Arizona Arts & Culture News: Basha art collection; Youth Media Workshop grant; McCain National Library

October 20, 2023

By Jessica Vaile

Assorted-color Umbrellas

As a gallery space closes, 2 museums will take Eddie Basha’s Indigenous and Western art / Arizona Republic

After amassing a collection of more than 2,000 Native and Western art pieces, Phoenix supermarket magnate Eddie Basha built a gallery and welcomed the public to see it free of charge. Now that gallery is closing, and the Heard Museum and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West will assume stewardship of the collection.


Phoenix nonprofit Free Arts announces leadership transition / Daily Independent

Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, an organization that helps to transform children’s trauma to resilience through the arts, announced the appointment of Matt Sandoval as its new executive director.


Heard Museum announces first Indigenous board chair in organization’s history / Daily Independent

The Heard Museum has appointed John Coggins as the new chair of its board of trustees, becoming the first Indigenous board chair in the organization’s 95-year history. Coggins is a member of the Choctaw Nation, and his wife is a member of the Navajo Nation.


Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s music director shares personal journey as Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end / KOLD

As National Hispanic Heritage Month ends, Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Jose Luis Gomez is bringing the sound of his culture to the Old Pueblo. He shares how he discovered his love for music as a boy growing up in Venezuela.


Scripps family expands opportunities for Indigenous youth in broadcast media and journalism / The NAU Review

For more than a decade, Northern Arizona University’s Indigenous Youth Media Workshop has taught Native American high school students the ins and outs of broadcast media and journalism. Now, thanks to a $616,000 grant from the Scripps Family Impact Fund, the workshop is growing in 2024.


ASU to create national library honoring legacy of Sen. John McCain / ASU News

Arizona State University recently announced plans to build the McCain National Library, which will honor the life and legacy of the late John McCain, who represented Arizona first as a U.S. representative and then as a longtime U.S. senator and a Republican presidential nominee.


Temple Solel music director leads debut of new Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra / Jewish News

John Massaro, Temple Solel’s music director, will lead the debut performance of the newly formed Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra on Oct. 22 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.


Nicole Royse has curated a career in the Valley art scene as an artist and gallery owner / Phoenix Business Journal

Nicole Royse, an artist turned entrepreneur, leveraged more than a decade’s worth of experience to open her own art gallery, Royse Contemporary, and champion the work of local emerging and established artists. 


How Arizona, land of extreme politics and heat, became a public art Mecca / KJZZ

From Phoenix to Mesa to Tempe to Sky Harbor Airport, cities in our region have invested heavily in public art—and it shows. Rebecca Blume Rothman, the manager of public art for the city of Tempe, and longtime public artist and architect Matt Salenger share why they believe Phoenix has become a mecca for public art.


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