Irma Sanchez Is Phoenix’s Guerrilla Street Art Tile Tagger

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…

5 Art Shows You Should See in Downtown Phoenix This Week

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…

Metro Phoenix Art Gallery Openings and Closings in 2015

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…

The Best Art Shows in Metro Phoenix in 2015

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…

11 Arts Shows You Should See in Downtown Phoenix This Week

In a couple of weeks, it’ll be time for everyone to wallow in shame over all the things they should have done in 2015 but never did. For those already starting to fervently wish they’d spent more time supporting local arts and culture, December’s Third Friday is a chance to…

Casandra Hernandez Named ASU Art Museum’s Curator of CALA Initiatives

Casandra Hernandez has been named ASU Art Museum’s curator of Celebración Artística de las Américas, or CALA, Initiatives, according to a Monday, December 13, announcement from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.  Hernandez had worked at the Commission as artists program coordinator since September 2014. One of her most notable…

The 10 Best Things I Saw in Metro Phoenix in 2015

Perhaps 2015 blew by. Or is it that the year flew by? To say that it sprinted, rushed, or flashed past feels more accurate. That’s because we’ve reached a point where, thanks to great and near constant programming at venues and institutions across the Valley, there’s almost too much to…

How to Get Your Home Featured on This Old House

If you’ve been wanting to get your home in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons, you’re in luck.  This Old House, the longtime PBS home remodeling show, is seeking Arizona homes for renovation. Give them your tired, your poor, and your stuccoed houses for consideration, but you’ll have…

10 Best New Phoenix Murals of 2015

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…

13 Cool Things We Saw During First Friday in Downtown Phoenix on December 4

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…

Artist Chip Thomas, a.k.a. Jetsonorama, on Cultural Stereotypes, Grassroots Activism, and Life on the Navajo Reservation

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…

What Pantone Color of 2016 Are You: Rose Quartz, Serenity, or Both?

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…

5 Events and Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

New Times picks the best arts and culture events and things to do from November 30 through December 3. ZooLights Your neighbor Carl and his Christmas display have nothing on ZooLights, the Phoenix Zoo’s annual showcase of flora and fauna dazzlingly constructed from millions of colorful bulbs. This year the zoo’s…