See us again, for the first time
You only pass this way once. You gotta give it all you can.
– Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Leader, 1940-2020
This brief experience known as life is made up of a series of firsts. Your first word. Your first steps. Your first car. Your first kiss. At Phoenix Art Museum, we often hear from guests about their first visit to see us, which is often their first visit to any art museum. The Monet in our European wing was their first Impressionist painting. The Suicide of Dorothy Hale was their first Frida Kahlo. Kusama’s Fireflies was the first time they explored the universe without leaving Arizona. And soon, firsts give way to seconds, thirds, and fourths, those visits when we seek out old favorites, when we discover that as changeable as this world may be, there are touchstones that will bring us back to ourselves once more.
Through the generosity of The Steele Foundation, we’ve been given the opportunity to try and tell that story—to record those experiences you’ve shared with us—through the Museum’s first short film: The First Time.
The First Time is a love letter, of sorts, from Phoenix Art Museum. And like any good love letter that waxes poetic about the moment when two star-crossed lovers meet, this film is the story of the first time the Museum met you.
Image credit: Alfredo Ramos Martinez, La Malinche (Young Girl of Yalala, Oaxaca) (detail), c. 1940. Oil on canvas. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Mexican Art.
CONTENTS
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Letter from the Director
I am exceptionally grateful that, beginning October 1, the Museum’s doors will re-open, and we will be able to welcome back each of you, our valued Members, into the galleries. You will soon be able to experience not one, but two exciting headlining exhibitions.
Letter from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
It goes without saying: we are living through extraordinary and unexpected times that no one could have imagined. More than anything, I hope this digital issue of PhxArt Magazine finds you and your loved ones safe, healthy, and cared for as we navigate the immense challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PhxArt News
Phoenix Art Museum is now open to Members and will re-open to the public on October 14. Learn about our new COVID-19 visitor policies and procedures, and save the date for spring fundraisers that will benefit the arts in our community.
Virtual Annual Meeting: The State of the Museum
Join Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum, along with members of the Board of Trustees and Museum staff, for a socially distanced State of the Museum that explores the progress the Museum has made in pursuit of its goals to provide all people with increased access to arts and culture.
Alternate Realities
Stories of Abstraction: Contemporary Latin American Art in the Global Context focuses on post-1990s abstract art from Latin America to uncover how abstraction in the region developed and continues to serve as a powerful tool to examine key social issues, generate new narratives, and incite political change.
By Water, By Fire
Teresita Fernández: Elemental presents nearly 60 large-scale works that expand on notions of landscape and the psychology of looking and reinterpret the relationship between material, history, nature, and the sociopolitical references tied to place.
We have so much for you to see. Explore exhibitions on view now.
We have so much for you to do. Discover all events happening now.
BECOME A MEMBER
This is your chance to see Phoenix Art Museum as only Museum Members can. When you become a Member of the Museum, not only do enjoy incredible, exclusive benefits, from exhibition opening celebrations to unlimited admission all year long, but you make a bold statement about yourself and your values.
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We want you to join our art community. Explore current job openings, internships, and more at Phoenix Art Museum.
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We rely on the generosity of those who give at every level to maintain our free-access programs. No gift is too small. Donate to Phoenix Art Museum and help assure we can continue to open doors for the future.
MoreABOUT US
Through the 60-year history of Phoenix Art Museum, our ability to open doors, grow, innovate, and imagine has been made possible through the heroic dedication and support of our community.
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