On Buchanan St., behind Chase Field.

Artists Vito Acconci and Sophie Calle followed people (for Calle, until someone confronted her). At one time, Francis Alys walked into unfamiliar territory guarded by dogs and at another, pushed a block of ice around Mexico City until it melted. Paolo Nazereth walked from Sao Paolo, Brazil to New York, NY in a pair of flip-flops (he needed to see what was in between.)

Whether to execute a work or to just get out of the house, walking can provide great source material or at least allow a moment for quiet reflection on the place you’re in.

looking down at Adams and 3rd Ave

One foot goes forward, then the other. A pattern develops. Eventually, after doing this many times, the distance stretches and your body is some place else. When you’re out walking somewhere, there’s time to see the space around you and even stop and approach the things that interest you most. With the advent of Instagram, people can post a photo of that thing that no one else has ever noticed. When you’re out walking, it’s as if that little thing you noticed was just for you…until you share it with the universe.

Rio Salado at 24th Street

I rode my bike over the Rio Salado on 24th Street and saw a white crane wading in the shallow water. While out on a morning run, I navigate the back streets of South Phoenix before anyone is awake, running down dirt embankments going the wrong way down a one-way street. While walking through the grove of trees next to St. Mary’s Basilica during late summer, I become inundated with the singing of cicadas who seem to only gather in that safe, cool(er) spot.

a view of the I-10 from the 10th Street pedestrian bridge

Walking, running, biking—they are the processes that put our bodies in direct contact with the world around us. For artists, it can make one aware of how systems fit together, materials blend, colors merge and contrast, how light hits an object, how people move around each other and how every unit functions like a giant collage of complex, moving objects. For anyone else, it can give one a moment to slow down and take stock of the landscape, urban or otherwise, and how it just feels good to be able to move oneself forward in it.

“the rich potential relations between thinking and the body…the way walking reshapes the world by mapping it, treading paths into it, encountering it” — R. Solnit

Ten years ago, you may not have seen anyone walking the streets of Downtown Phoenix on a summer evening. But now, 110º doesn’t seem to stop anyone. This past Friday, as the temperature reached 111º right around 6pm, a bevy of Phoenicians were stepping out of air conditioned cars, houses and buildings to begin instantly sweating on the hot sidewalks. It has become standard practice now to throw heat exhaustion to the wind in lieu of walking the streets to socialize, see art and experience something new.

What was once underrated and scoffed at as being foolish, boring and even dangerous is beginning to be common practice in Downtown. There are more places now to walk to but there has never been a lack of places to walk. Within every landscape are smaller and smaller bits that pull and drag you in if you let them. While out walking, a person can let that different, sensorial world back in to admit that there is something more here than generalizations formed from the view of a car window.

————

References: Wanderlust, Rebecca Solnit; Walking, Henry David Thoreau, Walk Ways, Essay by Stuart Horodner, Independent Curators International; A Coast to Coast Walk, A. Wainwright

Artists, writers, musicians, performers…come prepared to discuss the project you’re working on and how it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Or, maybe you’ve felt uninspired to get started on anything?

Every creative person has been there at one point or another and sometimes all you need is a little nudge forward. Be prepared to also provide suggestions, encouragement and an open mind to the different ways that people work.

We will try to keep the meeting to one hour. So bring your coffee snobbery and your rutted self for us to commiserate, encourage and move each other forward.

If you go

What: When Brains Collide Meet-up

Date: Saturday, June 29

Time: 12 noon

Where: Cartel Coffee, 1 N. 1st St. (corner of Washington and 1st St.)

Subject for the next meeting: “Things Don’t Work”, technological, media and computer problems in a work in progress.

Do you have experience in Infill Development?

Has Infill Development affected your neighborhood?

Ever thought about improvements for the city process?

We want your input!

Phoenix has formed an advisory group to review our rules and regulations for Infill Development and provide some recommendations for streamlining. We received so much interest in participating in the infill discussion that we had to find a way for many folks to participate.

To that end we have scheduled a number of public meetings for folks to share their experience and suggestions regarding the Infill Development Process.  Staff will take feedback from these sessions to provide guidance and direction for the Infill Advisory Group.

To facilitate the discussions, we created targeted sessions for design professionals, contractors, developers/property owners, and neighborhood/community representatives.  Of course, anyone can come to any meeting they like, but the Infill Advisory Group thought it would be more productive to group folks by profession, background and interests.

To get involved and share your suggestions regarding the Infill Development Process, please attend one of the public meetings listed below and/or submit your comments via email to darcy.kober@phoenix.gov.

If you go

Where: All sessions are free to attend and will be held in the Historic A.E. England Building (between 1st and Central avenues, just north of Van Buren Street)

Questions? Call 602-495-5411

The Phoenix City Council awarded a contract for a new bike share program at its formal city council [on Wednesday]. The winning bidder, CycleHop, LLC, will begin the process of implementing a system of short-term rentable bicycles, which is expected to be in operation by December, 2013.

Photo courtesy of City of Phoenix.

During the first year of the contract, CycleHop, LLC will establish and operate a bike share network that will include up to 500 bicycles throughout the city of Phoenix. Access to the network can be obtained by making a reservation via the internet or a mobile device. Short-term bike share users will pay about $5 to access the system for the first hour and then pay $2 for each additional half-hour period, with a daily maximum rate of $25.  Annual members will pay less to access the system, with similar rates after the first hour of use.

“Phoenix deserves to be one of the most bike-friendly places in the country, and this new partnership is a great next step,” said Mayor Greg Stanton.  “By developing this bike share program, we’re reminding residents and visitors alike that traveling on two wheels is a great way to see what Phoenix has to offer.”

The bicycles provided as part of the bike share program will use a GPS-enabled locking mechanism designed to connect with special hub locations.  The bikes also will be able to lock at traditional bike racks if necessary.

Local First Arizona Celebrates Locally Owned Businesses During National Independents Week

In recognition of National Independents Week, Local First Arizona will honor locally owned and independent businesses across the state from Sunday, June 30, through Sunday, July 7. The nationwide Independents Week campaign, coordinated by the American Independent Business Alliance and known as “Indie Week,” takes place during the week of Independence Day with the purpose of enlightening consumers to the importance of supporting local businesses.

Final plans for the 2013 Independents Week campaign organized by Local First Arizona have been announced and will include the following:

Pledge and win! Arizonans are encouraged to “Take the Pledge” to shop local during Indie Week. Anyone can take the pledge by visiting www.LocalFirstAZ.com/Independents-Week. Those who pledge to shop local during Indie Week will automatically be entered into a contest to win a fantastic staycation! The staycation package includes a one night stay at the Noftsger Hill Inn Bed and Breakfast in Globe and a meal at A Step Back in Time Coffee & Deli in nearby Safford.

Save! The popular Golden Coupon is the ticket to saving 20% off purchases from local Arizona businesses. A list of participating businesses can be found by clicking here (businesses will be continually added through the month of June). Shoppers and diners can simply print out the Golden Coupon from the LFA website or pull it up on their smartphone and use it at as many participating locations as they please (some restrictions may apply). Some participating businesses include Pillsbury Wine Company, Frances Vintage, Urban Cookies, Sole Sports Running Zone, Desert Song Yoga, Noble Beast Natural Market for Pets, House of Tricks, Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, and many more!

Have fun! Several events will take place across the state during Independents Week to celebrate our local businesses with community members. Events include a pub crawl on Mill Avenue in Tempe; a film screening at The Loft in Tucson, a First Friday Party in Phoenix, and a beer dinner in Tucson presented by Food Conspiracy Co-op and Dragoon Brewing.

“Independents Week is especially important in Arizona during the slow summer months for many of our local business owners,” says Kimber Lanning, Director of Local First Arizona. “When we spend our dollars at local businesses, up to four times more money stays and circulates in the local economy, supporting local jobs, services, and communities. Our hope is that consumers will learn about the value of supporting local businesses during Indie Week, and then continue to support our independent businesses far beyond our weeklong celebration.”

Ballet Arizona’s “Topia”

Symphony Hall and the Orpheum Theatre are Ballet Arizona’s usual performance spaces, firmly in the heart of downtown. Occasionally, however, the troupe ventures outdoors for its free annual Ballet Under the Stars community performances and, for the second year, Topia at Desert Botanical Garden.

Artistic Director Ib Andersen

“The lighting and staging are better this year,” says Artistic Director Ib Andersen, a Balanchine protégé known for his appealing choreography. He created Topia last spring, crafting an instantly popular work on a large-scale outdoor stage for a production completely unique to the Valley’s environment.

Unusual aspects of Topia come from not only the open-air surroundings but also the sheer size of the endeavor. The 80-foot stage is considerably wider than Ballet Arizona’s typical indoor venues, generating logistical challenges of scale. It’s also set at ground level, a fundamental difference from the troupe’s elevated staging for Ballet Under the Stars.

“I wanted the dancers to be level with the audience and level with the desert,” describes Andersen, “so everything is a part of the ballet.” His concept incorporates the flora and fauna of the Garden in a show very specifically designed for its exact location.

Topia begins at sunset, even before the dancers take the stage, while shadows move across the Garden and change perspective on the looming Papago Buttes. As part of Andersen’s design, geological characteristics become integral to the ballet’s scenery.

Ballet Arizona’s “Topia”

His lightweight, minimalist costumes also reflect the colors and textures of nature, although his original intention would have used far less fabric. “I wanted them [the dancers] to be naked,” Andersen explains, “but it’s impossible.” He laughs. “It’s distracting for the audience, and not practical.”

Andersen continues, “But the dancers aren’t complaining about the heat — they’re not too hot because they’re wearing so little.” The men wear flesh-tone briefs, while the female dancers are clad in gossamer tunics.

The music for Topia is nearly the entirety of Ludwig van Beethoven’s sixth symphony, the “Pastoral.” “Beethoven is difficult to choreograph,” says Andersen, “because it’s so complete on its own. It’s enough without the dancing.” He felt able to use Beethoven’s music, he explains, only because the Garden and the desert sky create such a vast, open backdrop, resulting in a production not constrained by walls or ceiling.

All photos courtesy Rosalie O’Connor and Ballet Arizona.

If you go:

• Ballet Arizona’s Topia:
  Continues through Saturday, June 1 at Desert Botanical Garden
  (Discounts available for Ballet Arizona subscribers and Desert Botanical Garden members.)

• Back in downtown Phoenix at the Orpheum Theatre:
  The Spring Performance, featuring students from The School of Ballet Arizona
  June 1-2

• Make plans to attend a free Ballet Under the Stars performance in September:
  7 p.m. on Sep. 28 at Steele Indian School Park. Visit Balletaz.org for details

As Matt Moore says in the video’s opening seconds, “In April 2013, Clare Patey and I gathered a group of artists together to invite the City of Phoenix to dinner.”

The rest is history.

Feast On The Street 2013 a mini doc by Wayne Rainey, a Rainey Studios Production VF H264 – Broadband from Wayne Rainey on Vimeo.

Feast on the Street was supported in part by ArtPlace, the National Endowment for the Arts, Roosevelt Row CDC and The Steele Foundation.

Photo by Jon Willey courtesy of Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) are offering free tickets to kids 12 and under with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket. The offer is valid for games May 25-26 for any section in the ballpark, excluding the All-You-Can-Eat section.

Every D-backs game offers tons of fun for kids, including the Sandlot, an area dedicated just for kids. The Sandlot is open for every D-backs home game and includes age-specific playground areas, Futures Field and a batting cage. D-backs Baseball Academy coaches offer free clinics at Futures Field in the Sandlot one hour before first pitch and at the end of the fourth inning. In addition, kids can sign up to be a part of the free Kids Club program in the Sandlot to earn prizes for every game they attend.

On Sundays, kids take over the game with several promotions including delivering the lineup card, taking the field with D- backs players, serving as the Chevy “Play Ball” kid and can run the bases after the game. Kids are also encouraged to arrive early on the last Sunday home game each month to catch the Sunday Sluggers Show, presented by Delta Dental, at Baxter’s Den in the Sandlot starting at 11:45 a.m. and features an appearance by a D-backs player.

The D-backs also offer Value Item pricing on six food items ranging from $1.50-$4 at various concession locations making every game affordable for families, including seven merchandise items available in the Team Shop priced below $10.

The D- backs continue to provide the most affordable fun for families and for the seventh consecutive year, the team has the lowest Fan Cost Index for a family of four, named by Team Marketing Report in April. In addition, the team’s official game program, D- backs Insider, is also distributed free to all fans in the ballpark during each homestand and offers a section just for kids.

Adult tickets for the weekend games start at just $12 and are available at the Chase Field Box Office, by calling 602.514.8400 or online at dbacks.com/kids.

Featured photo by Jordan Megenhardt courtesy of Arizona Diamondbacks.

Putting our heads together to conquer the world with art.

A good, complex work doesn’t usually get there by coming up with an initial idea and immediately executing it. You can’t say you came up with an invention by just talking about it. You have to actually go through the process of making the thing. In order to avoid artwork becoming gimmicky or only concepts that you throw around at a party after a few drinks, a little more work is involved.

There are a lot of these ideas that float around the community—a lot of “what ifs.” But “what if” these ideas and projects began to take form and “what if” there was a source someone could go to get out of a rut, hear some suggestions and be encouraged to move on to the next stage?

Enough Talk, More Action
I’d like to propose a series of discussion/brainstorming sessions for the downtown Phoenix area. It’s been my experience that sometimes, people just need a little push. This could be by sitting back and letting someone talk out an idea or by bombarding them with questions. Call it a selfish act but I like to see interesting things happening around me. I like being part of them. I like to think and help others work out ideas.

Each month topics will rotate from something like text-based works to art using technology to creative computer hacking to new approaches with sculptural materials. People interested in participating will sign up or congregate via a website and then be prepared to talk for five minutes in front of a group about the project. The focus of the meet-up is to talk more about the work and less about ourselves. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the area, an undergrad at ASU or an experienced artist with national exposure—the point of the group is to use the collective power of each other’s brains to come up with a solution or suggestion on where to take the work next.

Think of this less as social networking and more as project developing. There are plenty of outlets in Phoenix for social meet-ups of like-mindeds. The art openings on First and Third Fridays end up being a place where artists and other creative people can mix and relax but when can we sit down and discuss the details and the ugly truth of actually making a work possible? Somehow, maybe, we’re holding back.

This can be a venue to voice new work that an artist isn’t so sure about—something that functions outside a comfort zone. Artists who usually work in paint but have been toying around with the idea of a web-based project could come to a meeting and solicit suggestions from others who regularly and fluently work with the web.

Meetings would stay on track with a moderator to make sure that everyone can be heard and no one monopolizes the time (we know how artists like to talk). Guest artists, curators and writers will be invited to participate in the discussion in an effort to bring in an outside voice with a different perspective. The direction of the conversation would be constructive, direct and candid. Be prepared for someone to cry. I’ve seen it happen before… or perhaps I was the one doing the crying.

If this sounds like something you’d like to participate in some time in the near future or if you feel that a meeting like this will help push creation in Phoenix to a new level, please “like” this article, use the comments section here to voice your support or email me at jen@dphxj.com.

Some name suggestions for the group: Clash of the Artists, What Happens When Brains Collide (WHWBC), P-Art-Y (you decide what the P and Y stand for), We Make Artists Cry, Combustion, ThinkAct.

PHOENIX CHOSEN FOR MAY 23 LAUNCH OF NATIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN FOR LANDMARK PBS DOCUMENTARY LATINO AMERICANS

Public screening and discussion tour for PBS special celebrating Latino American history opens with arts and culture event in downtown Phoenix

Eight, Arizona PBS in partnership with the City of Phoenix Latino Institute, will host two events on May 23 to launch the new three-part, six-hour PBS documentary series Latino Americans. The first is a daytime event for teens at 11:30 a.m., followed by an evening arts and cultural event from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Both events will be held in the historic A.E. England Building in downtown Phoenix (424 N. Central Ave., Phoenix 85004), and will feature a highlight screening from Latino Americans, scheduled to premiere Fall 2013 on Eight, Arizona PBS, and other PBS stations nationwide. Adriana Bosch, series producer for Latino Americans, and others from the documentary will participate in discussions at both the daytime and evening viewing events.

Latino Americans narrates the history, growth and experiences of Latinos in the United States from the 16th century to present day. The six-hour film special combines interviews with nearly 100 Latinos from the worlds of politics, business and pop culture. Emmy Award-winning producer Adriana Bosch will participate in a panel following the screening to discuss this first-of-its-kind film chronicle of the lives of Latino Americans, and the importance of this history in understating the Latino identity.

“It is time the Latino American history be told,” says Bosch, a Cuban-born filmmaker whose previous PBS projects include Latin Music U.S.A. and documentaries for the series American Experience on Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. “Latinos are an integral part of the U.S., and this series shares the stories of a rich collection of people coming from so many different countries and backgrounds. It is the story of Latinos, and it is the story of America.”

The City of Phoenix Latino Institute is presenting the Latino Americans film event as part of its Evening Community Connections Series, which takes place every Thursday at the A.E. England Building.

Actor Benjamin Bratt, narrator
Credit: Matt Carr/Getty Images
Courtesy Eight, Arizona PBS

The film, narrated by actor Benjamin Bratt, will air nationally on PBS on three consecutive Tuesdays, premiering on September 17, September 24 and October 1.

WHO:  Panelists include Emmy-award-winning producer of the PBS Latino Americans series Adriana Bosch, Latino labor rights pioneer Dolores Huerta, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Gonzalo de la Melena, and DREAMer youth. This event is a partnership between Eight, Arizona PBS and the City of Phoenix Latino Institute.

WHERE:  The historic A.E. England Building in downtown Phoenix (424 N. Central Ave., Phoenix 85004), adjacent to Civic Space Park.

WHEN:  Thursday, May 23 – daytime event for youth from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and evening arts and cultural event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Register here.

In addition to the broadcast of Latino Americans in Fall 2013, a companion book by Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent for PBS NEWSHOUR, will be released to coincide with the series. It will be published by Celebra, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), and will be available in both English and Spanish. It may be pre-ordered now, and will go on-sale September 3. The project will also be accompanied by major bilingual digital engagement and public education campaigns, including the development of a school-based curriculum, which will be available in late summer 2013.

Latino Americans is a production of WETA Washington, DC; Bosch and Co., Inc.; and Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB); in association with Independent Television Service (ITVS). The series executive producers are Jeff Bieber and Dalton Delan for WETA, Sandie Viquez Pedlow for LPB, and Sally Jo Fifer for ITVS. The series producer is Adriana Bosch. The supervising producer is Salme Lopez. The producers are Nina Alvarez, Dan McCabe, Ray Telles and John Valadez. The associate producers are Sabrina Avilés, Yvan Iturriaga and Monika Navarro. For the re-enactment sequences, the producer is Cathleen O’Connell and the directors are David Belton and Sonia Fritz. Major funding for Latino Americans is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and The Summerlee Foundation. Funding for outreach is supported by a grant from The New York Community Trust.

Eight, Arizona PBS is a trusted community resource.  For over 50 years, the PBS station has focused on educating children, reporting in-depth on public affairs, fostering lifelong learning and celebrating arts and culture. Eight achieves its mission through the power of noncommercial television, the Internet, educational outreach and community-based initiatives. Its signal reaches 86 percent of homes in Arizona. With more than 1 million viewers weekly, Eight consistently ranks among the most-viewed public television stations per capita in the country. For more information, visit azpbs.org. Eight is a member-supported service and the public media enterprise of Arizona State University.