^ I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. Some of the best things we’ve seen so far in 2021 include new creative spaces, pandemic focus areas, collaborating with murals, exhibitions, and more. Here is a review of 10 highlights from the first half of this year’s art and culture scene in Metro Phoenix. EXPAND Explore part of the bilingual bookstore Palabras in Nurture House. Lynn Trimble Nurture HouseThe New Year saw a big move for one of the city’s most popular literary centers, Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, launched in 2015 by Rosaura “Chawa” Magaña as a community gathering place. Palabras was officially removed from the Miracle Mile area of. moves McDowell Road to 906 West Roosevelt Street in mid-January, which became the anchor for a creative space called the Nurture House. It’s also home to the Wasted Ink Zine Distro, which left its previous location at The Hive last year, as well as Abalone Mountain Press, Pachanga Press, and Por Vida Bakery. Filled with art by Jeff Slim, the space is a thriving community hub where diverse voices are raised and celebrated.FilmBar Outdoor ScreeningsFilmBar founder Kelly Aubey has taken one of the better steps in a year of pandemic focus and has come to Pemberton House Teamed up to present outdoor film screenings in the Roosevelt Row creative space, which also offers fitness activities, food trucks and other dining options. They stacked two shipping containers to create a backdrop for a movie screen and then added rows of plastic Adirondack chairs to create an outdoor cinema experience that kicked off in January. FilmBar also partnered with the Phoenix Art Museum, showing artful films in its courtyard before the heat moved those screenings indoors. EXPAND installation view of “Division of Labor: Women Shifting a Transnational Gaze”. Claire A. Warden ‘Division of Labor’ After the curators of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art invited the artists M. Jenea Sanchez and Gabriela Muñoz to a “critical examination” of the museum’s collection, the artists reacted by co- Curator of an exhibition, the possibilities that the museum can deepen and expand is the representation of Latinx voices. “Division of Labor: Women Shifting a Transnational Gaze” includes new works by 10 artists from the border areas as well as works from the museum’s collection and shows a way for collaborative processes that shed light on questions of work, identity and gaze. Works by The Violet Protest are on display at the Phoenix Art Museum. Ann Morton The Violet Protest, the multi-year participatory art project that Phoenix-based artist Ann Morton launched in 2019, reached a major milestone in the first half of this year when the Phoenix Art Museum opened an exhibition of the project in March. The exhibition includes 116 stacks of handmade textile squares made by manufacturers in all 50 countries in red and blue, forming the letters “U” and “S”. Another 8 by 8 inch squares are hung side by side like vertical banners across two gallery walls, while other walls are used to showcase individual squares. Taken together, the squares speak of the need for collaboration and civic engagement by counteracting narratives that aim to create or reinforce divisions. Xico Virtual Offers officially opened its new dig on Roosevelt Row in May and caused a sensation with this year’s repetition of its annual art auction. We love the new location with exhibition and workshop space, but the real standout about Xico in the first half of 2021 was its video series with local artists like Monica Gisel and Joe Ray, as well as other virtual offerings like exhibitions. Her videos, which are often recorded in the creative’s own studios and in which artists talk about their different backgrounds and inspirations, offer a fascinating insight into the depth and breadth of talent in the Valley of the Sun. EXPAND El Mac and Thomas “Breeze” Marcus painted this mural in downtown Phoenix. Downtown Phoenix, Inc. El Mac and Breeze MuralIn a year of creative collaborations, one of our favorites is a mural painted by Miles “El Mac” McGregor and Thomas “Breeze” Marcus in downtown Phoenix. Not yet titled, the towering piece on First and Monroe Streets channels the indigenous peoples of the area, centers the face of a young woman who lives in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community and features designs inspired by Akimel and Tohono O ‘ surrounds. Odham wicker. For the artists who completed the mural in April, it was a chance to connect the visual culture of downtown with the culture of their original peoples and see the long road of their enduring influence on the region. EXPAND Nicole Olson choreographed the work for Breaking Ground 2021. Rick Meinecke Breaking GroundTempe-based dance company CONDER / dance presented the latest version of their Breaking Ground dance and film festival online this year instead of performing live at the Tempe Center for the Arts, where The Festival has been a cultural highlight in the region for many years. Choreographers presented compelling works that reflect the realities of contemporary life, including the pandemic and systemic social injustice, creating a meaningful virtual experience for audiences whose access to traditional art spaces was drastically restricted in the first half of the year. The reopening of the Burton Barr Central Library was cause for celebration. Lynn Trimble Burton Barr ReopeningResidents who love the Burton Barr Central Library remember the 2017 storm that left the flagship of the Phoenix Public Library system closed for almost a year, an experience that made it even more difficult, more than a year due to COVID-19 closures ordered in March 2020. Seeing the Burton Barr Central Library and other library branches gradually resume personal service beginning in April signals hope for the city’s literary and cultural life and lets us celebrate the physical return of this cherished common space. EXPAND The Rocking S Art Ranch is taking shape in Phoenix. Patricia Sannit Rocking S Art Ranch A new creative space took shape this year when artist Patricia Sannit announced plans to convert three buildings and common areas on a 6,000-square-meter site into an artist’s area with individual studios and shared workspaces. The place is near 32nd Street and Thomas Road and is called Rocking S Art Ranch. The open house kicked off in April, though Sannit says it will take several months to renovate the space. Lauren Lee, whose lively wall paintings shape the landscape of the metropolis of Phoenix, is one of several artists who have already reserved studio space on the site, where a few studios are still available. EXPAND Angela Ellsworth, Chiaroveggente: As Above, So Below (33.487549, -112.073994), 2019, 15,696 beaded corsage pins, colored clothes pins, fabric, steel, 46 “x 12” X 15 “Lisa Sette Gallery ‘Things We Carry’ Lisa Sette Gallery combined fascinating works by up-and-coming artists and collaborators Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Fresquez with compelling pieces by Angela Ellsworth, creating a visual conversation about personal narratives, identity, societal expectations and spatial demands. The artists explore what Sette “the radical The exhibition is characterized by its conceptual and aesthetic rigor, which wonderfully reflects the feminism that these artists represent in the context of their own personal history and dreams for the future. Keep Phoenix New Times Free … Since we were Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix and we would like to Keeping it that way Your readers have free access to concise coverage of local news, food and culture. We produce stories about everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with bold reporting, stylish writing, and staff who have won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Feature Writing Award to the Casey- Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with the existence of local journalism under siege and the setbacks in advertising revenues having a bigger impact, it is now more important than ever for us to raise funds to fund our local journalism. You can help by joining our “I Support” membership program which allows us to continue to cover Phoenix without paywalls. Lynn Trimble is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer specializing in the arts and culture, including the visual and performing arts
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