Groundbreaking for Fountain Hills Dark Sky Center set for same day as eclipse / ABC 15 The groundbreaking ceremony for The International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hills took place the same day as the total solar eclipse. The planned international attraction will include an observatory, planetarium, and theater and is slated to open its doors in 2025. This metro Phoenix mariachi band is playing the White House for Easter. What to know / Arizona Republic The Los Tigres de Tolleson mariachi band from the Tolleson Elementary School District headed to Washington, D.C., to perform at th ..read more

Western art legend Ed Mell of Phoenix leaves a tremendous legacy/ Phoenix New Times Ed Mell, a world-renowned artist and longtime Valley resident, died on Feb 21. He was 81 years old. Mell leaves behind a legacy that includes “Jack Knife,” a sculpture at the intersection of Main Street and Marshall Way in Old Town Scottsdale. Read more: Arizona artist Ed Mell dies following cancer battle Multitudes of murals: Stories from the walls of four public art projects in Flagstaff / Arizona Daily Sun Flagstaff is a city of murals. Stories filled with history, fantasy and emotion adorn the walls t ..read more

How George Floyd protests led to a community-created exhibition in Arizona / Southwest Contemporary The Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe is hosting the exhibition, “Twin Flames: The George Floyd Uprising from Minneapolis to Phoenix” through July 28—the first formal museum exhibition featuring a vast selection of objects left at the Minneapolis intersection where George Floyd was killed in 2020. Children’s Museum Tucson receives $35,000 grant / Tucson Weekly Children’s Museum Tucson has received a $35,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the ..read more

Chris Camacho, left, and Adam Goodman Arizona business leaders Chris Camacho and Adam Goodman—the heads of Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Goodmans, respectively—have been elected to the Flinn Foundation board of directors. Camacho, an advocate for the biosciences, other innovation industries, and the arts has served as president and CEO of the economic development organization for nearly a decade–an era of incredible economic growth throughout the Phoenix metro area with an abundance of new companies, jobs, and investment. Goodman represents the third generation to lead the Goodmans fami ..read more

River cane helped keep Native flute-making alive. Arizona wants this invasive reed gone / Fronteras Grammy-nominated musician Aaron White, of Diné and Northern Ute ancestry, holds workshops on native flute making techniques. Through his workshops, White not only teaches how to build these beautiful instruments, but also sheds light on environmental issues with natural resources that have kept Native flute-making alive. Stairizona / Arizona Highways Globe, with its historic Works Progress Administration-era staircases, several footbridges, and historic downtown district, has recently become ho ..read more

A ‘historic day’ in Old Town marked by groundbreaking of expansion at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West / Arizona Digital Free Press Scottsdale community stewards this month broke ground on a highly anticipated expansion at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. The 11,360-square-foot extension of the museum will include the construction of two new galleries, to be named the Louis Sands IV Center. AZ Philharmonic names Abby Coffey executive director / Signals AZ  Abby Coffey has been named executive director of the Arizona Philharmonic, a Prescott-b ..read more

Klee Benally, Navajo activist and artist, Dies at 48 / The New York Times Klee Benally, a dynamic Navajo activist, artist and punk-rock musician who championed Native American and environmental causes, died last month in Phoenix. He was 48. ‘We are survivors:’ National, Arizona projects aim to uncover, preserve histories of Native American boarding schools / Cronkite News A national oral history project to take place over two years aims to document the experiences of Indigenous children who attended federal boarding schools, including in Arizona. Filling the void: Chelsea Arndt fost ..read more

Museum of Northern Arizona offers free entrance for low-income patrons / Navajo-Hopi Observer The Museum of Northern Arizona has joined Museums for All, allowing anyone who receives food assistance benefits to visit the museum at no cost. Joining Museums for All is part of the Museum of Northern Arizona’s broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences. FOX TV show choreographer, and Phoenix native, returns to Valley for Christmas musical / Daily Independent “So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer Spencer Liff, a Phoenix native, is returning home to choreograph Arizona Theatre ..read more

Arizona State University has a new curator at large for its museum / KJZZ Arizona State University has appointed a new curator at large for its museum. Erin Joyce, who worked at the Heard Museum for several years and was raised in northern Arizona, would like to include more artwork from Indigenous communities. Shooting for the stars: Stargazer Collaborative Theatre joins northern Arizona’s growing theater scene / Flag Live! When it comes to the new theater company Stargazer Collaborative Theatre—founded by friends DeLano Hays, Dani Commanda, and Caitlin Burd—the trio behind it wants Flagstaf ..read more

The Arizona arts and culture sector generates over $1 billion in economic activity / KJZZ Newly released data by Americans for the Arts as part of the Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 study shows Arizona’s nonprofit arts and culture sector generated more than $1 billion in economic activity in 2022.   Phoenix earns $1M grant for heat-related public art challenge / Daily Independent Phoenix is one of eight cities to have earned up to $1 million each for temporary public art projects that address an urgent civic issue. In Phoenix, the art will create shading and cooling instal ..read more