Artists with diverse styles took to exterior walls throughout metro Phoenix during 2015, creating a vibrant assortment of narrative, figurative, and abstract murals addressing themes from migration to desert wildlife. Here’s a look at the 10 best. For the Love of Color Phoenix artist Carrie Marill, an artist represented by…
Yes, knowledge is power. But gaining that knowledge can get pretty expensive. This week we’ve gathered some workshops, storytelling events, film screenings and more that will help you hone in on some new skills and keep some of that hard-earned cash in your wallet, where it belongs. And we also…
December’s First Friday featured more exhibitions than anyone could possibly experience in a single outing. It’s a good problem to have, but it’s frustrating for those who want to really linger over the artwork or spend time in conversation rather than racing between destinations. Even with Third Fridays, which provide another…
I worry that Jon Talton’s new book will be mistaken for one of those sometimes pleasant Images of America photo books about Arizona, and therefore overlooked. At first glance, A Brief History of Phoenix looks like another installment in the Arcadia Publishing series; its trim size is the same, its…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events of the week. Jenny Lawson For her second book, Jenny Lawson went with some light-hearted subject matter: her life-long battle with mental illness in the form of oft-interrupting depression and a crippling anxiety disorder. The topics may not be cheery, but Lawson’s…
Phoenix New Times celebrated the cream of the crop with our 37th annual Best of Phoenix edition. Here are our top picks for things to do and see outside in metro Phoenix. Best Golf Course The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale For a long time, the Stadium Course at TPC…
Oh Zeus, hear my lament that I was not present when Spike Lee imagined updating Lysistrata to present-day Chicago. I bet he burst himself cackling. Aristophanes’ 411 B.C. comedy, written during the three-decade Peloponnesian War, concocts a crazy scheme: Women refuse sex until their blue-balled men give in and declare…
There are a lot of things we need in this world, but a condom emoji isn’t one of them. International condom brand Durex believes we need one, and is taking the necessary steps to get one made. Look, Durex, we get it. It’s in your best interest for a condom…
If you’ve ever visited the Navajo reservation, then chances are, you’ve seen the work of Chip Thomas, a.k.a. Jetsonorama. His enlarged black-and-white photographic portraits are pasted on structures along the roadside. An artist, activist, and physician, Thomas has been living and working on the Navajo Nation since 1987. From December…
For the first time ever, color authority Pantone has given two colors the honor of color of the year. In 2016, Rose Quartz and Serenity will share the spotlight, serve as go-to trendy shades, and, according to Pantone, “reflect societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity.” Pantone officials describe Rose Quartz…
Frances hosts its 10th annual Crafeteria on Friday, December 4. And, frankly, you’d be a cotton-headed ninnymoggins to miss it. The free-to-attend annual holiday craft marketplace takes over the Central Phoenix boutique’s parking lot area from 6 to 10 p.m. with food trucks, live music, and booths from more than 50…
W Magazine has named Phoenix Art Museum’s Amada Cruz one of the 11 most powerful female museum directors in America. The fashion magazine’s salute to “the women transforming some of the country’s foremost art institutions” includes Cruz’s image alongside Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art curator Naomi Beckwith, Metropolitan Museum of…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events and things to do in metro Phoenix from December 4 to December 6. Heathers Heathers could have passed as a horror movie, but with a tender-yet-squicky love story and a trio of characters basically dressed as a traffic light, it wound up…
Ellen Nemetz knows animals. The youngest of seven children, she grew up on a small dairy farm in rural Minnesota. “I have always viewed animals as individuals,” Nemetz says by e-mail. For “Inquietude: A Humorous Take on Modern Anxieties,” Nemetz’s solo exhibition at Eye Lounge, the Phoenix-based artist paints realistic…
Matt Solberg admits that the inaugural Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest last December was a bit of a gamble. It’s quite understandable, considering the circumstances of the event. “The whole thing was kind of a risk,” Solberg says. “And we had doubts last year whether or not it was actually going…
Bees are such tiny, seemingly inconsequential creatures, yet milligram for milligram, they affect the landscape in profound ways. You could say the same about small, delicate movies like Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher’s 2014 Cannes Grand Prix winner The Wonders, which tells the story of a hippie beekeeper family in the…
Need proof that the Phoenix arts scene is filled with diverse and intriguing offerings? You’ll find plenty of evidence during December’s First Friday art walk, which features artworks exploring urban decay, ice, gender identity, light, and celebrity. Here’s a sampling of shows, including one that couples visual art with dance,…
In a small Tempe strip mall, Marna Kay and Charissa Lucille are painting walls and hanging small paper zines in an artistic frame to go up on the wall. The pair has spent many long days preparing for the December 8 opening of the Valley’s newest gathering spot for local…
If your shopping list is stressing you out or you simply wish to support local artists instead of corporate mega stores this holiday season, these holiday marketplaces are for you. Each one will feature countless vendors with unique and handmade goods that will make even those hard-to-shop for relatives happy. …
Yes, Janis Joplin made a hell of a record out of Rodgers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue,” but you’re right if you winced to learn that Amy Berg’s new documentary feature about Joplin takes that song as its title — and as its dismal argument and organizing principle. “I want…
So, you’re looking through all those holiday shopping advertisements in the newspaper (just kidding, we know it’s on your phone) and you realize you have no idea what you should get bae for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/Festivus. Well, we can’t help you on that one (when in doubt, go Star Wars?), but…
The holiday season has us in its grip, so why not embrace and enjoy it? Along with the season come the seasonal celebrations. We’ve rounded up a list of December festivals that allow you soak up that holiday spirit. Many of these events also have holiday shopping as a focus…
