil-rights leader inspired Guerrero’s practice of using art-making as a tool for social change.

Wherever you catch him, Zarco Guerrero will be drawing the audience in with his compelling human stories.

St. Mary’s Basilica, a.k.a. The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the oldest Catholic church in Phoenix. Its exterior is also an excellent example of Mission Revival architecture.

Though originally an adobe church, the current structure dates back to 1913, when the Mission Revival exterior was built under the direction of W.J. Rifley. Last year, St. Mary’s celebrated the 100th anniversary of its 1915 dedication.

The Mission Revival exterior features round arches, curved parapets, deep windows, arched doorways, and four domes that span the length of the building. The dome located over the main altar features a cupola that provides additional interior light.

Mission Revival became popular when the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railways embraced the style for train depots, resort hotels, and lunch rooms in the early 20th century. The church’s interior is Romanesque style, laid out in cruciform. The Monroe Street entrance marks the foot of the cross. Dedicated to St. Mary, the church’s upper stained glass windows are graced with scenes depicting her in each one.

A self-guided tour pamphlet can be purchased for $2 from the basilica’s Via Assisi Gift Shop next door.

Between the latter days of MTV music videos and early days of Periscope livestreaming, Mexico-based artist Miguel Angel Ríos picked up a video camera. That was in the late 1990s, and Ríos has incorporated video in his art practice ever since. His “Landlocked” exhibition at ASU Art Museum last fall featured not only four world-premiere video works commissioned by the museum, but also a comprehensive look at his broader art practice comprising social and political narratives addressing power, apathy, and violence. Fascinating research materials, photographs, works on paper, storyboards, production ephemera, and videos documenting the creation of his work filled gallery walls and spaces — taking viewers on a journey through the artist’s ideation and its creative realization. Complex yet accessible, the exhibition put a new spin on land art, and used the tools of digital culture to convey the complexity of contemporary border culture.

Sky-high storytelling: That’s what a trio of artists in the collective Postcommodity brought to the Arizona-Mexico border in October with a temporary land art installation called Repellent Fence, comprising a row of more than two dozen 10-foot-diameter balloons with scare-eye iconography used by farmers and gardeners to repel unwanted birds from their land. Artists Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martinez, and Kade L. Twist worked with community members in Agua Prieta, Sonora, and Douglas, Arizona, to float the balloons 50 feet above the desert for several days, bisecting the border while prompting conversations about attempts to marginalize, repel, or destroy indigenous people within and beyond the borderlands. Its poignancy was magnified as droves of Syrians sought refuge in Europe, and the number of Central American children seeking refuge in the U.S. rose dramatically. Amid the empty din of ideological rhetoric, Postcommodity’s quiet installation spoke volumes.

As a Phoenix-based multimedia journalist, Pita Juarez has covered a range of social issues concerning the local Latino community. She is a regular contributor for both Spanish and English-language publications across the Valley and has worked with grassroots radio stations like Radio Phoenix and KWSS as a host. Regardless of the medium, Juarez has consistently produced content that engages a wide-ranging audience to bring to light issues important to the immigrant community. Her latest efforts have led her to the creation of a “for Latino Millennials, by Latino Millennials” podcast serving the bilingual, immigrant, LGBTQ, and activist community, called Mira Listen.

Carla Chavarria is an undocumented immigrant, but that hasn’t stopped her from working legally in the country. She is a thriving artist, activist, and entrepreneur working within the constructs of the law to earn a living. As a 19-year-old photographer and graphic designer, Chavarria founded multicultural millennial marketing agency YCM Marketing and co-founded Ganaz Apparel, a fitness clothing line that mixes fashion and culture, earlier this year. In Spanish, if you’re doing something con ganas, it means you’re doing it with enthusiasm or wholeheartedly; that’s Carla Chavarria.

She most certainly isn’t the only one, but Erika Andiola is this year’s best DREAMer. Andiola has been a prominent Arizona activist for undocumented immigrants for years. In fact, she has been called “the most well-known immigration activist in the country,” and was hired by Bernie Sanders’ campaign as a Latino outreach strategist late last year. Sanders may have conceded the presidential nomination to Clinton, but Andiola is demonstrating that la lucha sigue (the fight continues). She is now working with the post-election group inspired by Sanders’ campaign, Our Revolution. The undocumented Mexican immigrant is renowned for confronting the likes of Russell Pearce and even President Barack Obama. She has earned the respect and admiration of immigration advocacy groups around the nation, and has been an inspiration for other undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.

 When he joined ASU Art Museum as a curator in 2012, Julio César Morales said he was “particularly interested in art’s unique ability to engage in a social context.” It’s something he’s brought to life again and again, most recently with the exhibitions “Contemporary Photography in Mexico: Existe lo que tiene nombre” and “Miguel Angel Ríos: Landlocked.” The latter, which included new videos commissioned by ASU Art Museum, was the first survey of video work by Ríos, who is based in Mexico City. Both were part of the museum’s ongoing “Contact Zone” exhibition series, which explores contemporary migration and “its intricate uncertainties within border culture, destiny and contested histories.” As curator for ASU Art Museum, Morales raises awareness of the many ways diversity fosters individual dignity and community strength, thus highlighting the value of cross-cultural experiences and dialogue.

While others talk of building walls, San Francisco artist Ana Teresa Fernández is working to erase them. She’s done several installations combining visual with performance art at various points along the U.S.-Mexico border. Most recently, she coordinated painting at three different sites, using live streaming video to assure that those who couldn’t make the trek to the border would still feel a part of the process. Each time, Fernández buys blue paint matching the particular sky overhead, then invites others to join her in painting blue the prison-like bars comprising the border fence. From a distance, it seems the border has been erased, giving rise to new perspectives on what might be possible without its looming presence.

 Amid popular culture saturated with the noise of nonsensical political rhetoric, ASU’s Performance in the Borderlands fostered collaborations that created safe, yet challenging spaces for dialogue about some of the most pressing issues in contemporary American life — including immigration and racism. Working with Nia Witherspoon, it presented a lineup that included performances of Suzan-Lori Parks’ America Play, which explores parallels between a young black man and President Abraham Lincoln. During an artist residency featuring Ana Teresa Fernández, whose work includes symbolically erasing parts of the U.S. and Mexico border by painting them blue to match the sky, it inspired reflections on ways to embrace rather than eschew people from diverse cultures.

If for no other reason than his comeback from a dreadful season opener, local theater bright spot and former wunderkind Damon Dering deserves accolades. Last fall, Nearly Naked Theatre founder Dering launched his new season with Monster, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Perhaps because Dering didn’t helm the production himself, it stank. But this past master of camp knuckled down, leaping in to remind local theatergoers of his many visionary talents by directing a knockout world premiere of Buddy Thomas’ Wonderland Wives, followed by an acclaimed production of Next to Normal that had critics and audiences swooning. These two winners more than made up for any transgressions, and reminded us that Dering is estimable in his talents — our very own Tyrone Guthrie.

It’s been more than a decade since Kathy Cano-Murillo, an artist and author who’s built her own brand as the Crafty Chica, started the Phoenix Fridas art collective. The roster of artists — all Latina artists inspired by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo — has changed through the years. Even so, it’s remained a fierce group united by mutual respect and creativity despite varying art styles, ages, viewpoints, and personalities. Nowadays, it has nine members who exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit while supporting each other’s artistic expression. And, of course, the group shares the Frida and crafting love through exhibits, craft boutiques, workshops, and its annual community celebration of Frida Kahlo’s birthday each July.

Hundreds of families, nearly half of them Latino, converge on Tempe Center for the Arts when Childsplay and Cultural Coalition partner to present their El Puente Theatre Festival and Mask Procession. It’s an annual festival-style event featuring free performances, art activities, and storytelling infused with Mexican culture that helps family members of all ages appreciate the value of diversity and learning about others’ cultural heritage. There’s mariachi music, folklorico dance, and even an exuberant parade, complete with musical instruments and giant puppets, across the Tempe Town Lake Bridge. Together, families from all different backgrounds experience the joy of celebrating Mexican culture together.

Day of the Dead festivals, inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, pop up around metro Phoenix every fall. Add in Cinco de Mayo, and you’ve got a whopping couple of days when Mexican culture seems to be on everyone’s mind. Works by Phoenix artist Lalo Cota, who was born in Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, pretty much assure that those who see them will have Mexico on the brain a lot more often. You can’t drive far in downtown Phoenix without seeing a mural he’s painted alone or with one of his many collaborators. Many feature skulls or other iconic Day of the Dead imagery, or cars that embody Chicano lowrider culture. He’s got mural art inside the new Barrio Café Gran Reserva and outside Carly’s Bistro — plus dozens of other places. Seeing walls painted with Cota’s signature skull-faced characters reminds people of Phoenix’s relative proximity to the border — and the fact that being close to Mexico is a good thing, worthy of celebrating with more than just a few days of partying.

It’s impressive enough that Phoenix artist Annie Lopez is a fourth-generation Arizonan. But she’s also a prolific art pioneer who first entered the local art scene in 1982, where she was part of a dynamic artist collective called MARS (Movimento Artístico del Río Salado). MARS Artspace, which operated in various Phoenix locations through the years, brought visibility to works by Chicano, Hispanic, and Native American artists. Today she’s a nationally renowned cyanotype artist whose photographs, sometimes created on tamale wrapping paper and sewn into dresses, tell stories of her own experiences and those of her family. Many reference her Mexican roots — sometimes exploring the cultural stereotypes prevalent in contemporary society. Long before the border became a political topic du jour, Lopez was using her art to prompt reflection on the ways borders affect people’s perspectives and actions — paving the way for more artists to incorporate themes of social justice into their art practice.

A couple of years back, ASU Art Museum exhibited the politically charged works of LA artist Eduardo Sarabia in a show titled “Moctezuma’s Revenge.” Delving into and sometimes turning on its head Mexican culture, Sarabia skewered narco machismo with an eye toward history — and style. Carved from Mexican canterra stone and reaching seven feet in height, Sarabia’s Snake Skin Boots with Snake Head still stands tall outside the Tempe museum, embellished with smiling snake heads and a nod to the Aztec god of war. It’s a heavy statement, both literally and figuratively, as the sculpture piece weighs in at an immobile 4,000 pounds.

Also known as the Changing America Desk, the Fronteras Desk is a collection of four public radio stations – including Phoenix’s own KJZZ 91.5 FM – reporting on immigration, Native American, economic, and environmental news in the Southwest, reaching from Southern California to central Texas, i.e., the border of the United States and Mexico. Stories usually feature multilingual reporters broadcasting pieces like “Panama Canal Expansion: Challenge And Opportunity For Southwest Economy” and special reports like “Child Migrant Crisis At The Border.” Fronteras Desk pieces have been featured on KJZZ scheduled shows like “Marketplace,” PRI’s “The World,” and “Here and Now.” This multimedia collaboration started in 2010 as a joint project between KBPS San Diego and KJZZ Phoenix. Listen up. You might learn something.

We’re not here to praise Governor Doug Ducey’s business leadership group, “Arizona Zanjeros,” who, we suppose, are hoping to increase the flow of business opportunities into our state. No, we’re talking about actual zanjeros: ditch riders, men and women, who control the flow of water through our city’s system of canals by opening and closing the gates on canals and irrigation ditches across the Valley. These zanjeros helped make our desert way of life possible — and in some ways, continue to do so.

In spite of Ducey’s group’s recent cultural appropriation of the zanjero title, let’s not forget: Historically, it was the labor and expertise of Latinos living in Phoenix who proved instrumental to the early irrigation operations. They helped with the physical construction of the canal system, and often served as zanjeros, covering hundreds of miles a day. Nine canals make up the Valley’s complex canal system, largely constructed between 1870 and 1913. They were built upon the prehistoric irrigation canals of the Hohokam, which were feats of engineering genius in and of themselves. The Hohokam were present in Central Arizona for 1,500 years, producing one of the largest canal systems in the New World. That’s a legacy to be proud of.

Today, being a zanjero is a trade that is disappearing, as farmland gives way to development.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, the iconic representation of the Virgin Mary encircled by gold rays with the moon at her feet, is a cross-border phenomenon. It’s also a symbol of resilience.

To see a stunning example, check out the 18th-century painting Virgen de Guadalupe at Phoenix Art Museum. First seen last fall in the exhibition “Masterworks of Spanish Colonial Art,” the painting is now on permanent display.  A generous grant provided for conservation of the painting to remove decades of soot and salts from water damage, bringing it back to life. It is the only 18th-century, large-scale painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe displayed in the Valley.

One of the things that makes the painting unique is that the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe is depicted in the four corners of the painting. It’s the story of an underdog, chosen by the Virgin to be her messenger. She appears before an indigenous man, Juan Diego, in 1531. He gets an audience with the archbishop to tell him what has happened, but is disbelieved. The Virgin then instructs Juan Diego to collect roses in December. He finds them, and takes the roses to the archbishop. When he opens his cloak, the roses fall to the floor. The painting depicts this narrative and the devotional image together.

Transcending borders as both a religious and cultural icon, devotion to her is almost as widespread among religiously minded Mexican-Americans in our community as it is in Mexico.

Whatever was going on with alien technology in 1947 must have resulted in galaxy-wide vehicular recalls. That year, UFOs were crashing all over the damn place, most famously in Roswell, New Mexico — giving birth to one of the most famous conspiracy theories in U.S. history — but also here in Phoenix. In his 1950 book, Behind the Flying Saucers, UFOlogist Frank Scully (no relation, it seems, to Dana) alleges an extraterrestrial craft crashed at the Dreamy Draw Recreational Area near Piestawa Peak, and that two alien bodies were yanked from the wreckage. Theorists suggest the Dreamy Draw Dam was built to cover up evidence of the ship and while that’s, you know, not true — the dam wasn’t built until 1973 — it’s fun to wander the placid desert landscape there and speculate that there’s something otherworldly behind the mysterious hum that can be heard near the structure.

Looking for the most legit cultural institution the Valley has to offer? It’s a stretch up the Loop 101 and housed in a stately contemporary complex where, if you’re into counting, you’ll see more than 6,500 instruments on view. Which is why it’s called the Musical Instrument Museum. Home to both musical instruments and related objects, the museum’s amassed a collection of almost 16,000 things — from Arizona’s own rock ‘n’ roll history to folk and tribal instruments. You’ll find galleries organized by region, a space dedicated to mechanical music, a look at modern popular music, and hands-on areas where you’re totally allowed to touch the goods. The MIM also hosts concerts in its theater space and special events focusing on various global cultures throughout the year.

Holiday video greetings are a tradition for Chandler’s Whitney and Micah Slade and their kids. One year, the video showed the family swimming in a Yuletide pool full of Xmas cheer; another had them literally climbing the walls of a 1950s living room. In 2015, the Slade parents wanted something clever and warmhearted that would also teach their four children a morals lesson — that some people don’t have as much as the Slades do — in the bargain. Inspired by the song “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” the Slades decided to build a tiny house and give it away to someone in need. Their frankly arty video, featuring a lobster, a trout, and the family’s pet snake, depicted the Slades building the teeny-tiny house while Micah lip-syncs to Perry Como’s version of the popular Christmas tune. It went viral, natch, and that was nice. But nicer still was giving away the 160-square-foot house to a single mom in Pensacola, Florida, who’d been living in the maintenance room of the local RV park where she worked.

Contrary to the advice of old-timey books on home decor, it takes more than matching shag rugs and toilet-tank cozies to perfectly appoint a bathroom. Phoenix artist Bill Dambrova gets it, as evidenced by the bathroom inside his Goat Heart Studio at the historic Bragg’s Pie Factory. It’s basically an eclectic, multimedia art installation accented with a roll of white toilet paper, where eye candy sometimes includes language earlier generations dubbed potty mouth. Vintage ephemera lining bathroom walls from floor to ceiling capture moments from the city’s past, or quirkier parts of the artist’s personality that take subtler form in his paintings filled with biology-infused abstractions. The Goat Heart Studio bathroom is a mischievous microcosm of the artist’s mind, and practically a mini-museum hidden in plain sight within the artist’s equally engaging art space.

Whether you’re a midcentury building or a midcentury human, facelifts are rarely ever a complete success. Which is why we were pleasantly surprised when local developers Vintage Partners did away with the stucco surrounding Uptown Plaza and replaced it with a more honest interpretation of the shopping center’s 1955 roots: exposed brick, atomic fonts, neon signs, and some much-improved shade structures. Now the neighborhood shopping center at Central Avenue and Camelback Road has become the hotspot for local boutiques like Manor and Muse as well as trendy restaurants like Shake Shack, Flower Child, and Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Restoration never looked so right.

For years, the building at 333 East Portland Street sat neglected. In its former life, it had been Beth Hebrew Congregation, the first Orthodox synagogue in Phoenix; a Mexican evangelical church; and the performance space of the Black Theatre Troupe. Even as condo projects and hip eateries went up around it, 333 went overlooked by most — but not by artist and real-estate developer Michael Levine. In March 2015, after years of trying to save the building from destruction, he bought it and set out to restore it. Built in 1955 by Valley architect Max Kaufman, Beth Hebrew is a treasure of local Modernist architecture, with some fascinating Hebrew and Egyptian design details thrown in for good measure. While the restoration is still a work in progress, the building has played host to Jewish religious services and community events, and Levine has big plans for the future, including film screenings, art exhibitions, and private celebrations. We’re glad to see the lights on and the spirit back in the place. L’chaim!

Think about what makes a good neighborhood. Beautiful, interesting homes? Restaurants and shops? Plenty of things to do in the surrounding area? Good schools? A friendly community? Well, the Coronado Historic District in midtown Phoenix meets each one of these requirements and then some. Weather permitting, residents can ride their bikes to Phoenix favorites like the Main Ingredient or Tuck Shop for a bite. Fitness buffs can get their sweat on at Sutra Midtown or get in touch with their spiritual sides at the Sikh Ashram. Besides the lovely 1920s bungalows and charming 1940s ranch homes, families are drawn to this less-than-two-square-mile neighborhood by the schools nestled within, and young professionals love the proximity to downtown and the vibrant artistic presence. Plus, the community welcomes you into this historic ‘hood from the day you move in with a neighborhood newsletter delivered to your front step and smiling neighbors waving as they stroll by.

Oh, Sunnyslope, you are an enigma. Between your midcentury marvels and the many places to buy meth, Phoenix natives have long since struggled over what to make of you. Fortunately, there are those who were willing to stick by you in your less-than-sunny days and, while we’re hesitant to say it, we think it’s working. From being featured in home tours to having your streets filled with your own homegrown art walk, we, along with the rest of this town, are slowly coming to terms with the idea that Sunnyslope has changed for the better. Don’t get us wrong, you’re still weird — but we like it.

When plans for Windsor Square were announced in 1929, the up-and-coming central Phoenix neighborhood was touted for its proximity to Brophy Prep and the Arizona Biltmore, both of which were newly established. The price for a lot? A mind-boggling $1,100. Now, the 26-home historic district features an array of architectural charmers built over many decades, as building was halted for the 1929 market crash, the Great Depression, and again during World War II. But the variety makes Windsor’s curving streets all the more appealing, as well as more recently added nearby attractions like Medlock Plaza shopping and a collection of Upward Projects restaurants. Much like the area that surrounds the idyllic neighborhood, its prices have changed. Expect to see three-bedroom, two-bath ranches sell for around $500,000.

Okay, so maybe we’re a bit biased, but we like to think of Phoenix as a Midcentury Modern mecca. And there is no better way to ogle the impressive and Dwell Magazine-worthy architecture from an era past than attending the Modern Phoenix Home Tour, put together by Phoenix’s own Midcentury Modern maven herself, Alison King. Whether you’re looking to admire Ralph Haver’s handiwork in neighborhoods like Marlen Grove, or get some style inspiration for your own Mad Men-esque den, this tour is the place to be. But you better be quick nabbing those tickets, because this annual tour sells out fast.

Sprawled across the side of the Drumbeat Indian Arts store, the Reverberate Her Lines installation is a sprawling, cosmos-inspired work by a collective of Native American graffiti artists working together to create a wide landscape that incorporates elements of the desert — elote, canyon walls, sandy vistas — and vivid character work. Featuring the work of 17 Native artists —  Bel2, CC, Gloe One, Perl, Stef XMEN, Rezmo, Cherri, Monstrochika, Lady Rise, Agana, iLash, Live, Sensi, Yukue, Averian Chee, Zena, and El Dreck — the mural was completed this summer, and its contrasting bright and dark colors make for a stunning addition to the already art-packed 16th Street.

It was early in March that artist Karlito “Mata Ruda” Miller Espinosa did something you don’t hear about too often: He left New York to further his arts career as a muralist in Phoenix. Out-of-towners have been known to paint a Phoenix mural or two, but making a full-time commitment to the desert is a whole other deal. His first street piece as a freshly minted Arizonan depicts a woman wearing a crown of pinkish roses who longingly stares with a slight furrow in her brow toward a bright white moon. It’s called Más Allá, which translates to “further” and references the struggle of immigrants searching for better lives. Small but affecting and rich with meaning, we hope it’s a look at what’s yet to come from the painter.

Every year, the Valley gets a fresh influx of art courtesy of a public art program called, ahem, IN FLUX. From Chandler to Glendale, new works by local artists are installed temporarily in libraries, museums, malls, and along the light rail (among other unexpected spots). For the 2016 cycle of the program, Jeffrey DaCosta brought 18 wooden deer sculptures coated with light-sensitive paint to an empty storefront at the Pavilions at Talking Stick. When the sun sets, the animals are illuminated in green, yellow, orange, and red, highlighting how the natural world melds and merges with technology. Up through December 2016, it’s a work worth bringing out-of-towners to see — and a glowing introduction to the Valley’s stellar public art offerings.

So maybe the closest Phoenix ever gets to a white Christmas is hearing the beloved holiday tune on the radio. But any resident knows that doesn’t mean the Valley is devoid of Christmas spirit. And snow or no snow, the light display on Comstock Drive is impressive for any city. Grab your decorative scarves, light sweaters, and fingerless gloves, jump in the car, and head for Gilbert, where you will find a neighborhood so decked to the halls that even the Grinch would be proud. As 2015’s winners of ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” the would-be Whoville rock stars are not messing around with thousands of colored lights blinking in time to your favorite carols. Best part? You get to enjoy the entire display from the comfort of your own car.

Downtown Phoenix’s warehouse district is finally getting the new life it deserves, thanks to a number of business owners who know a good deal when they see one. Located between Jefferson and Grant streets and Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue, the warehouse district offers up a central location, plenty of space, and, with a little remodeling, an industrial charm that would make any startup company swoon. The area, which is already home to event venues and creative agencies, is quickly being snatched up by other companies looking to take advantage of Phoenix’s urban upswing, including tech companies WebPT and Galvanize. Forget skyscrapers and stucco commercial buildings — the warehouse district is the new destination for doing business.

Ask and you shall receive … a duck face? After Arizona Diamondbacks commentators Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly asked the crowd at a game last October to take selfies and post them to Twitter, the two could not stop laughing about a group of ASU Alpha Chi Omega sorority sisters heeding their request. “Every girl in the picture is locked into her phone. Every single one is dialed in … They’re all just completely transfixed by the technology,” one of them says. For a few straight minutes, the sportscasters continued to narrate the sisters’ actions — “Gotta take a selfie with the hot dog. Selfie with the churro. Selfie just of a selfie … Here’s my first bite of the churro, here’s my second bite of the churro” — launching the girls to viral fame. Critics of the two men accused them of sexism. “Just imagine a world where young women could grow up and feel confident in loving themselves without grown-ass adult men mocking them,” one viewer tweeted. But the girls didn’t seem to mind, posing for a group selfie that was tweeted out by the official D-backs Twitter account later that night.

There are thousands of worthy Instagrammers out there who focus on documenting the amazing desert landscape we have here in Arizona. And who can blame them? Between the interesting plant life that manages to thrive in our harsh environment and the breathtaking sunsets that make the sweltering summer heat worth it, there’s plenty of beauty to capture. But Donjay, who aptly posts under the Instagram handle @donjay, shows the wonder of the desert and this city that has grown within it through his own eye, and we can’t look away. Clean, natural, bold, and often creatively integrating a human element, Donjay captures the spirit of Phoenix and the surrounding areas through photos.

While you can follow along with their adventures in the desert and abroad on a variety of social-media platforms, Robert and Christina Martinez really shine on Snapchat. Better known as New Darlings, the blogger couple documents trips to their favorite haunts (you’re gonna notice a fair amount of Lux), gym angst, home-decor decisions, and the newest records they’ve picked up — all adorned with stickers and emojis and geofilters that make snapping more fun than, well, basically any other mode of social sharing. And, hey, watching these two keep busy might just leave you inspired. To do what, exactly? Well, at least to put on something adjacent to cute and leave the house.

Brian Dunn and Robert Hoekman Jr. launched the short-fiction reading series Spillers at the Crescent Ballroom in August 2015, and since then have continued to refine the series through live readings and an insightful podcast series, the Spillers After Show. Featuring readings from and long-form interviews with Spillers readers like essayist Tara Ison, novelist Patrick Michael Finn, Spilled Milk editor Leah Newsom, and poet Joel Salcido, the podcast features discussions and dissections of the creative process, with Dunn and Hoekman offering probing questions and thoughtful responses to bring the intimacy of the live shows to your iPhone.

What do you do when a teary-eyed, feds-hating Arizona militant uploads a video to Facebook in order to teach his kids why he had to take over a wildlife refuge in Oregon to (somehow) help protect their freedoms and the Constitution? Why, you make a hashtag, of course! And thus is the genesis story of #DaddySworeAnOath, possibly one of the best things to come out of the Bundy-family-led takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. After John Darnielle of the indie-folk band the Mountain Goats watched the viral video of Jon Ritzheimer sitting in his truck, holding a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, and shedding a few tears while telling his two daughters that he’s in Oregon — and not with them on Christmas and New Year’s Eve — because he took an oath to defend the Founding Fathers’ document, it was as if he couldn’t help himself. Darnielle made his own ridiculous video, and posted it with the following message: “I call on all of patriotic Twitter to get behind the wheel of the #daddysworeanoath car and do the necessary.” The Twittersphere responded gloriously.

Who would have thought that three small words — “We got him!” — could create such an internet firestorm when an apparently overly excited Governor Doug Ducey tweeted the message last September? The tweet was meant to break the news to a terrified public that the Department of Public Safety had arrested a suspect in the I-10 shooter case, but quickly backfired and turned into an online civics lesson: “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” and “You’re the chief executive of our state, show some respect to due process,” people responded. Even now, months later, it’s hard to put a finger on it, but there was just something about the initial tweet that made the public and media wonder if Ducey and the DPS had jumped the gun, and as it turned out, the hunch proved accurate — point being, Mr. Governor, as a public official, watch your words, especially in the age of social media.

We’d like to think that the exoneration of Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., the then 21-year-old landscaper accused of terrorizing the city of Phoenix by driving around I-10 and shooting vehicles, was one of the more satisfying things to happen this past year. Merritt was singled out as the culprit based on flawed forensic evidence, and had his life — and the life of his fiancée and two young children — turned upside down after he was arrested and held on a bail he couldn’t afford to pay. The public lashed out at state and county officials for seeming to ignore the whole presumption of innocence thing, so when the state’s case against Merritt completely fell apart and a judge basically erased Merritt’s bond, it felt like a vindication of due process. To top it all off, Merritt is poised to bring a $10 million claim against the state, Governor Doug Ducey, and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery for his wrongful arrest and public vilification.

Remember that time a series of three massive earthquakes ripped through central Arizona, tearing down buildings and spreading hysteria in its wake? Yeah, we don’t either. But what we do remember was the series of very small earthquakes that gently shook parts of the state on November 1, causing the occasional dish to rattle or dog to bark, and really only because of the totally outsized and hilarious social-media response it prompted. Within hours of the third aftershock, hashtags like #WeWillRebuild and #PrayforAZ were trending on Twitter and Facebook, accompanied by photos of a toppled lawn chair or spilled water glass. Some ASU students demanded classes be canceled, while others expressed shock that the vibrations they felt weren’t just an exploding meth lab. Our favorite reaction, though, was a mock breaking-news meme warning of tsunamis in Tempe Town Lake. According to the experts, more than 1,000 small earthquakes are recorded in Arizona each year, meaning you might want to batten down the hatches, because no one knows when the next one will strike.

Little news in the past 12 months was quite as traumatic as the realization that GusGus, a 3-week-old goat, had been stolen from the Arizona State Fair. Like people across the country, we waited with bated breath for updates, because petting zoo officials warned he was unlikely to survive more than a day or two away from his mother, who, by the way, was reportedly crying out for him — could anything be sadder? Thankfully, after 20 hours of sheer panic and a near-collective societal breakdown, someone found little GusGus wandering near a canal in north Phoenix. Though the story has a happy ending and GusGus was safely returned to his mother, we’re still a little dismayed that the person who took him was never caught — c’mon, what kind of monster does something like that?

It’s not every day that a national satanic group sends local politicians into a tailspin by announcing it will deliver a formal invocation at a city council meeting. Even though the Satanic Temple is less of a devil-worshiping cult than a civic-minded group set on separating church and state, a handful of Phoenix City Council members reacted as though the group was planning to hold some sort of ritual sacrifice on the floor of the council chambers. Following the announcement and the promise of a lawsuit should the city deny the group its right to deliver the invocation, four councilmen led by member Sal DiCiccio started a bizarre campaign to fight “diversity and inclusivity.” After dominating the local news cycle for a few weeks, the city finally voted to abolish religious prayer at its meetings, meaning that even though the Satanists could now be prevented from giving the invocation, in the end, they still won the battle — for the time being, anyway. The council quickly brought some prayer back.

Empty space in a bustling city can be such a drag. But Isaac and Gabriel Fortoul, the brothers and artists who’ve adopted the moniker 40Owls, are making sure one beautiful space in downtown Phoenix doesn’t sit completely unused. Their pop-up gallery inside an office space along the Central Corridor has great bones — exposed ceiling rafters, red brick walls, and concrete floors. During a March exhibition titled “Fortoul Brothers Phoenix,” the brothers transformed the space into an immersive art experience. Visitors walked through an installation of giant teardrop sculptures suspended from the rafters as they arrived, then explored paintings and sculptural works — including a pair of pieces connected by a winding path of moist sand. Live DJ music and a bar with Fortoul Brothers art as a backdrop is always part of the pop-up gallery experience here, and there’s always at least a small sampling of merchandise with iconic Fortoul Brothers images, which include nude women, pineapples, and water drops. People who go know they’ll get the full package, making the 40Owls pop-up gallery a place to not just see art, but to experience it.

Jack Durant was a small-town gambler with loose ties to Vegas racketeers. He had a big, obstreperous personality, owned our city’s most successful restaurant, and was listed among the FBI’s most dangerous men in Phoenix. Jack liked women, eavesdropping on patrons of his restaurant bar, and golf. He might have seen one or two people being murdered. None of this makes for grand opera, but it did make for an independent feature film by local filmmaker Travis Mills. His stylish post-noir profile of one of Phoenix’s bigger characters, Durant’s Never Closes, increased Mills’ profile as an indie filmmaker who shoots his low-budget, tightly shot movies right here in Phoenix. A new, young producer/director who can lure Hollywood A-listers like Tom Sizemore (who played the title role in the Durant picture) and director Peter Bogdanovich (who wanders through as a shady character trying to get Jack a spot in the local country club) is doing something right, and we’re cheering him on.

Buddy Thomas’s raucous raspberry to childhood’s best-known bedtime stories was neatly directed in its world premiere by Nearly Naked founder Damon Dering. If Valley of the Dolls author Jacqueline Susann had written fairy tales instead of potboilers, they might have resembled these second-act stories, whose heroines were all slatternly, marvelously grouchy, and mostly played by men. The effect was of an especially rambunctious Bette Davis impersonation contest, led by actor Terre Steed, who inched slightly ahead in this drag race if only because he portrayed four different women, most notably Snow White’s Magic Mirror, an embittered, shrieking reflection of a baritone Baby Jane who convinces Snow not to be so pure. The real magic was in Mr. Steed’s performance.

It was easy to lose count of how many plays-within-a-play this seriocomic beauty comprised, thanks to a stage full of fine performances and some stunning commentary about what’s wrong with theater and with the world. It was also easy to love Aaron Posner’s play, which was “sort of adapted” from Anton Chekhov’s famous 19th-century drama The Seagull.

A stunning cast burnished a lot of hammy, existential dilemmas and improv-busting devices, and director Ron May created some stunning stage imagery on Eric Beeck’s slick and functional set.

Arizona Theatre Company’s production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men this past spring was neatly rendered by an excellent creative team. Todd Edward Ivins’ set design, moved to and fro by costumed, silhouetted ranch hands, provided expertly cheerless settings; Joe Cerqua’s sound design and scoring and Jesse Klug’s clever lighting design offered the only warmth in a series of deliberately dusty scenes of meager living. Director Mark Clements of Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, with whom this is a co-production, found the gentleness in Steinbeck’s cruel tale of George and Lennie, a pair of drifters with naive dreams for the future. Scott Greer’s magnetic rendering of Steinbeck’s tragic, brain-damaged man-child Lennie was a stunner, and Jonathan Wainwright’s George provided the quiet eye of Steinbeck’s storm.  

Gridlock, haboobs, Sheriff Joe — life in Phoenix can be harsh sometimes. Fortunately, there exists in the center of town a space so secluded, so peaceful, we almost don’t want a lot of people to know about it. Okay, fine. We’ll share.

The next time you need a moment of Zen, you’re welcome to join us at Ro Ho En, also known as the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix. Completed in 2000 as a symbol of the relationship between Phoenix and its sister city Himeji, Japan, this 3.5-acre “strolling garden” offers stress relief and inner calm in the form of paved paths, shade trees, stone sculptures, friendly wildlife, and a central lake. The Garden hosts special events now and then such as tea ceremonies and an annual moon viewing festival, but really, any time is a good time to feed the koi, exhale deeply, and experience a little serenity now.

Last time we checked, it cost about $20 million to take a jaunt on a commercial space flight, so until we’ve saved up the dough, we like to replicate an out-of-this-world experience at Phoenix Art Museum. “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies,” more commonly known as the Firefly Room, is a 2005 mixed-media installation with LED lights by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Step inside (pro tip: move slowly, and keep your left hand on the wall until your eyes adjust), and you’re transported to another realm; tiny color-shifting lights suspended from the ceiling get reflected in mirrored walls and a black marble floor to breathtaking effect, creating a dazzling, multi-hued starscape. We’re still keeping an eye out for that NASA Groupon deal, but until then, the Firefly Room is your best bet for an in-town space odyssey.

Besides obnoxious, people who say that Phoenix has no culture are actually kinda racist. No culture? Tell that to the Heard Museum, the Southwest’s premier hub of Native American art and history, home to educational events, art exhibitions, and festivals. It’s been open since 1929, and serves as the Valley’s go-to source for those curious about both their local history and what kinds of art indigenous people across the county craft. Wanna know the story behind the road named Indian School or the impact the region’s railways had on its Native people? You’ll find both — and get the chance to see contemporary artworks as well as historic items. And here you thought we were being dramatic.

It’s no secret that there are countless galleries, restaurants, and bars in downtown Phoenix that are great for taking in all that is First Friday. But if you want to ride the supreme First Friday vibes, you need to put yourself on Fifth Street between Roosevelt and Garfield streets. Peruse the street vendors selling everything from original paintings to silverware jewelry, pop into one of several galleries that line the street, drop by the Lost Leaf to catch an inevitably cool local act, and grab an ice cream cone from Melt or an iced toddy from Jobot. And then, just park it. The activity and buzz animating this downtown street might just be the best work of art you’ll see all night.

Gotta say, since Roosevelt Row’s found itself overrun with development and condo construction, we’ve found ourselves spending much more of our twice-monthly artwalk hours scoping out the city’s slantiest stretch. Indeed, the arts are booming on Grand Avenue, and our fingers are crossed that this is just the beginning. Well, not the beginning, exactly. Gallerist Laura Dragon’s art space {9} the Gallery has been hosting exhibitions and events for years now and has hit quite the streak, collaborating with Tara Sharpe’s Artelshow to host an art show and site-specific dance performance, developing relationships with Valley art favorites including Joseph “Sentrock” Perez (who’s based in Chicago now, but visits the Valley frequently) and Lauren Lee, and finally giving women street artists their due with a gallery exhibition titled “Rue Femme.” After years of museum and gallery shows around town ignoring women street artists, {9} put them in the spotlight. It’s that combination of paying attention, passion, and willingness to take risks that makes it a model in the burgeoning arts district.

Weave your way through the halls of Grant Street Studios, home to Arizona State University’s masters of fine arts students’ studios, and eventually you’ll arrive at Northlight Gallery. It’s one of the university’s four exhibition spaces dedicated to works by its students (and sometimes its faculty), spotlighting some of the Valley’s most thought-provoking works displayed in the high-ceiling setting of a salvaged brick warehouse just south of downtown. Overseen by director and curator Liz Allen and previously located in Tempe, Northlight moved to Grant Street in 2014 and exhibits photographic works by students as well as the work of international emerging artists and university-affiliated creatives. Legitimizing the work of students by sharing wall space with globally relevant works? The warehouse district’s where it’s at.

Part of the fun of a Donald Trump rally is that both he and those in attendance are totally unpredictable. His first two visits to Arizona this political season were relatively low-key — protesters held some very creative signs and engaged in shouting matches with his supporters, yet overall, no punches were thrown nor arrests made. But as Trump was planning his third visit, to be held on March 19 in Fountain Hills, violence was breaking out at his rallies across the country, prompting many to wonder if a similar thing would happen here. To be clear, we don’t condone violence, which is why we loved the protesters’ tactic. Dozens of anti-Trumpers linked arms or chained themselves to vehicles in an effort to block traffic (and the candidate) from getting to the park. In the end, the blockade was broken up and three people were arrested, but protesters can always celebrate the fact that they managed to peacefully block Shea Boulevard for hours.

Designed by Midcentury Modern architect Al Beadle, this semi-subterranean gallery wrapped in a white scrim beautifully backlit at night, is itself a work of art. Lisa Sette, a gallerist for more than three decades, presents visual art in various media, as well as installation and performance pieces from emerging and established artists for local and international art aficionados. Recently, the gallery has featured new works by local artists including Rachel Bess and Carrie Marill, and presented the first gallery exhibition of works by British artist Bruce Munro, whose primary medium is light. The gallery represents its artists at renowned international art fairs, and works with new and experienced collectors, as well as collecting museums, to build and enhance their assemblages. In doing so, it inspires local artists to pursue exceptional artistry and technique, while setting the Arizona arts scene on the world stage.

Atop concrete floors and divided into rooms without ceilings by bright white walls often tacked with notes and works in progress are the studios for select graduate arts students at Arizona State University. Despite the sliding metal doors conjuring a jail-cell-like look, we imagine Grant Street Studios is a great spot to hole up while prepping for a thesis exhibition and bouncing ideas off other student artists. What’s more? The studios are open once a year during Phoenix’s annual artwalk blowout called Art Detour, during which anyone can tour the spaces, peek in on artists at work, discuss what they’re up to, and see someone who very well might be the next big thing.

Every big city needs its signature festival that people from all over the country (and if it’s good enough, the world) flock to. Los Angeles has FYF Fest. Denver has the Great American Beer Festival. Chicago has Taste of Chicago. And while Phoenix does have the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, the Strong Beer Festival, and the Devoured Culinary Classic, we think Bird City Comedy Festival could be the one to really put Phoenix on the map. You know, in the festival world, at least. Sure, this hilarious fest just debuted this year, but with national headliners like Emily Heller of the Baby Geniuses podcast and Beth Stelling of @midnight and Jimmy Kimmel Live, plus plenty of spotlight for local talent, we can’t wait to see what comes next.

The Errl Cup was created by Jim Morrison to help promote cannabis in Arizona while simultaneously holding dispensaries and caregivers accountable for delivering high-quality medicine to patients. The events — The Errl Cup, the 710 Degree Cup, and Errl Camp — all offer the opportunity for Arizona medical marijuana patients to enjoy consuming cannabis in a fun, festival-style environment. Dispensaries and caregivers submit products to be tested by a third-party laboratory, C4 Laboratories, as well as a panel of judges. In addition to the voluntary samples, the Errl Cup team secret-shops additional dispensaries. Test results are publicly available at the event, and winners are chosen at the judge’s discretion. A unique combination of fun and education make these events a must for any patient looking to learn more about the Arizona medical cannabis landscape.

The Phoenix Film Festival isn’t where you go to see big blockbusters. Instead, it offers films just on the cusp of breaking out, indie comedies, weird horror, documentaries, television programs, and other oddball flicks. In 2016, the festival screened movies like Chad Hartigan’s hip-hop coming of age comedy Morris from America, Ricky Kennedy’s mockumentary The History of Time Travel, and the pilot of Starz’s The Girlfriend Experience. Spread over a week on seven screens, the works are varied and range in quality, but the curation is smart and well-put-together year after year.

When Harkins finally shuttered its tiny indie Scottsdale outpost Camelview 5 (the property’s owners had announced plans to bulldoze the theater for mall expansion), Phoenicians commiserated with both sadness and rage at the Valley’s inability to hang on to anything culturally cool. But then we saw the theater that replaced its cozy, five-screen predecessor. Camelview at Fashion Square includes 14 screens, reclining leather seats, and a dedication to screening the arty flicks the 5 was famed for showing. While the excitement of pairing a cocktail with the big screen is still as real as FOMO, we appreciate the state-of-the-art sound and visual components at the new Camelview, and the fact that they won’t interrupt the movie to deliver another basket of fries to the bottomless pit in the back.

Pop quiz: What costs $3? Let’s see. Acceptable responses include two sticks of loose gum, a really big bobby pin, or four off-brand crayons. Oh, and also a ticket to see a movie (a real, actual, professionally made film) at Pollack Tempe Cinemas on the south side of the Valley. The lineup at the strip-mall theater delivers — and not just a bunch of big-screen stinkers. Nu-uh. At Pollack, we slackers who kept meaning to see the latest blockbuster in the Avengers franchise are rewarded for such laziness and poor planning with dirt-cheap tickets, eye candy by way of lobby memorabilia displays, and literal candy at prices that won’t have you groaning over how you forgot to sneak in Skittles. Pretty sweet.

Yeah, there are quite a few places where you can have a beer with your movie. But do those big chain theaters have Prince movie marathons, Four Peaks on draft, lectures from seasoned screenwriters on why Jaws is still legit, and regular local film showcases spotlighting aspiring Scorseses among us? Um, nope. But downtown indie standby FilmBar sure does. Add to the list indie films and documentaries you won’t find anywhere else, DJ nights, art shows, and snacks from the Tamale Store, and you get the picture. The flagstone-adorned little building is ideal for movie nights when you’re in the mood to linger at the bar post-screening and compare notes with fellow moviegoers.

Earlier this year, Phoenix Comicon shattered previous attendance records. And while there were plenty of reasons to go nerd out with likeminded people — big-name special guests, thought-provoking panels, an overwhelmingly packed exhibitors’ hall — there was one particular reason that we braved the heat and staked out the Phoenix Convention Center: Phoenix Comicon offers the best people-watching the city has to offer. And we’re not just talking about ogling the impressive costumes of Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, even though that could be reason enough. Even the non-cosplayer attendees are fascinating, and inspire enough questions to keep us entertained for hours. Why are you here? What could possibly be inside of that mystery box you’re clutching so tightly? And where are you planning to put all of those Pop! Vinyl figures? We may never know the answers, but while we’re watching this subculture in action, we’ll never stop asking.

Works well with others? That might be an understatement for Jenny Poon. The creator of the branding and design boutique eeko, which incidentally was instrumental in the launch of Phoenix’s premier bike-share program, Grid Bikes, has become a much-talked-about entrepreneur in Phoenix over the last several years, thanks to her co-founded project CO+HOOTS. Now with locations in downtown and midtown, the thriving co-working space has given local startups a chance to grow their business as well as donate their services to make the community better thanks to the company’s nonprofit branch, CO+HOOTS Foundation. Whether she’s pioneering for the success of her fellow entrepreneurs or speaking out on the lack of diversity among Phoenix business owners, one thing can be said for certain about Jenny Poon: She’s never satisfied just helping herself.