New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Monday, March 14, to Friday, March 18. Downtempo’s Date with Tempe Phoenix Downtempo Ride takes to the streets on two wheels in search of bike-friendly destinations and perfect Phoenix patios. Downtempo’s Date with Tempe, the latest ride in the…
On Friday, March 11, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2440, which killed the Roosevelt business improvement district created by the Phoenix City Council on January 20. The district would have taxed property owners in a specified area to fund services beyond those already provided by the City. Ducey had…
El Peezo’s newest public piece — his first in more than a year — depicts GOP front-runner Donald Trump as Jabba the Hutt, and makes an aside to the Trump family’s ancestral name. Peezo, a wheatpaste artist and former New Times Big Brain finalist, hasn’t produced any public work in…
There’s a long wall running along the south side of Bentley Projects in the Phoenix warehouse district. Topped by barbed wire, it once looked like a stark separation point between the neighborhood it borders and the arts and event venues operated by Bentley Calverley. But now, Calverley says, it feels…
Visitors who take a left after walking into a new gallery space in Mesa will encounter iconic images created by William Wegman, an artist renowned for using his own Weimaraners in his compositions. They’re displayed across from Red Vapor for Ripe Strawberries, a 2013 oil-on-panel piece by Phoenix artist Rachel Bess. Nearby,…
On a palm-lined street in a pastoral Tempe neighborhood sits an attractive, split-level home. At first glance, it bears a resemblance to the house inhabited by one of the favorite television families of the 1970s. You know, the one with the lovely lady, the fellow, and the six children? “The…
Maybe you’ve wondered how much of what you read on Wikipedia is actually true or wished there was a way to make Wikipedia content more accurate and comprehensive. If the topics near and dear to your heart include art or feminism — or both, then you can help to make…
What happens in the studio shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit is a monthly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This month: Christine Cassano, whose most recent exhibition featured 330…
Is it possible to have too many good choices? Some people surely thought so during this month’s First Friday, when art was on view at dozens of Phoenix venues. Getting to each and every one of them during the course of just a few hours was impossible, but that’s not…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from March 7 through 11. “Hierogliffic and Other Stories” Turner G. Davis’ “Hierogliffic and Other Stories” borrows from history in form and inspiration. The noted fine artist put pencil and pen to paper daily, creating images reminiscent of cave…
Museums traditionally acquire objects in two ways — via donation or purchase. As a general rule, museums show only 2 to 4% of their collections at any given time. That means their vaults are brimming with hidden gems that don’t always make it to the gallery floor. We asked five…
“Confluence: Inter-generational Collaborations” at the Heard Museum bursts at the seams with bright hues, nods to urban culture, and a strong thematic undercurrent of environmental sustainability. Rainbow-colored butterflies hang on wires from the ceiling amid glass raindrops suspended above a pond, all created from recycled materials. The piece, called Butterfly…
Most of the metro Phoenix mural action is concentrated in just a few areas – Roosevelt Row, the Grand Avenue district, and Calle 16. But now the Coronado neighborhood is home to a charming new mural by Karlito Miller Espinosa, who uses the moniker Mata Ruda. Born in Costa Rica…
Two lawmakers and a lobbyist have hurled serious accusations at the City of Phoenix over its creation of the Roosevelt business improvement district (BID). Senator Warren Petersen, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, and lobbyist Marcus Dell’Artino say the City Council acted improperly or illegally when it voted during its January…
Launched in 2014, Paint PHX is a weekend-long mural and paint festival that has become a beloved annual affair. In the past iterations, up to 300 artists came from around the world to paint murals in Phoenix during this grassroots event. Now in its third year, Paint PHX’s celebration of…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from March 3 to 5. Paint PHX For years it seemed downtown Phoenix was a less-than-painted desert. Today, that couldn’t be further from the truth. And while some murals and public art have been painted over or torn down…
Agnese Udinotti has seen it all. On a cold, cloudy January morning, her small frame is wrapped in layers of black, her dark hair tied back. She’s wearing shaggy, nearly knee-high Ugg boots. Taking a seat on an armless chair covered with a deep red throw in the front room…
Consider this month’s First Friday the art equivalent of training wheels. In the next few weeks, two multi-day art happenings go down in metro Phoenix. A mural festival and block party dubbed Paint Phoenix happens March 3 to 5, and the annual Art Detour event takes place March 19 and…
Soon, Grand Avenue will be home to a new arts destination. Laura Dragon, who operates {9} The Gallery, is working with artists Robert Gentile and Michael Viglietta to create a studio and exhibition space at Oasis on Grand. Owned by Laurie and Tom Carmody, Oasis on Grand is a complex of…
The man behind this week’s cleverly titled OUTLOUD: More Stories from the Gayborhood insists there’s still relevance in a gay-specific plays festival. “There’s less of a need to be on a soapbox about gay rights these days,” says the event’s organizer, journalist Richard Schultz. “But there are still points of view about…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from February 26 to 28. Canal Convergence The Scottsdale Waterfront will be alight with art again when Canal Convergence, an annual large-scale public art event, takes over the banks — and water — of the Arizona Canal, between Scottsdale…
It often feels like we watch the Oscars every year more as a matter of routine more than anything else, as usually one or two movies seem far more likely to win than the rest. While Beasts of the Southern Wild or Amor might have been the best films nominated in the…
