I f the Danelle Project has been a spinning wheel of art and expression, Rob Moore has been the hub for nearly a decade. The nonprofit group aims to raise awareness about Danelle Plaza’s artistic and commercial legacy, and under Moore’s vision and leadership, the space at Southern and Mill avenues went from a derelict eyesore to what some artists and residents have dubbed “the last cool place in Tempe” — a grassroots-organized haven for local artists of all experience and skill levels. To be sure, the plaza’s buildings are less- than-stunning, stout midcentury struc- tures desperate for a fresh coat of paint. But walk by their walls and vast windows and you’ll see enigmatic sculptures, paint- ings, a grid of televisions, a post-apoca- lyptic neon desert landscape and murals, including one by Lucretia Torva of a child pointing and exclaiming, “Look MA… it’s Tempe!” The “plaza” is more of a 21,000-square- foot strip mall, at the center of which are two long buildings parallel to each other and separated by parking spots. But the label refers back to its original intended purpose. In 1963, Downtown Tempe and Mill Avenue were aging and looked on as outdated. The city’s leaders considered building a new city hall closer to the southern part of town, where the city was rapidly expanding, and near the newly planned Superstition Freeway. Danelle Plaza was planned and developed as a suburban business district, not far from the proposed city hall that never came to frui- tion. (Mill Avenue remained a powerhouse.) Through the years, the plaza was host to a wide variety of businesses, the most notable being the bar and venue that has been the bedrock of the plaza since 1972: Yucca Tap Room. Today at least a half- dozen businesses still operate there, including a record store, a smoke shop, a church and a car wash. Since 2016, its empty retail space has been filled slowly with weird, eccentric art, which all began with Moore’s push to transform the empty retail spaces into a creative hub — but one that is of great monetary value to the city, which sold it to developers last year for $2.75 million. For the community of artists who have seen the places that exemplify Tempe’s wacky, cerebral soul razed to dirt many times over the years, there’s plenty of skepticism. “Tempe has a tendency to see that a really cool thing is happening in its town and then say, ‘Well, how can we fuck this up?’ That’s just what they do even if they’re not trying to,” James B. Hunt, better known as the artist NXOEED, told Phoenix New Times in February. “It’s always under the guise of helping artists, but they always end up screwing us in the end. There’s one of these that happens every five to 10 years.” To the revered Valley artist — who you can always count on to refuse a photograph — Moore’s guiding hand made the plaza one of the last remnants of pre-ASU boom, pre-gentrification culture in Tempe. “Rob Moore helped foster a really cool thing there,” Hunt said. “There’s a big difference between people showing up at a place because they feel like they have to and people getting really excited and rallying around a place because it’s cool and fun and new. Danelle is that thing.” That essence was on full display April 25 at the Danelle Project’s final two shows — a ”Cat Prison” exhibition of 75 cat portraits created by, and a “Black and Red” show featuring the work of about 80 artists, curated by artists Matt Dickson, Luster Kaboom and Seth Manic Tongue. The “Black and Red” group show in the plaza’s Red Floor Gallery was inspired in part by the room’s color scheme. But entering a smaller chamber within the gallery called La Pequena Galeria — while ducking to get into the mini-gallery that was converted from a bathroom — Moore explained that the theme was conceived of when it became clear that the Danelle Project’s days running the show in the plaza were numbered. The Danelle Project said much the same on Instagram: “This is the last show and the end of our story,” its post read. “It’s our funeral.” The collective’s last show managing the DIY space happened against a backdrop of uncertainty: Speculation swirls around the plaza’s fate as two developers are about to give it a makeover. In February 2024, the city signed an agreement with Guina Affiliated Developers and Desert Viking Development LLC to revamp Danelle Plaza, setting out plans for workforce and affordable housing, retail spaces, restau- rants and an outdoor concert space. It also contains a condition for art to be placed on new buildings after the “dilapidated” ones in the plaza that currently house art are demolished. “What’s great is all this effort over the past nine years has led to a development agreement that talks about arts and live music. But there’s tons of question marks,” Moore told New Times, adding that it was essential for people who care to stay involved, keep an eye on the process and keep the plaza community-centric. “We’re at a really critical pivot point.” But the arts community’s concern over the changes ahead and confusion about City Hall’s mixed messaging came to a head in January. More than 30 people showed up to a Tempe City Council meeting to voice concerns about the future of the plaza. EVICTION NOTICE Adding to the uncertainty around the plaza’s future and the artistic community’s place in it is a changing of the guard. By February, Moore had already told the city that he would stop financing and programming shows at the plaza at the end of April. But he was still surprised to receive an email from the city of Tempe on March 21 terminating a city lease with his company, Access Geographic, and giving him a month to pack up his belongings and get out. “I am confused as I don’t recall Access Geographic, LLC having a lease with the City of Tempe?” Moore wrote via email in response to the letter. “I could be wrong!?” It appears Moore was right. According to Tempe spokesperson Kris Baxter-Ging, the city gave Moore a two-year license in April 2019 free of charge to display and maintain art in the windows of the city’s building. The license expired in 2021, but Moore and the Danelle Project continued to operate there while the city made no effort to get them out. Baxter-Ging said the letter was sent to Moore to “ensure clarity that any implied month-to-month license or lease was officially terminated.” Moore told New Times he handed over the keys on April 21, just days before the plaza hosted two shows — the last for him as captain of the Danelle Project ship. Instead of Moore, the Tempe Art and Music Coalition will now be managing the plaza’s artistic evolution. The nonprofit, led by Jacqueline Swan and Moore’s ally Kyllan Maney, entered an agreement with the city to take over and start coordinating programs in May. Swan told New Times the art isn’t going anywhere, at least for now. “That’s the first thing we negotiated — to leave the art for the rest of the summer,” she said. “That is not going to be an issue.” PASSING THE TORCH Danelle Plaza, Tempe’s ‘last cool place,’ prepares for a new era. BY TJ L’HEUREUX Mural by Hector Gonzales (Photo by Neil Schwartz ) Such Styles, left, and Rob Moorereflect on the Danelle Project and its legacy in the Tempe art community for the group’s final show at Danelle Plaza. (Photo by TJ LHeureux)
