Phoenix Art Museum expands voluntary-donation hours in February; new exhibition opening soon

Feb, 09, 2022

Exhibitions and Special InstallationsMedia Alerts

Phoenix Art Museum expands voluntary-donation hours in February; new exhibition opening soon

PHOENIX (February 9, 2022) – This February, Phoenix Art Museum has now expanded it’s free community hours, known as voluntary-donation hours, in February. New exhibition Breaking Up will be opening soon, while Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989 is now on view. Additional virtual programs and in-person events with limited capacity will take place, including Storytime in the Garden.

For a full list of exhibitions on view now at Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org/art/exhibitions/. For information on the Museum’s COVID-19 visitor policies and procedures, click here.

OPENING SOON
Breaking Up
February 26 – December 31, 2022
Breaking Up illuminates the many ways in which contemporary artists explore themes of deconstruction and fragmentation through their evolving practices. Through a wide selection of paintings, photographs, installations, and digital-media works drawn from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum, the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation Collection, and various private collections of local artists, Breaking Up examines how contemporary artists explore different types of fragmentation, or “breaking up,” through their work.

Works by Nancy Rubins, Deborah Butterfield, Rivane Neuenschwander, Lia Chaia, and Cornelia Parker illuminate the process of deconstructing everyday objects or materials like wood, paper, metal, and incense to create alternative structures and spaces that hold new meaning beyond their repurposed media. Other works by Angela Ellsworth, Janet Toro, and Frida Orupabo take apart and reconfigure one of the most familiar forms: the human body. Finally, videos, drawings, and more by Michal Rovner, Uta Barth, and Tacita Dean, as well as Arizona-based artists Marie Navarre, Beth Ames Swartz, Ronna Nemitz, Jessica Palomo, and Kristin Bauer, encourage viewers to consider the many ways in which trauma, loss, and abandonment affect perception, memory, language, and the human mind.

Breaking Up is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

ON VIEW NOW
Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989
On view through June 26, 2022
Following World War II, as Japan emerged from the lingering shadow of U.S. military occupation (1945-1952), contemporary Japanese photographers undertook an aggressive reassessment of the photographic medium, breaking from photojournalism’s norms of objective description and instead adopting a radically expressive, subjective, and critical approach: are-bure-boke (literally translated to “rough, blurred, and out-of-focus”). In 1988 and 1990, through grants from the Hitachi Corporation, the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) acquired 87 works by 19 of these photographers, including Daidō Moriyama, Masahisa Fukase, Miyako Ishiuchi, and Eikoh Hosoe, all of whom promoted the new, gritty aesthetic. Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989 displays all 87 of these prints from CCP’s collection together for the first time since they were acquired.

Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989 is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. It is made possible through the generosity of the John R. and Doris Norton Center for Creative Photography Endowment Fund, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

FEATURED FEBRUARY 2022 EVENTS
Expanded Voluntary-Donation Hours
Wednesdays 3-9 pm | First Fridays 3-9 pm
Phoenix Art Museum has, for the first time in two years, expanded it’s voluntary donation hours to provide 30 hours of free-access time for the community each month. New voluntary-donation hours will be offered every Wednesday, from 3-9 pm for Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays, and each First Friday from 3-9 pm. February also marked the first time in two years that Phoenix Art Museum has resumed programming and activities during First Fridays, and will continue to do so through 2022, with programming from 5-9 pm on the first Friday of each month. For the first time in two years, enjoy art, music and live poetry at First Friday!

New Storytime in the Garden Series
March 2 | 10:30 am
Free for Members | $21 for the general public
Limited capacity. Advance registration required.
Phoenix Art Museum now offers a monthly Storytime in the Garden series designed for our youngest Museum visitors (ages 0-5) and their parents or caregivers. Share the joy of early literacy and art-inspired play as families and friends are invited for hands-on learning in the Dorrance Sculpture Garden. Bring your own blanket and come prepared for outdoor fun! The Storytime in the Garden series will be offered on the first Wednesday each month. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Storytime in the Garden is made possible in part by Carolyn Dunkin Schulte Educational Endowment Fund, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, and William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Educational Programs.

FEBRUARY 2022 EVENTS
Object of the Month
February 17, 24 | 11:30 am
Free for Members | Included with general admission
Contemporary artist, Kehinde Wiley, influenced by 15th century Flemish painter Hans Memling, has created three portraits that challenge our perceptions and how we look at European art. Join the conversation with Docent Nancy Levin to explore how Wiley asks viewers to consider how power and are depicted in these contemporary triptychs. Tickets are available here.

Weekly Virtual Mindfulness Sessions
February 10, 17, 24 | Noon
Free for Members | $5 suggested donation for the 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.

FREE-ACCESS TIMES
Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays
Every Wednesday | 3 – 9 pm
Voluntary-donation general admission
SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $5 for Adults | FREE for Museum Members and veterans/active-duty military*
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 the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

*The Military Access Program at Phoenix Art Museum (MAP@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Hong and Doris Ong, Nancy Hanley Eriksson, and Shamrock Foods Foundation.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND ADULT TOURS
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and as in-person, on-site tours for schools remain suspended until further notice, Phoenix Art Museum now offers live Virtual Classroom Visits. The Museum also offers Virtual Presentations for Adults to bring art-engagement opportunities to the community.

PhxArt Virtual Classroom Visits
Led by Museum Docents, the institution’s corps of volunteer educators, PhxArt Virtual Classroom Visits engage students with various art-related topics that complement classroom curriculum. These live virtual art presentations can be presented on a range of video platforms for a fee of $25 per presentation, with free or reduced-cost Virtual Classroom Visits available for Title-I schools. For more information, click here.

PhxArt Virtual Presentations for Adults
PhxArt Virtual Presentations for Adults are available for both community-serving institutions and private groups of 10 adults or more. Led by Museum Docents, these live, image-based presentations explore various themes related to the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 artworks from around the world, creating opportunities for meaningful peer interaction and engagement. For more information, click here.

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, many of whom have been deeply impacted by the economic effects of COVID-19. 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 Jerome Myers and Mark Peterman, 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 the4 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.