Press RoomPhoenix Art Museum hosts Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest Launch Party and free Family Funday in October
Phoenix Art Museum hosts Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest Launch Party and free Family Funday in October
Sep, 27, 2023
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Phoenix Art Museum hosts Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest Launch Party and free Family Funday in October
PHOENIX (September 27, 2023) – This October, Phoenix Art Museum will open for free on Sunday, October 29 for PhxArt Family Funday, with complimentary admission to every gallery and exhibition, live music, art-making workshops, and specialty food and drink experiences inspired by upcoming special-engagement Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory. PhxArt will also host Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest Launch Party on Wednesday, October 4, activated by live performances and art-making activities. Additional October programming includes Cine Cubano: My Two Moms – A Story of Separation, a National Theatre Live simulcast screening of Frankenstein, artist talks, and much more.
FREE-ACCESS EVENT PhxArt Family Funday October 29 | 10 am – 5 pm Complimentary admission | Free-access event Enjoy free Museum admission all day from 10 am – 5 pm, including access to special-engagement MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene. Beginning at noon, the Museum will host live performances in the galleries, art making, demonstrations, and hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages and abilities inspired by upcoming exhibition Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory, including:
Music by Tatiana Crespo
Storytelling performances with Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community College
Puppet performance by Dain Q. Gore
Art-making activities celebrating Dia de los Muertos
Food and beverages with ARTenders and El Fogón de Joy
+ much more
PhxArt Family Fundays are made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.
OPENING SOON Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory November 5, 2023 – February 5, 2024 Organized by Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory is the first major retrospective to explore the historically significant work and career of Amalia Mesa-Bains, who has been heralded as a pioneer of feminist and Chicanx art. Mesa-Bains’ artistic contributions have been well recognized, including by a MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 1992. Archaeology of Memory brings together for the first time nearly 60 works created over 45 years, including the artist’s renowned altar-installations, in a long-overdue celebration of her enduring impact on contemporary art both within and beyond the United States. Visitors can also examine the artist’s lesser-studied handmade books and palimpsest prints characterized by her signature archeological aesthetic of layering and excavation.
Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory is organized by Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. The exhibition is made possible by generous lead support from the Henry Luce Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by María Esther Fernández, Inaugural Artistic Director of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, and Laura E. Pérez, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Latinx Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Christian Ramírez, the Museum’s Assistant Curator of Contemporary and Community Art Initiatives. Corporate Partner Kimpton Hotel Palomar. All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.
FEATURED OCTOBER EVENTS Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest Launch Party October 4 | 6 – 9 pm Free for Members and the general public during Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesday Each year, Indigenous Peoples’ Day (IPD) Phoenix Fest brings together more than 3,000 attendees to uplift and amplify the work of nearly 100 individuals representing Indigenous-owned businesses and organizations, Indigenous artists and creatives, and non-Indigenous Valley partners and supporters who help plan the multi-day celebration.
To kick-off this year’s IPD Phoenix Fest, join Local Matriarch, an Indigenous womxn-led social enterprise that focuses on empowering Indigenous womxn, for a Launch Party, hosted in partnership with Cahokia Phx and at Phoenix Art Museum. This celebration marks the beginning of a full week of festivities to “Indigenize the Valley.”
The event line-up will include:
Opening ceremony and blessing by Grupo Coatlicue
Art by Liv Barney, Stephanie Guillermina Castro, Carrie Sage “CC” Curley, Isela “Chela” Meraz Rodriguez, and Selina Scott
Performances by Ayling Dominguez Lydia Martinez, Armanda Smith, and TransQueer Pueblo.
Sounds by DJ Muchacho Mike
Art activity with Las Flores de Frida
Nourishment by El Fogón de Joy, The Rez an Urban Eatery, and Skoden Coffee
The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest 2023 Launch Party is organized by Local Matriarch in partnership with Cahokia and Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of John and Lois Rogers.
Now Showing: 8 ½ Wednesday, October 4 | 6 PM Free for Members | $8 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall. Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a movie director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. Director Federico Fellini’s 8½ (Otto e mezzo) turns one man’s artistic crisis into an epic of the cinema. An early working title for 8½ was The Beautiful Confusion and Fellini’s masterpiece is exactly that: a shimmering dream, a circus, and a magic act. Not Rated. Estimated runtime: 2.3 h. Tickets are available for reservation here.
Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.
Cine Cubano /// My Two Moms – A Story of Separation Summer Film Series Sponsored by Lisa Sette Gallery October 11 | 6 pm Free for Members | $8 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall PhxArt presents Cine Cubano, a four-film series sponsored by Lisa Sette Gallery that celebrates Cuba’s rich history and culture through the medium of cinema. All films are presented in Spanish with English subtitles.
Olga Merediz, a well-known New York-based actress, decides to return to her birthplace, Guantanamo, Cuba, to reunite with the nanny her family was forced to leave behind after the Cuban revolution. Tickets are available for reservation here.
This film series is made possible by the Lisa Sette Gallery.
Artist Talk: Narsiso Martínez October 18 | 6 – 7:30 pm Free for Members and the general public during Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesday Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Hear from Narsiso Martínez as he discusses his personal history and the aesthetic influences informing Sin Bandana (2022), a recent acquisition by Phoenix Art Museum, on view now in the Katz Wing.
Born in Santa Cruz Papalutla, Oaxaca, Narsiso Martínez creates sculptures and large multi-media installations, depicting richly detailed portraits of migrant farmworkers amid lush, agricultural landscapes on discarded cardboard produce boxes. Drawing on diverse influences from 1930s social realism to street art and informed by his life experience growing up in a small Oaxacan farming town, Martínez combines charcoal, gouache, gold leaf, and collage to produce portraits of industrious field workers layered atop cardboard produce boxes, creating a powerful juxtaposition illustrating the dichotomy of the life of the worker versus the punchy text of the corporate food industry. Tickets are available for reservation here.
Art Talk is made possible in part by the generosity of the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.
Public Talk: The Garment League October 21 | Noon – 1 pm Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. From high fashion to street fashion, garments today touch on big themes, such as identity, consumerism, self-authenticity, group identification, politics, and pleasure. Join us for a panel discussion about these issues with designer Aalim Hughey and boutique owner Mika Jerry, moderated by The Garment League founder Tricee Thomas. More information available soon at phxart.org.
National Theatre Live: Frankenstein October 22 | 1 – 4 pm $10 for Members | $15 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Bewildered and alone, Frankenstein’s creature is cast out into a hostile universe. Faced with cruelty everywhere he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful creature is determined to track down his creator. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller bring this thrilling and disturbing classic tale back to life, captured live on stage in 2011. Rated R. Estimated runtime: 2 h. Tickets are available here.
National Theatre Live screenings are made possible in part by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
OTHER EVENTS Storytime in the Galleries October 4 | 10:30 am Free for Members | Included in general admission for the general public Advance registration recommended. Designed for our youngest PhxArt visitors (ages 0-5) and their parents or caregivers, Storytime in the Galleries is a wonderful opportunity to share the joy of early literacy, art-inspired play, and hands-on learning with family and friends. The Storytime in the Galleries series is offered on the first Wednesday of each month inside the Museum. Tickets are available for reservation here.
Storytime in the Galleries is made possible in part by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.
Object of the Month: You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies by Yayoi Kusama October 5, 7, 19, 26| 11:30 am Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public Like stars in the galaxy, hundreds of LED lights flicker in rhythmic patterns that seem to suspend space and time. Beloved infinity mirror room You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies (2006) by Yayoi Kusama has relocated adjacent to the Art of Asia wing on the Museum’s first floor. Join Museum Docent Liz O’Brien to explore the kaleidoscopic environment and learn about this prolific contemporary artist and pioneer of perceptual experience. For more information, click here.
Weekly Virtual Mindfulness Sessions October 5, 12, 19, 26| Noon Free for Members | $5 suggested donation for the general public Scientific studies show the art of mindfulness can relieve anxiety, depression, pain, and stress and actually change the way we feel, think, work, and play by opening new pathways in the brain. Presented in collaboration with Hospice of the Valley, this free, 30-minute, at-home mindfulness session promotes living in the present. This session is hosted live on Zoom, a video-conference platform. For more information, click here.
Lemon Art Research LibraryBook Club: Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem, A Memoir by Daniel Day October 21 | 1:30 pm Free for Members and the general public Presented in the Lemon Art Research Library Join librarian Jesse Lopez for a short presentation highlighting some of the Lemon Art Research Library’s fashion resources available to the public for free, including our Vogue archive and special fashion collections, with an emphasis on contemporary hip-hop fashion books. Afterwards, discuss the autobiography of revolutionary designer Dapper Dan, a visionary who merged hip-hop aesthetic and high fashion at the turn of the 20th century. More information available soon at phxart.org.
FREE-ACCESS PROGRAMS Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays Every Wednesday | 3 – 9 pm Voluntary-donation general admission SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $6 for adults | FREE for Museum Members and Maricopa County Community College students* From 3 – 9 pm every Wednesday, the Museum offers voluntary-donation general admission and reduced rates to view special-engagement exhibitions.
Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays are made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. *The Maricopa County Community College District program at Phoenix Art Museum (MC3@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.
PhxArt Family Funday October 29 10 am – 5 pmComplimentary admission | Free-access dayAt select times throughout the year, Phoenix Art Museum hosts PhxArt Family Fundays, an all-ages, free-access day with complimentary admission to every gallery and exhibition and arts-engagement programming suitable for visitors of all ages, interests, and abilities.
PhxArt Family Fundays are made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.
PhxArt AfterHours December 1, 2023 5 – 9 pmComplimentary admission | Free-access eventAt select times throughout the year, Phoenix Art Museum opens for free after dark for PhxArt AfterHours, activated by live music, art-making workshops, specialty food and drink experiences, and other performances and entertainment. Visit the Museum during an AfterHours event to expand the way you interact with art.
PhxArt AfterHours are made possible through the generosity of Corporate Partner Sponsor APS.
Free Admission for Maricopa County Community Colleges Students Through the MC3@PAM program at PhxArt, all Maricopa County Community Colleges students who attend any of the 10 colleges or affiliated skill centers will enjoy free general admission to PhxArt, including admission into special-engagement exhibitions. Visitors must present an active student ID at the time of admission.
The Maricopa County Community College District program at Phoenix Art Museum (MC3@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.
SCHOOL AND ADULT TOURS On-site school and adult tours have returned to Phoenix Art Museum. To learn more about school-tour offerings and planning a school visit, click here. For adult and college group tour requests, click here.
In addition, Phoenix Art Museum offers live virtual presentations for school classrooms and community organizations. For more information on Virtual Classroom Visits, click here. For more information on Virtual Presentations for Adults, click here.
School Tours and Virtual Classroom Visits are made possible in part by Carolyn Dunkin Schulte Educational Endowment Fund, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs and William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs.
PHXARTIST SPOTLIGHTS Presented by Phoenix Art Museum, PhxArtist Spotlight is a monthly series that explores what inspires and motivates Valley creatives, while leveraging the Museum’s reach in its community to support and expand awareness of working artists. Each month, the Museum highlights a different artist working in Arizona, posting a Q&A with the artist and images of their work on the Museum’s Instagram and Facebook channels and on the Museum’s bilingual blog. The artist is also highlighted in a monthly email sent to Museum Members, Circles of Support donors, and a subscriber list of more than 65,000 followers.For more information on the series, click here. For recent spotlights on Armida Kielty and Blaise Danio, click here.
About Phoenix Art Museum Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.
