Scottsdale Blog - Things to do in Scottsdale, Arizona » Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

It’s Gonna be an Art-Filled Weekend!

Kelly Tope — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:42:34 +0000

Starting tonight, you can take in art all weekend long with the Glass Act ArtWalk and the Scottsdale Arts Festival. After all the rain we’ve been having (which has made the desert gloriously green), its going to be a sun-filled weekend so you can be sure to soak up some rays while soaking up great art.

Tonight marks the 2nd Annual Glass Act ArtWalk, which is the kick-off event to this festival weekend. Art will take center stage along Main Street and Marshall Way, and glass will be in the spotlight at this unique event featuring more than 20 exhibitors. There will also be live music and artist demonstrations (which are really fun because they use fire) staged throughout the Arts District. The event takes place from 7-9 pm on Thursday, March 11 and is compeletely free. Be sure to come early and grab a bite to eat (and do some great people watching as well) before browsing through the galleris. Not familiar with the Arts District? Click here for a map.

After you’ve become an expert in glass, expand your horizons by checking out the 40th Annual Scottsdale Arts Fesival, which takes place this weekend at the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall. Gates will be open Friday and Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am – 5 pm. Consistently recognized as one of the top in the country, The Scottsdale Arts Festival features more than 200 jury-selected artists from throughout North America to display and sell their work at this three-day event. In addition to an assortment of the finest arts and crafts, attendees can enjoy live entertainment and music, tasty food and beverages, interactive public art, fun art activities for children and families, an online art auction and much more. A $7 admission fee also gets visitors free admission to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), free parking and shuttle service. For more Festival information visit www.scottsdaleartsfestival.org or call 480-994-ARTS.

Award-winning Scottsdale Arts Festival Celebrates 40 Years as Arizona’s Finest

Josh Kenzer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:47:35 +0000

40^th Annual Scottsdale Arts Festival
March 12–14, 2010
Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts / Scottsdale Civic Center

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present the 40^th annual Scottsdale Arts Festival on March 12–14, 2010, on the beautiful grounds of the Scottsdale Civic Center. The Festival is sponsored by SRP Earthwise Energy and Abby Bella Dance Studio. The Arizona Republic is the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ 2009–10 season media sponsor.

Consistently ranked among the top arts festivals in the country by the readers of American Style Magazine, the Scottsdale Arts Festival has been an Arizona tradition since 1971. The three-day event features 200 jury-selected artists from throughout the United States. Works of art are available for purchase directly from the artists and from the Scottsdale Arts Festival’s online art auction. Visitors also will enjoy continuous live music and entertainment from Arizona’s top bands and performers; Virginia Fleck’s eye-popping OVERFLOW!, a monumental installation of thousands of recycled plastic bags commissioned by the Scottsdale Public Art Program; creative activities for children and families at Imagine Nation; free admission to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA); fine-arts demonstrations by artists from the acclaimed Scottsdale Artists’ School; delicious cuisine and wine tastings, including a Wine Country Market and Beer Garden featuring ingredients from local farmers and producers; and free parking and trolley service.

Additional information, including details on trolleys and parking, is available online at www.ScottsdaleArtsFestival.org or through (480) 994-ARTS (2787).

ADMISSION

Admission to the Scottsdale Arts Festival is $7 for adults, $5 for students and free for children 12 and under and members of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and SMoCA. A two-day pass is available for $10. Tickets may be purchased at any Festival entrance, and advance tickets are available online at www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or through (480) 994-ARTS (2787). Pets are not allowed, except for trained assistance dogs.

LOCATION AND PARKING

The Scottsdale Arts Festival is held at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and the landscaped grounds of the surrounding Scottsdale Civic Center, four blocks south of Indian School Road and three blocks east of Scottsdale Road. Free parking is available in the public parking garage located to the west of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and directly behind Los Olivos restaurant on Wells Fargo Avenue. Additional free parking is available at the Old Town Parking Corral at East Second Street and Brown Avenue and at the Civic Center Library parking garage located on Drinkwater Boulevard at East Second Street. Shuttle service is available at the Loloma Transit Center at East Second Street and Marshall Way and along the route of the Downtown Scottsdale Trolley.

ARTISTS

Long recognized for its high-quality fine arts and crafts, the Scottsdale Arts Festival showcases 200 artists selected by jury. Participating artists come from throughout the United States and work in all media, from ceramic, glass, jewelry, metals and textiles to painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and drawing. Visitors have the opportunity to meet and talk to each artist and buy works of art directly from them.

ONLINE ART AUCTION

The Scottsdale Arts Festival’s online auction features original works of art in all media donated by participating artists. Auction items are displayed at the event and through the Scottsdale Arts Festival Web site. Benefiting the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the auction opens on Saturday, March 13, at 10 a.m. and has a rolling close starting on the morning of Monday, March 15. Bidders may view images of all auction items and place and track their bids at any time through www.ScottsdaleArtsFestival.org.

MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT

Many of Arizona’s top musicians and entertainers perform during the Scottsdale Arts Festival. This year’s featured performers include Arizona Opera, Bata Ire, Fushicho Daiko, Mark Zubia & Los Guys, Marmalade Skies, Musical Nomads, Sarah Vanell Band, Traveler and more. Concerts take place continuously at the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater and Fountain Stage. A complete entertainment schedule will be posted online at www.ScottsdaleArtsFestival.org.

PUBLIC ART PROJECT

In conjunction with the Scottsdale Arts Festival, the Scottsdale Public Art Program has commissioned OVERFLOW!, an eye-popping, monumental installation made from thousands of colorful recycled plastic bags by Austin-based artist Virginia Fleck. Each plastic bag is inflated to transform the mundane and disposable into a shiny, buoyant, off-kilter bag balloon. OVERFLOW! will be viewed in multiple locations and encountered in surprisingly delightful ways throughout the Festival. The thousands of colorful, animated bag balloons take on humorous anthropomorphic traits as they make their whimsical journey from the roof of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts to the fountains in front of City Hall and beyond.

IMAGINE NATION

Located on the north side of Scottsdale City Hall, Imagine Nation is open throughout the Scottsdale Arts Festival and offers free arts activities and entertainment for children and their families. This year’s Imagine Nation is titled Family Time/Family Fun and features storytelling, dancing, arts-and-craft projects and more.

FREE MUSEUM ADMISSION

Visitors to the Scottsdale Arts Festival enjoy free admission to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, which features the exhibitions Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration and Rewind, Remix, Replay: Design, Music & Everyday Experience, as well as artist James Turrell’s skyspace Knight Rise. SMoCA is located next to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts at 7374 E. Second St.

ARTIST DEMONSTRATIONS

Professional artists from the internationally recognized Scottsdale Artists’ School will present live demonstrations of drawing, painting and sculpting techniques during the Scottsdale Arts Festival.

FOOD AND BEVERAGES

The Scottsdale Arts Festival features a tempting variety of delicious cuisine and refreshing beverages available for sale throughout the grounds. Highlights include the Wine Country Market and Beer Garden presented by Arcadia Farms near the scenic Marshall Garden that will offer gourmet foods and ingredients from local farmers and producers. Among the other festival vendors are Alaskan Salmon Grill, Barrie’s Original Kettle Korn, Big Belly’s B.B.Q. Co., Crepe Tyme, Euro Gyro, The Gelato Spot, Paradise Noodles, Repicci’s Real Italian Ice of Arizona and Sally’s Mesquite Grill and B.B.Q.

FESTIVAL ARTWALK

To kick off the Scottsdale Arts Festival in style, the Scottsdale Gallery Association will host A Glass Act, its 6^th annual Festival ArtWalk, on Thursday, March 11, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Scottsdale. The event showcases glass artists from Scottsdale Arts District galleries as well as live music, art demonstrations and more. The ArtWalk is free and takes place just west of Scottsdale Road and north and south of Indian School Road along Main Street, Marshall Way, Stetson Drive and Sixth Avenue. Free parking is available throughout the downtown area. For directions or more details about Scottsdale ArtWalk visit www.ScottsdaleGalleries.com.

THE STORE
The Store @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is open throughout the Scottsdale Arts Festival and, in addition to official Festival t-shirts, offers a unique selection of art-related merchandise, including handmade jewelry, imaginative toys, decorative objects from around the world, original furnishings for the home and office and music, books and greeting cards. Members receive a 10-percent discount, and gift wrapping and shipping also are available. Purchases are tax-free and support the programs of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Finalizes $16 Million Renovation

Josh Kenzer — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:37:19 +0000

After being closed for more than a year, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will open its newly renovated Virginia G. Piper Theater on Oct. 24. Kicking off the reopening will be ARTrageous, a special benefit performance featuring Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. The event will start the Center’s 2009-10 season, which also includes performances by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Martha Graham Dance Company, jazz musicians Herb Alpert and Arturo Sandoval, and actors Jason Alexander, John Cleese and Martin Short. Improvements to the facility include a new floor and mezzanine, box office, café, public art project, enhanced theater acoustics, lighting, seating and accessibility.

Festival ArtWalk is “A Glass Act”

Katarina Kovacevic — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:02:01 +0000

Scottsdale is throwing a joint celebration for two of its longest-running arts events – the Scottsdale ArtWalk and the 39th Annual Scottsdale Arts Festival. Together, the events are presenting the Glass Act Festival ArtWalk on Thursday, March 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. in downtown Scottsdale. The Arts Festival kicks off the following day and runs through March 22 on the nearby grounds of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

A Glass Act will feature more than a dozen top glass artists from the Scottsdale Arts District galleries and this year’s Arts Festival. Those featured include Lisa Chernoff at Occasions! by Design, Kathleen Doherty in the Textures Gallery at artspace, Carole Perry at Duley Jones Gallery, Tsunami glasswork at LeKae gallery and more. In addition to the special ArtWalk event, the Desert Botanical Garden will partner with Ultimate Art & Cultural Tours to offer guests a half-day glass art tour for $65 which includes a behind-the-scenes look into the stunning Chihuly: The Nature of Glass exhibit in the Garden followed by exclusive receptions with glass artists at three of downtown Scottsdale’s prominent galleries. The tour will take place on March 19 from 1 to 7 p.m. and include transportation.

A Glass Act Festival ArtWalk also will boast a diverse musical lineup including the eclectic Watershade, folk-rocker Jeordie, jazz by Actual Proof Trio, original classical pianist Elijah Bossenbroek and the Soliloquies singer-songwriter area with some of ArtWalk’s favorite street performers. Guests also can sample great tastes from culinary sponsors like Café Carumba, Icelandic Glacial Waters, Malee’s Thai on Main and more.

Free Art, Cultural and Native American Experiences in Downtown Scottsdale

Josh Kenzer — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:25:16 +0000

Meeting planners looking to infuse art and culture into their group’s Scottsdale experience have a variety of options to choose from and at a very affordable price – free!

Designed by famed local architect Will Bruder, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) is a stylish space devoted to the art, architecture and design of our time. The minimalist building (an ingenious renovation of a former movie theater) includes a rare public “skyspace” by the acclaimed artist James Turrell, where groups can experience the ever-changing light of the desert sky. Attendees can see all of this and more every Thursday absolutely free. For more information, visit www.smoca.org.

A tradition that has taken place for more than 30 years, Scottsdale ArtWalk is the perfect opportunity for attendees to explore downtown Scottsdale and a diverse collection of art galleries. Every Thursday from 7-9 p.m., galleries open their doors and show off the works of some of the Southwest’s most extraordinary artists. Groups can view special exhibits with artists’ receptions and demonstrations, and a number of the galleries can even accommodate groups for private events. For more information, visit www.scottsdalegalleries.com.

Attendees seeking a glimpse into Arizona’s Native American history will want to check out Native Trails, produced by the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and presented by us, the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Beginning Jan. 15, 2009, representatives from various Native American tribes take the stage most Thursdays and Saturdays through April 11 and inspire attendees with their memorable musical performances and traditional dances. The series of free festivals celebrate Native American society while focusing on the individual cultures of tribes who reside throughout the Southwest. Performers present their tribal history, pottery, textiles and more while musical performances incorporate traditional instruments such as flutes, gourds and drums and dances range from Navajo dancing to the new three artist hoop dance, a high energy performance with synchronized movements and cameo routines. For more information, visit www.ScottsdaleNativeTrails.com.

Explore Arizona’s History through Song and Dance

Josh Kenzer — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:01:18 +0000

Scottsdale Native Trails Performance

Native Trails, produced by the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and presented by the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, is a true sensory journey of song and dance that showcases the vivid first nations of Arizona and North America. Beginning Jan. 15, 2009, representatives from various Native American tribes will take the stage most Thursdays and Saturdays through April 11 and inspire attendees with their memorable musical performances and traditional dances. Staged at the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall, the series of free festivals in downtown Scottsdale celebrates Native American society while focusing on the individual cultures of tribes who reside throughout the Southwest. Performers present their tribal history, pottery, textiles and more to introduce attendees to the diverse lifestyles of the native people. Musical performances incorporate traditional instruments such as flutes, gourds and drums and dances range from Navajo dancing to the new three artist hoop dance, a high energy performance with synchronized movements and cameo routines. Tribes represented include Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Hopi, Yavapai, Apache and Diné (Navajo). For more information, visit www.ScottsdaleNativeTrails.com

Explore Your Artistic Side with New Exhibits

Josh Kenzer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:27:49 +0000

Since its inception in 1985, the Scottsdale Public Art Program has worked to bring new and creative artwork to the streets. The downtown area will soon be home to three new interactive exhibits that will allow visitors to take part in Scottsdale’s unique arts community.

Art lovers can enjoy beautiful fall evenings by taking a stroll downtown and experiencing a stunning light show at the Scottsdale Waterfront. Beginning in October, the collection’s new Night Lights exhibit, a premier music and interactive, light-based art installation, will be on display. Launching the attraction will be Tucson artist Mary Lucking whose light installation will grace the Waterfront every third Thursday from October through December, using the water of the nearby Arizona Canal as a canvas. Visitors can give the light show their own artistic touch by speaking into a microphone set up at the exhibit, which then triggers and changes the patterns projected onto the water.

A second all-new piece, Bell’e Art, will transform the bell tower adjacent to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts into an outdoor gallery. The first exhibition, on view Sept. 8 through Dec. 3, will feature New York-based artist Béatrice Coron’s series of papercuts inspired by Scottsdale landmarks, lifestyle, history and more. Coron’s piece will feature 24 iconic Scottsdale scenes hand cut on black and white Tyvek, a lightweight waterproof paper, suspended from the top of the tower. Each cutout image will serve as a window that invites passersby to peek through, invoking memories and dreams of Scottsdale and the Southwest. Visitors inspired by Coron’s piece will have the chance to create their own works of art when she hosts a workshop, Sharp Arts: The International Papercutting Scene, at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library on Nov. 1.

Crocheters get out your hooks and take part in Scottsdale Public Art’s crocheted exhibit at the Civic Center Library. In April 2009, the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project, a globally touring exhibit of a crocheted coral reef ecosystem, will be on display at the library before heading to its next stop at the Smithsonian. The 2,000-square-foot reef has already made its rounds from London to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Visitors eager to learn the art of crocheting can take part in organized workshops.