60 Best of phoenix 2023 | WWW.bestofphoenix2023.c0m | septemBer 28, 2023 ceremony in March at a Phoenix skate park and are designated as Forever stamps, meaning we can appreciate their beauty for years to come. Best Outdoor Art OAK STREET ALLEY Oak Street between 14th and 15th streets Imagine an art gallery that’s always free, open 24/7 and full of work by some of Phoenix’s most prominent artists. That’s the Oak Street Alley, a small, narrow stretch of road in central Phoenix that runs along Oak Street between approximately 14th and 15th streets. Stroll down the street (or drive, but walking’s better) and take in all kinds of murals: pop-culture-related, desert-themed, political or just plain beau- tiful. The offerings change every once in a while, so we recommend occasional visits to see what’s new. You can stop by today, or you can wait for the Oak Street Alley Mural Festival, an annual event usually held in the spring, when the community comes together to celebrate this little stretch of art with vendors, live music, community painting events and more. Best First Friday Stop HEARD MUSEUM 2301 E. Central Ave. 602-252-8840 heard.org Downtown Phoenix’s First Friday artwalk continues to increase in size, scope and chaos, but for our money, the one place we try not to miss lies just north of Roosevelt Row. Heard Museum, a world-renowned repository of Native American art, consis- tently offers some of the best First Friday programming around. In June 2022, it served up an all-Indigenous drag show in honor of Pride Month; this past January, to celebrate the opening of an exhibit about surfing, First Friday attendees witnessed a Hawaiian blessing and enjoyed Hawaiian music and dancing. Besides the special programming, First Friday is also a chance to check out the museum’s excellent permanent collection and current exhibitions, an exploration that normally costs more than $20 per person. Best of all, the museum’s First Friday hours begin at 5 p.m., meaning you can hit it first before heading downtown for the rest of your evening. Best Local Arts Magazine DIGITAL FUTURE digitalfuturemag.com The idea of a “digital future” is often a dystopic one, à la “Black Mirror”: brains uploaded to the cloud, swivel cameras following your every move. Yet local arts magazine Digital Future — which publishes a sometimes-quarterly print issue of photography, fine arts and literary work — is interested in the gritty art that exists, already, in our digital world, warped by it but also shaping it. The magazine presents work by local photographers and artists alongside essays on Phoenix’s underground music scenes and subcul- tures, among other topics, all presented beautifully and minimally on big glossy white pages. You can find copies of the publication at hip locales around downtown Phoenix, like Futuro and Central Records, though the magazine often sells out quickly. Over the past year, Digital Future has proved an exciting new platform for up-and-coming Phoenix artists — charting out its own vision of the future, digital and tangible, in the city. Best Cultural Festival INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ PHOENIX FEST ipdphx.com Despite the fact that Phoenix was built on Native lands and the state has 22 tribal communities, Indigenous culture isn’t often something non-Native people in Arizona know much about. Remedy that by marking the calendar for the Indigenous Peoples’ Phoenix Fest on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October, when Cahokia PHX transforms Roosevelt Row into a massive celebration organized by and featuring Indigenous culture and talent. Last year’s second annual event — the first
