▼ Culture signs inspired by Akimel and Tohono O’odham basketry. For the artists, who fin- ished the mural in April, it was a way to in- fuse the visual culture of downtown with the culture of its original peoples and rec- ognize the long trajectory of their ongoing impact on the region. Nicole Olson choreographed work for Breaking Ground 2021. Rick Meinecke The Best Things We’ve Seen in Metro Phoenix This Year (So Far) Pausing at 2021’s mid- point to appreciate the city’s cultural output. BY LYNN TRIMBLE T he best things we’ve seen so far in 2021 include new cre- ative spaces, pandemic pivots, a mural collaboration, exhib- its, and more. Here’s a look back at 10 highlights from the first six months of this year’s arts and culture scene in metro Phoenix. Nurture House The new year brought a big move for one of the city’s best-loved literary hubs, Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, first launched by Ro- saura “Chawa” Magaña as a community gathering space in 2015. Palabras officially relocated from the Miracle Mile section of McDowell Road to 906 West Roosevelt Street in mid-January, becoming the an- chor for a creative space called Nurture House. It’s also home to Wasted Ink Zine Distro, which left its previous location at The Hive last year, as well as Abalone Mountain Press, Pachanga Press, and Por Vida Bakery. Filled with art by Jeff Slim, the space is a thriving community hub where diverse voices are elevated and cele- brated. FilmBar Outdoor Screenings In a year filled with pandemic pivots, Film- Bar founder Kelly Aubey pulled off one of the better moves, partnering with Pember- ton PHX to present outdoor movie screen- ings in the Roosevelt Row creative space where offerings also include fitness activi- ties, food trucks, and other fare. They stacked two shipping containers, creating a backdrop for a film screen, then added rows of plastic Adirondack chairs to create an outdoor cinema experience that launched in January. FilmBar partnered with Phoenix Art Museum as well, show- ing artsy films in its outdoor courtyard be- fore the heat necessitated moving those screenings indoors. ‘Division of Labor’ After curators at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art invited artists M. Jenea Sanchez and Gabriela Muñoz to “partici- pate in a critical engagement” with the mu- seum’s collection, the artists responded by co-curating an exhibition that explores ways the museum can deepen and broaden its representation of Latinx voices. “Divi- sion of Labor: Women Shifting a Transna- tional Gaze” includes new pieces by 10 artists working in the borderlands, as well as works from the museum’s collection, and shows a way forward for collaborative processes that illuminate issues of labor, identity, and gaze. The Violet Protest The multi-year participatory art project that Phoenix-based artist Ann Morton launched in 2019 reached an important milestone in the first half of this year, as Phoenix Art Museum opened an exhibi- tion featuring the project in March. The exhibit includes 116 stacks of handmade textile squares created by makers in all 50 states using red and blue, which form the letters “U” and “S.” Additional 8-by-8-inch squares are suspended side-by-side like vertical banners across two gallery walls, with other walls used to showcase individ- ual squares. Collectively, the squares speak to the need for collaboration and civic en- gagement, countering narratives designed to create or amplify divisions. Xico Virtual Offerings Xico officially opened its new digs in Roos- evelt Row in May, making a big splash with this year’s iteration of its annual art auc- tion. We love the new location, complete with exhibition and workshop space, but the real standout from Xico during the first half of 2021 was its series of videos featur- ing local artists including Monica Gisel and Joe Ray, as well as other virtual offerings such as exhibitions. Often taped in the cre- atives’ own studios, with artists talking about their diverse backgrounds and inspi- rations, their videos provide a fascinating glimpse into the depth and breadth of tal- ent in the Valley of the Sun. El Mac and Breeze Mural In a year filled with creative collaborations, a mural painted in downtown Phoenix by Miles “El Mac” McGregor and Thomas “Breeze” Marcus ranks high among our fa- vorites. Not yet titled, the towering piece located at First and Monroe streets chan- nels the Indigenous peoples of the region, centering the face of a young woman living on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and surrounding her with de- Breaking Ground The Tempe-based dance company CONDER/dance presented the latest itera- tion of its Breaking Ground dance and film festival online this year, rather than per- forming live at Tempe Center for the Arts, where the festival has been a cultural high- light of the region for many years. Chore- ographers presented compelling works reflecting the realities of contemporary life, including the pandemic and systemic social injustice, creating a meaningful vir- tual experience for audiences whose ac- cess to traditional art spaces was drastically limited during the first half of the year. Burton Barr Reopening Locals who love Burton Barr Central Li- brary recall the 2017 storm that left the flagship building of the Phoenix Public Li- brary system closed for nearly a year, an ex- perience that made it even harder to go without in-person library time for more than a year due to COVID-19 closures man- dated in March 2020. Seeing Burton Barr Central Library and additional library branches gradually resume in-person ser- vices starting in April signaled hope for the literary and cultural life of the city, and left us celebrating the physical return of this cherished community space. Rocking S Art Ranch A new creative space began taking shape this year, as artist Patricia Sannit an- nounced plans to transform three build- ings and common areas on a 6,000-square-foot site into an artist com- pound complete with individual studios and shared workspaces. Located near 32nd Street and Thomas Road, the space is called Rocking S Art Ranch. Open houses began in April, although Sannit says it will take several months to renovate the space. Lauren Lee, whose vibrant murals dot the metro Phoenix landscape, is one of several artists who’ve already reserved studio space at the site, where a few studios are still available. ‘Things We Carry’ Lisa Sette Gallery paired intriguing works by emerging artists and collaborators Mer- ryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Fresquez with compelling pieces by Angela Ellsworth, creating a visual conversation around per- sonal narratives, identity, societal expecta- tions, and claiming space. Through materials ranging from corsage pins to syn- thetic hair, the artists explore what Sette calls “the radical power of selfhood.” The exhibit is distinguished by its conceptual and aesthetic rigor, which beautifully re- flects the feminisms these artists embrace in the contexts of their own personal histo- ries and dreams for the future. 27 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES JULY 1ST – JULY 7TH, 2021
