54 MEGALOPOLITAN LIFE BEST ARTIST TO KEEP AN EYE ON ANDY BROWN INSTAGRAM.COM/SLEISURE Ever wonder where you end up if you crawl through a secret dimensional portal carved into the arm of a saguaro by unknowable, possibly mystical forces? No? You will after you’ve seen the desert-inspired work of Sunnyslope artist Andy Brown. A self-taught polymath and Phoenix native, Brown has had decades to let the stark, haunting land- scape of his hometown metabolize in the creative recesses of his brain. As a child growing up first in the West Valley and then in north Phoenix, he was inspired by graffiti, zines, skating, punk and hip-hop. “I was also inspired by life, the things happening around me,” he once said in an interview. That shows in his work. He practices in a tradi- tion that tiptoes up to surrealism but includes too much personal idiosyncrasy to fit in one stylistic bucket. Now he’s onto his next endeavor: moving away from psyche- delic saguaro paintings to innovative three- dimensional pieces. Go check him out. i i i BEST LONG-TIME ART PROJECT MILLENNIUM CAMERA Mark your calendar for March 6, 3015. That’s not a typo. It’s the day ASU Art Museum plans to display a photo 10 centu- ries in the making. It was more than a decade ago that artist and photographer Jonathon Keats set up a small pinhole camera in the museum’s South Sculpture Garden overlooking the entrance. Built with copper and coated in gold to prevent corrosion, the camera is currently taking a photo with a 1,000-year exposure time to capture slow changes and the role that people today played in what’s to come. Keats told Hyperallergic in 2024 that the camera will “create a relationship through time with those who are affected by our actions today, so that we can consider our actions from their perspective, from their vantage.” See if you can spot the small disc the next time you’re at the museum, and we’ll see you there in 989 years. i i i BEST STUDIO TOUR HIDDEN IN THE HILLS 480-575-6624 SONORANARTSLEAGUE.ORG/ HIDDEN-IN-THE-HILLS Artists in the northeast Valley (Carefree, Cave Creek and north Scottsdale) fling open their doors during the last two weekends in November to the public for free, and it’s impossible not to be a real estate looky-loo as you browse. The homes — like a whimsical abode with lime green, orange and purple walls or a serene, contemporary-meets- nature casa nestled in the Spur Cross Recre- ation Area — are a big part of the draw. The artwork more than holds up, as well. More than 40 locations are on the roster, often with multiple artists at each who meet and chat with visitors, and they showcase a range of mediums and price points. It’s easy to pick up a box of greeting cards, a pair of beaded earrings or a small glass serving dish adorned with a roadrunner. If you’ve got the dough, help yourself as well to that $10,000 metal sculpture. i i i BEST STOP ON FIRST FRIDAY THIRD RAIL PHX 1007 GRAND AVE. THIRDRAILPHX.COM It’s been a tumultuous year for First Friday. A number of violent incidents led orga- nizers to nix the event’s street fair and to reopen Roosevelt Street on those evenings. After a new First Friday event cropped up in Mesa, a rumor spread (and was reported in the media!) that the long-running artwalk was abandoning Downtown Phoenix and moving east. (Fun fact: “First Friday” isn’t trademarked. You, too, can throw an event and call it a First Friday.) Now a pilot program plans to bring outdoor vendors back to Roosevelt under the spon- sorship of local businesses. But a short hop from that drama, the First Friday scene on Grand Avenue is thriving and, dare we say, winning. Third Rail PHX especially. On most First Fridays the gallery draws in artwalkers with group shows based around a singular topic: horror-themed art on coffin-shaped canvases in October for “First Frightday,” works about love on heart- shaped wooden planks in February and paintings on rolling trays in April. A visit to Third Rail PHX reminds us of the way First Friday used to be: cool art and cool people in a cool space downtown. i i i BEST CULTURAL FESTIVAL ARIZONA MATSURI AZMATSURI.ORG Metro Phoenix teems with annual festivals that celebrate cultures from around the globe. None matches the sheer spectacle that Arizona Matsuri, the Valley’s long-running Japanese festival, brings to Steele Indian School Park every February. Action-packed martial arts stunt shows. Thunderous taiko drumming. Vibrant anime cosplay. Matsuri’s other attractions aren’t as over-the-top. Some folks come to hunt through the vendor marketplace for imported Nendoroid figures or handmade amigurumi crocheted collect- ibles. Others are there to watch traditional dance performances or the artistry of Shinobu “Shan” Ichiyanagi shaping molten sugar into intricate sculptures using the art of amezaiku, or candy crafting. Matsuri is a literal feast for the senses, where the savory aromas of yaki-