By Mike Saucier Phoenix was once edging toward the day the music died. Just seven years ago, Phoenix Symphony was a week away from bankruptcy, spending more than it could take in. The musicians had taken a 19 percent pay cut (and had been promised a restoration payment, or snapback, the following summer). Meantime, Jim […]

Scottsdale Arts has hired two new directors with previous ties to the organization to lead its departments of public art and finance/administration. Kim Curry-Evans, currently public art director for the Office of Raleigh Arts in North Carolina, will start her new job on Sept. 11, taking over for Donna Isaac, who retired in June and […]

Jaime Dempsey who was recently named the new executive director of Arizona Commission on the Arts, effective in August, has been awarded the 2017 Gabe Zimmerman Award for Public Service in the emerging leader category by the Center for the Future of Arizona. This award recognizes those under the age of 40 who are committed […]

As part of its all-new Summer Music Series, Phoenix Theatre is keeping audiences entertained during the Valley’s warmer months. The theatre is partnering with local musicians for four cabaret-style performances in the Mainstage Theatre. On Friday, July 21, Brian Chartrand will perform American folk and rock music. Saturday, July 22 will feature the blues tunes […]

Mesa Arts Center announced the selection of 20 proposals for the City of Mesa’s first prototyping festival – Main Street Prototyping Festival, slated for Nov. 17 and 18, 2017. Artists, architects, designers, students, makers, urban planners and others have been selected to create temporary projects that activate public space and engage the community toward enhancing […]

The nonprofit Scottsdale Arts has received a $100,000 grant from the Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation to support its new Scottsdale Arts Presents initiative. The award follows a $25,000 planning grant awarded by the Flinn Foundation to Scottsdale Arts in 2016. Scottsdale Arts Presents enables the organization to expand its reach, brand awareness and service to the […]

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture announced that it will award over $865,000 in grants to 54 nonprofit arts and culture organizations that serve Phoenix residents, such as the Heard Museum, Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Theatre and Phoenix Symphony Association. “Investment in arts and culture is vital to our economy and quality of life […]

By Tyler Butler Since I started this column I have made it a point to have the focus firmly set on the intersection where fashion meets philanthropy. Each month this column concentrates on causes and crusaders in an effort to share their stories of giving back.  This month I was approached with the opportunity to […]

By Jamie Killin Tom Franco is part artist and part activist. Earlier this month, the exhibit he created with his brother and Academy Award-nominated actor, James Franco, opened at the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center. The exhibit, “Pipe Brothers: Tom and James Franco,” which comprises nine 750 pound pipes, carved and painted with the […]

By Jamie Killin It turns out there’s not much that Chris Isaak can’t do. The “Wicked Game” singer is a Grammy Award-nominated rock artist, movie and television actor and it turns out he has another secret talent — drawing. He cartoons two to three hours a day. A hobby he said he developed as a […]