Oh, First Friday...while I enjoy writing about the stuff on Roosevelt Row and Grand Ave, sometimes it just feels like the easy way out. That's why I like to take you a little bit off the beaten path.
I guess I'm just a girl who likes to keep her options open.
So one extra option for tonight is the Phoenix Art Museum which is free to the public from 6-10 p.m. Other than their permanent collection and other current shows, they've got a few works up right now that have a short shelf life - the pieces just went up in May and they are coming down this Sunday, June 7th.
The works are by six local artists currently in the Lyon Gallery (exit the lobby and take your first left into a large hallway). These lucky folks were the winners of 2008's Contemporary Forum Artists Grant. Along with purchase of materials for their work, they got their own (short-lived) exhibition at PAM as a part of the award.
Check out these winners with the links I have so graciously supplied:
Eliza Gregory
Bridget Cherie Harper
Alan Bur Johnson
Richard Lerman
Patricia Sannit
Derek Wilkinson
So these are six pretty good reasons to head to PAM. Although here's your real incentive: air conditioning.
p.s.
Keep this in mind for next year when 2009's winners (Kjellgren Alkire, Susan Beiner, Mitch Fry, Saskia Jorda, Yuri Makino, Deb Salac and Keith Stanton) show their work.
Phoenix Art Museum, McDowell Road & Central Avenue, 1625 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix, 602-257-1222, www.phxart.org.