Press RoomPhoenix Art Museum hosts Day of the Dead First Friday and Lenhardt Lecture; celebrates 65th anniversary with free admission
Phoenix Art Museum hosts Day of the Dead First Friday and Lenhardt Lecture; celebrates 65th anniversary with free admission
Oct, 30, 2024
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Phoenix Art Museum hosts Day of the Dead First Friday and Lenhardt Lecture; celebrates 65th anniversary with free admission
PHOENIX (October 30, 2024) – In November, Phoenix Art Museum will host a Day of the Dead First Friday on November 1, activated by a community alter, free general admission, live music, art programming, and specialty food and drink experiences. The Museum will additionally host an all-day celebration of its 65 years as an arts leader in Arizona on November 20, featuring free general admission, Membership deals, activities and more.
FEATURED FREE-ACCESS PROGRAMS Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays Every Wednesday | 3 – 8 pm Voluntary-donation general admission SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $7 for adults | $5 for youth under 17 | FREE for Museum Members and Maricopa County Community College students*
Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays are made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix.
Free Admission for Maricopa County Community Colleges Students All Maricopa County Community Colleges students enjoy free general admission to PhxArt, including admission into special-engagement exhibitions. Active student ID required. The Maricopa County Community College District program at Phoenix Art Museum (MC3@PAM) is made possible through the generosity of Men’s Arts Council.
Military Discount PhxArt now offers discounted admission to active-duty U.S. military personnel and veterans throughout the year. Qualified members must show a valid ID on-site to receive $5 off general admission tickets.
FEATURED EVENTS First Friday: Día de los Muertos November 1 | 5 – 8 pm Voluntary-donation general admission SPECIAL-EXHIBITION TICKETS: $7 for Adults | $5 for Youth (6-17) First Fridays at PhxArt are back, activated by free general admission, live music, art programming, and specialty food and drink experiences. This November First Friday, celebrate Día de los Muertos with:
A veladora (candle) workshop and mini altar with Crafty Chica (@craftychica)
In-gallery sketching with artist Aileen Martinez (@look.see.draw)
Dancing Puppeteers with Cultural Coalition (@culturalcoaz)
Bilingual Docent Tours
Specialty food and beverage experiences with ARTenders, El Fogón de Joy (@elfogondejoy), Sloppy Toppings (@sloppy_toppings), and Harlem Coffee (@drinkharlem)
November First Friday at PhxArt is made possible through the generosity of JPMorganChase, APS, and Lexus.
LEARN // Art Talk: The Art of Larry Bell November 7 | 6 – 7:30 pm Free for Members | $5 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Join us for an engaging dialogue celebrating the six-decade career of renowned experimental artist Larry Bell. This in-depth conversation with Rachel Zebro, associate curator of collections, will reveal Bell’s illuminating practice working with glass, sculptures, and mixed-media collages. Visitors will be able to witness the artist’s work on view in Larry Bell: Improvisations. Tickets are available for reservation here.
Art Talks are made possible by the generosity of the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs. Art Talk: The Art of Larry Bell is made possible through in-kind support provided by FoundRE Hotel Phoenix.
PhxArt Family Funday November 10 | 10 am – 5 pm Complimentary admission | Free-access event PhxArt Family Funday returns, activated by free admission, art-making workshops, and specialty food and drink experiences, including:
Paper propagation art-making activity with Paper Jam (@paper.jam.print)
Meet-and-greet with artists of Reflections of Us, with La Morena and students from Marcos De Niza High School in the community art gallery located in the admin building
PhxArt Family Fundays are made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Men’s Arts Council.
LEARN // Lenhardt Lecture: Eamon Ore-Giron November 13 | Lecture @ 6:30 pm Free for Members | $5 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall.Limited capacity. Join multimedia artist Eamon Ore-Giron for the fall Lenhardt Lecture. Eamon Ore-Giron (b.1973, Tucson) blends a wide range of visual styles and influences in the brightly colored abstract geometric paintings he is best known for. Referencing Indigenous and craft traditions, as well as 20th century avant-gardes, his paintings move between temporalities and resonate across cultural contexts. During his presentation, Ore-Giron will preview the large-scale site-specific work he is creating exclusively for PhxArt’s Greenbaum Lobby. Tickets are available for reservation here.
This event is made possible through the generosity of the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative.
PhxArt 65th Anniversary Celebration November 20 | 10 am – 8 pm Free for Members and voluntary general admission for the general public PhxArt is thrilled to announce an all-day celebration of its 65th birthday and an arts leader in Arizona. Celebrate with:
Free general admission all day
$65 Individual Plus Memberships, available exclusively on-site
An array of Museum milestones, including past anniversary celebration programs, invitations, photography, and more with Museum Archivist Aspen Reynolds
Collage-making with Cut+Paste
Live music with DJents (@djents) from 5 – 7:30 pm
Specialty beverage experiences with ARTenders
The first PhxArt x State48 T-shirt collaboration sold exclusively onsite and online
NOW OPEN Charles Gaines: 1992–2023 Through March 9, 2025 A preeminent figure in conceptual art, Charles Gaines is widely known for converting images and text-based documents into numerical structures, musical notations, and other sign systems through rigorous translation mechanisms. In 1992, Gaines’s practice underwent a pivotal shift when he began to replace non-descript images with critical theory frameworks, ranging from the writings of Franz Kafka and Frantz Fanon to the manifestos of the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement. By doing so, Gaines has channeled decolonial discourses into complex formal and conceptual works, in addition to combining different media such as video and sound. Charles Gaines: 1992-2023 features a selection of works from series that Gaines has worked on since 1992 to demonstrate the evolution of his approach to transforming images, texts, and diverse materials into a distinct visual language.
Charles Gaines: 1992–2023 is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and curated by Gean Moreno, Director of ICA Miami’s Knight Foundation Art + Research Center. Its presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Olga Viso, Selig Family Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and made possible through the generosity of Men’s Arts Council, Carl and Marilynn Thoma, the National Endowment of the Arts, Hauser & Wirth, Ellen and Howard C. Katz and Ten Figures. In-kind support provided by Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix. Thank you to community members who contributed to exhibition interpretation and content: Bryan Beckon, artist and PhxArt gallery attendant; Raquel Gomez, founder of Atabey Outdoors; Ashley LaRae Sampson, image and brand consultant, business and spiritual advisor, and art advocate; Rashaad Thomas, poet, freelance journalist, scholar, activist, and genre-fluid artist; and Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor of Geography and African American Studies, Arizona State University. 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. The presentation of Charles Gaines: 1992–2023 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami was made possible through major support provided by Hauser & Wirth, the Nicoll Family Fund, and The Steven and Kathy Guttman Family Foundation. Additional support was provided by Funding Arts Network and by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. Thanks to ICA Miami’s Leadership Partner Cartier for their support of this exhibition.
Charles Gaines: Numbers and Trees (Arizona Series) Through July 20, 2025 Charles Gaines: Numbers and Trees (Arizona Series) debuts the complete series of the most recent body of work by renowned conceptual artist Charles Gaines, Numbers and Trees: Arizona Trees 1, 2023. The image of the tree has been central to Gaines’ practice since the 1970s, and since then, he has examined a variety of species, including California walnuts and palms to southern pecans. This new series features eight large-scale triptychs depicting cottonwoods that were photographed along the San Pedro River outside Sierra Vista, AZ. The trees were then plotted with specific colors and a numbered grid reflecting the full form before sequentially overlaying the trees.
Charles Gaines: Numbers and Trees (Arizona Series) is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and curated by Olga Viso, Selig Family Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs. It is made possible through the generosity of Men’s Arts Council, Carl and Marilynn Thoma, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Exhibition Endowment Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Hauser & Wirth, Ellen and Howard Katz, Jane and Mal Jozoff, Ten Figures, and Avnet. Thank you to community members who contributed to exhibition interpretation and content: Bryan Beckon, artist and PhxArt gallery attendant; Raquel Gomez, founder of Atabey Outdoors; Ashley LaRae Sampson, image and brand consultant, business and spiritual advisor, and art advocate; Rashaad Thomas, poet, freelance journalist, scholar, activist, and genre-fluid artist; and Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor of Geography and African American Studies, Arizona State University. 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.
Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion Through February 8, 2026 Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion is a “living” exhibition that will feature 3 unique versions of the exhibition, with garments rotated over 18 months to showcase over 100 of the collection’s finest works. The exhibition is the first major investigation into the formation of the renowned PhxArt fashion collection.
The Collection: Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and curated by Helen Jean, the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design at Phoenix Art Museum, with Catherine Wise, the Hirabayashi Intern in Fashion Design, and Summer Rye, Intern. It is made possible by Arizona Costume Institute and the Kelly Ellman Fashion Endowment Fund. 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
CLOSING SOON Laura Aguilar: Nudes in Nature Closing November 17, 2024 Showcasing photographic works by the groundbreaking yet underrecognized artist, Laura Aguilar, who challenged perceptions of beauty by examining the female body in dialogue with the natural world.
Laura Aguilar: Nudes in Nature is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. It is co-curated by Sybil Venegas and Christopher Velasco, trustees of the Laura Aguilar Estate. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Emilia Mickevicius, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography at Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation, with additional significant support provided by Joan Cremin.
KIDS // Storytime November 7 | 10:30 am Free for Members | Included in general admission for the general public Advance registration recommended. For more information, click here.
Storytime is made possible by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs, and Legacy Traditional Schools.
1999 Film Series is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films and Zia Records. Performing Arts Programming at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible in part by the generosity of the Angel and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
1999 Film Series is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films and Zia Records. Performing Arts Programming at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible in part by the generosity of the Angel and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
1999 Film Series is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films and Zia Records. Performing Arts Programming at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible in part by the generosity of the Angel and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
1999 Film Series is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films and Zia Records. Performing Arts Programming at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible in part by the generosity of the Angel and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
1999 Film Series is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films and Zia Records. Performing Arts Programming at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible in part by the generosity of the Angel and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
PhxArt Date Night November 22 | 6 – 8 pm Free for Members | Included with general admission for the general public For more information, click here.
FILM // Now Showing: Perfect Days November 24 | 1 pm Free for Members | $8 for the general public Presented in Whiteman Hall. Limited capacity. Tickets are available for reservation here.
Films@PhxArt is made possible by Fit Via Vi Films.
About Phoenix Art Museum Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.
