The Grand Avenue Arts District saw plenty of change in 2015. Chartreuse gallery opened inside the historic Bragg’s Pie Factory building, Palabras began creating a Spanish/English bookstore, and artists working with Colibri Center for Human Rights in Tucson painted an immigration-themed mural on the La Melgosa building. But more changes are…
Even if you didn’t enjoy Snakes on a Plane and are currently fretting over poisonous, slithering creatures possibly finding their way to California shores thanks to El Niño, odds are, you’ll still dig the new mural at the recently opened Cobra Arcade Bar in Roosevelt Row. Painted by internationally renowned street artists El…
Stéphane Janssen has traveled the globe taking his clothes off for the sake of art. The Scottsdale-based art collector has posed dozens of times for New York artist Spencer Tunick, who creates and photographs art installations using nude bodies as his medium. Now, after years of collecting and posing for Tunick’s…
Some of you were still recovering from New Year’s Eve celebrations when January First Friday went down on January 1. We get it. But now you’ve got plenty of ways to redeem yourself during Third Friday and some new places to get your local art fix — including the new…
Walking into Sam and Anita Means’ Craftsman home on a cold, wet January day is like being transported to another season. One where the sky is clear, the sun is shining, and the flowers are in full bloom. The walls in the front room are painted an eye-popping coral hue,…
For the first time since late-’60s urban renewal chased Phoenicians from the city’s core and into the suburbs, sales of condominiums are passing those of single-family dwellings here. The Valley is home now to a record number of townhome, condominium, and loft developments. In 1997, Phoenix topped the nation’s list…
Arizona Commission for the Arts announced on January 11 that 10 Arizona artists had been awarded a total of $50,480 in research and development grants, as well as the Bill Desmond Writing Award. Valley-based artists who received up to $5,000 in funding include Juan Freitez of Phoenix, Carla Keaton of Tempe, Cristóbal Martínez…
The hair salon and art space Palabra is moving to a new location on Friday, January 15, according to owner Jorge Ignacio Torres, who was a visual arts finalist for the New Times’ Big Brain Awards in 2015. Torres revealed the new address, which is 909 North First Street, via Instagram…
Roosevelt Row underwent some serious changes in 2015. The small section of downtown Phoenix renowned for its thriving arts scene saw several buildings, including those that were home to GreenHaus and Bodega 420, demolished to make way for new multi-level residential developments. Lauren Lee’s iconic Three Birds mural was torn down in…
“Free beer” is coming, Phoenix. That’s thanks to Danish art collective SUPERFLEX, Welcome Chicken + Donuts, Flowers Bottleshop, and Mother Bunch Brewing. Now, before you get too excited (and as you might know if you are familiar with the ways of SUPERFLEX), “free beer” does not mean no-cost sudsy beverages…
Phoenix artist Eric Kasper caused quite the stir in Bisbee last fall, when Windows Gallery at the Copper Queen Plaza displayed his work alongside that of Ty McNeeley in an exhibition called “Spirits of the West.” The show’s aim was to blend Kasper’s eerie, sometimes ghostly figures with McNeeley’s photographs…
Murals abound in metro Phoenix – where local and international artists regularly add to the city’s vibrant street art scene. You can’t turn a corner without seeing some sort of street art, whether it’s a large-scale mural or a tiny wheat paste work. It’s part of what makes Phoenix look…
The Winnie Ruth Judd “murder house” is safe. Locals assumed the notorious house, where Winnie Ruth Judd murdered her two best friends in October of 1931, was about to be demolished after it was recently surrounded by chain link fencing. Purchased last year by Phoenix attorney Robert Warnicke, the duplex…
Famed muralist El Mac, who grew up in Phoenix but now lives in Los Angeles, has been commissioned by Mesa Arts Center to paint a mural at its venue. “We’re still in the design phase,” says Tiffany Fairall, associate curator for Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, which is located on the…
We expected to see all sorts of cats and guitars at Chartreuse, where they’re the subject of an exhibition that opened on First Friday, January 1. We hadn’t quite anticipated the fact that once you get cats and guitars on the brain, it’s hard not to find them lurking around…
With our Personal Space and Studio Visit series, New Times gets an inside look at the homes and studios of some of metro Phoenix creatives, including up-and-coming visual artists, uber-famous musicians, and the design-obsessed. Here’s a look back at everyone we visited in 2015. Paul and Keri Mosier’s Creative Haven…
Artist Irma Sanchez left her Phoenix studio space early Wednesday afternoon on a mission. She was headed to a spot near Central Avenue and Buckeye Road, close to the neighborhood where she grew up, to install a set of three white tiles painted with black symbols and letters referencing a…
Odds are, you’ll be spending part of New Year’s Day recovering from celebrating into the wee hours the night before. But there’s some serious incentive to bounce back by nightfall, when many downtown Phoenix galleries will be open for the first First Friday of 2016. Here are five new art…
The historic Beth Hebrew Synagogue in downtown Phoenix will hold Shabbat services for the first time in nearly 40 years on Friday, January 8. Phoenix developer Michael Levine, who has been rehabbing the synagogue for the past year, and Crescent Ballroom owner Charlie Levy teamed up to organize the community…
Google “cats and guitars.” Go ahead, we’ll wait. A glamour shot of a mixed breed praising an electric. A Siamese strumming a six-string. A kitten peeking out from inside a guitar. These are but a handful of an ever-ascending number (at last look, we’re talking more than 4 million) of…
The metro Phoenix gallery scene saw some significant changes in 2015. Several galleries closed, some new ones opened, and a few moved to new locations. Here’s a look back at the most noteworthy changes. Openings Art|Object Jeff Zischke – an artist familiar to most locals for his public art created…
It was a banner year in metro Phoenix for exhibitions featuring works created or collected by some of the world’s most famous artists. Phoenix Art Museum presented exhibitions featuring works by Leonardo da Vinci, Andy Warhol, and Ai Weiwei. And the Heard Museum presented photographs from Frida Kahlo’s personal collection…
