For most, the word desert evokes images of a barren landscape. But hot and dry climes are anything but a wasteland when it comes to arts and culture. Whether it’s an iconic art festival like Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert or rows of galleries lining the streets of Santa Fe, the desert has proven its weight in salt as an inspiration for artists of all mediums.
Phoenix
Phoenix boasts one of the most active arts communities in the country. Downtown is home to a pair of well-respected museums; the Heard Museum is one of the world’s most significant repositories of Native American art, while the Phoenix Art Museum, which underwent a $50 million renovation in 2006, showcases 20th century Western, Latin and European masterpieces.
“The Heard Museum is one of the most popular for groups,” says Scott Dunn, communications manager for the Phoenix CVB. “It’s a signature Southwest museum.”
Dunn notes that when Phoenix’s upcoming light rail system debuts in December, both the Heard Museum and Phoenix Art Museum will be easily reached from the downtown convention hotels as well as from the Phoenix Convention Center, which is itself a showcase for public art, including an 83-foot mirrored sculpture by Louise Bourgeois.
Groups can also host events at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, which opened this summer and specializes in hands-on activities for kids. The Arizona Science Center also welcomes groups and features more than 300 exhibits as well as an IMAX theater.
Glassblowing master Dale Chihuly will be featured from late November through the end of May 2009 in an exhibition at the Desert Botanical Garden titled Chihuly: The Nature of Glass. His unique works of glass will be artfully located throughout the garden.
Like many cities, Phoenix shows off its artistic flare the first Friday of every month with First Friday Art Walks, centered on pedestrian-friendly Roosevelt Row. First Fridays opens artists’ studios to visitors, featuring gallery exhibits, performance artists and street vendors and drawing some 10,000, making it one of the largest monthly art walks in the nation.
For live entertainment, the Phoenix Symphony presents an annual season from September through May, featuring classical and pops concerts at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, along with a variety of presentations in Scottsdale, Prescott and throughout central Arizona. Symphony Hall, which also presents Ballet Arizona, adjoins the convention center and is open to groups for events, talks and lectures.
The Herberger Theater showcases the Arizona Theatre Company, Childsplay, as well as the Actors Theatre and Center Dance Ensemble. Groups can use the Herberger Theater as well as the historic Orpheum Theatre, one of Phoenix’s architectural masterpieces, which hosts national and local productions.
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Arts venues and cultural opportunities shine throughout the Valley of the Sun. In Scottsdale, the recently renovated Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is devoted to art and architecture. Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, the building, a former movie theater, has five galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden that can be used for group events.
Groups can take classes at the Scottsdale Artists’ School, according to Renee Angeles, CMP, director of sales and services for the Scottsdale CVB.
“I think what sets us apart is that hands-on uniqueness we’re trying to capture,” Angeles says.
Another hands-on option is offered by the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch, which has a Native American and environmental learning center featuring artifacts as well as daily activities, such as learning about sand painting or painting a traditional flute.
Groups can visit artists’ studios for a personal encounter with local artists, and can sometimes also attempt their crafts. According to Angeles, one group recently met with an artist at a glassblowing studio and was able to give glassblowing a try. Scottsdale is also home to more than 100 galleries, including the Larsen Gallery, which hosts receptions. The Scottsdale Gallery Association Scottsdale hosts its own ArtWalk Thursday evenings, when many galleries remain open late.
The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is currently undergoing a $14 million renovation that includes a complete makeover of its Virginia G. Piper Theater. Adding to the theater experience will be a new wine bar. The center hosts over 1,000 events annually as well as Broadway productions.
Tempe, Ariz.
Tempe has its own diverse arts community, which is chronicled by a new website, www.tempescene.com.
“It’s a one-stop shop for anyone interested in anything going on in arts and culture,” says Stephanie Nowack, president and CEO of the Tempe CVB, adding that the site lists current exhibits at various arts venues as well as performances.
Among the venues, the newest is the Tempe Center for the Arts on the shores of Tempe Town Lake. Groups can use an outdoor area where a negative-edge pool looks out on the lake. Also available is a 600-seat theater as well as a 200-seat studio.
“We hosted one of the NFL Super Bowl parties there and had over 4,000 people between the inside and outside,” Nowack says. “We added some tents outside. We’re really very flexible.”
Another center for the arts is located at Arizona State University (ASU), home to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed ASU Gammage, one of the largest university-based venues for performing arts in the world. The pavilion area is open for receptions, including live music and possible sit-down dinners. Another option, the ASU Art Museum focuses on the art of Latin America, including an extensive collection of contemporary work from Cuba.
For live music, Tempe Beach Park presents the Tempe Symphony, with the backdrop of the lake, as well as the Phoenix Symphony and other performances.
Twice a year, in March and December, the city hosts the Tempe Festival of the Arts, featuring 400 artists in different media.
Mesa, Ariz.
Mesa also takes its arts seriously, concentrating its main venues in the campus of the Mesa Arts Center, a 212,755-square-foot performing arts, visual arts and arts education facility. The campus includes four theaters, Mesa Contemporary Arts’ five-gallery visual arts complex, two art studios, informal performance areas and an outdoor plaza.
Outside the Mesa Contemporary Arts’ galleries is a house with a courtyard that can host up to 300. It is used mostly for cocktail receptions, according to Johann Zietsman, executive director of the Mesa Arts Center.
The theaters are also open to groups for sit-down dinners or classroom-style meetings. Groups can use the stages when they are available and bring in musicians, dancers and actors as entertainment.
Among the campus’ 14 art studios, groups can take part in blacksmithing, printmaking, jewelry making, drawing, painting and glassblowing, to name a few options.
“We are also in charge of the Youth Museum and Natural History Museum, both within the Downtown Cultural Precinct,” Zietsman says.
This year, the city is introducing MacFest!, an artists’ fair on the streets of downtown Mesa every Saturday from October to April. The event is meant to bring in new audiences to Mesa, where they can purchase handmade creations from artists, food from local restaurants and enjoy live music and performing artists both along Main Street and on the Mesa Arts Center campus.
Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson takes full advantage of its Southwest locale.
“We market heavily the very unique and authentic culture of this area in how we present it to planners,” says Graeme Hughes, director of convention sales for the Tucson CVB. “A group can have a very Western, authentically Native American or Mexican-American experience.”
For a taste of cowboy culture, Hughes points to the variety of nearby dude ranches.
“They are popular with smaller meetings and retreats,” he says. “You can start the day with a breakfast horseback ride or end the day with a sunset ride and dinner. Going to a dude ranch, rounding up cattle or seeing a folkloric dance is very attractive as opposed to a standard sit-down dinner.”
As part of its Western heritage, Old Tucson Studios, a filming location for old television shows like Gunsmoke and Little House on the Prairie, and a number of John Wayne movies, continues to offer its soundstage and movie sets to visitors and groups. Old Tucson Studios caters five-course meals and chuckwagon barbecues for groups of 50 to 5,000, with exclusive park rentals available for parties of 1,500 or more.
The studio also offers rides on a steam locomotive, stagecoach rides and Wild West stunt performers who are also willing to travel for group events in other locations. In downtown Tucson, the Tucson Museum of Art, focusing on pre-Colombian art and artifacts, features an outdoor plaza and interior gallery suitable for catered dinners or receptions. Another area rich in visual arts, Gallery Row, sits at the foothills of the Catalina Mountains.
“It makes for a great excursion. Groups can sample authentic Western and modern art and find shopping unique to the area, such as local arts and crafts and jewelry,” Hughes says.
In particular, DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is a landmark of Southwestern art and architecture created by Arizona artist Ted DeGrazia. A national historic district, the 10-acre retreat includes the adobe gallery and Mission in the Sun, DeGrazia’s former home and gravesite. The home is open for private tours.
About 40 miles south of Tucson, the Tubac Center of the Arts, founded by the Santa Cruz Valley Art Association, houses three galleries with over 3,500 square feet of exhibit space, a performance stage and art library. The center lets visitors watch artisans at work.
Another venue, The Temple of Music and Art, is home to a 600-seat theater, mainly used by the Arizona Theatre Company, as well as a small Temple Gallery and cabaret space that is open to groups.
Established in 1929, the Tucson Symphony is the oldest orchestra in the Southwest. Concert series includes classics, pops, masterworks and ensemble.
Sedona, Ariz.
In a town defined as much by its vibrant arts scene as its vivid red rocks, groups can find everything in Sedona from workshops to art festivals.
“The fact you are in such a beautiful place, it’s the natural beauty that inspires the art,” says Jennifer Wesselhoff, president and CEO of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce.
The Sedona Arts Center, which offers over 200 diverse arts educational opportunities each year, including classes and workshops, allows groups to customize activities, which in the past have included team-building options like pottery making.
A group can also charter the Sedona Trolley and take a customized tour to see local art. A Day in the West jeep tours also combine art and wine tasting.
Sedona’s Native American roots are also easily explored.
“One of the cool things about Sedona art is you can see the original art from our Native Americans—petroglyphs, pictographs and cliff drawings—and then go through town and see sculptures, pottery and Native American rugs,” Wesselhoff says.
Other venues for groups include the Sedona Heritage Museum and many of the over 80 galleries in town.
The Sedona Gallery Association founded Sedona’s First Friday art events, where visitors can meet with the artists and often see them at work.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Arts and culture thrive in the community of Palm Springs, sheltered by the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south and the San Jacinto Mountains to the west.
The Palm Springs Art Museum is the community’s epicenter, with traveling exhibitions and an extensive permanent collection.
“In terms of fine art collections, I would compare it to a museum in a much larger city,” says Michael Green, president of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association. “The art museum has a great outdoor sculpture garden and they host a lot of events. If groups want an off-site cocktail party in the sculpture garden, the backdrop is right at the mountain.”
Another venue, the Palm Springs Air Museum, houses one of the country’s largest collections of propeller-driven WW II aircraft. The museum can host sit-down dinners for groups in the hangars, with open doors for sunset mountain views.
The Uptown Heritage District spills with galleries and mid-century modern furniture shops. Several local tour companies offer gallery tours as well as architectural tours and celebrity home tours.
Two theaters in the valley run annual performance schedules—the Annenburg Theater and the McCallum Theatre—featuring singers, touring dance companies and a touring symphony. For smaller productions, the Palm Canyon Theatre is a prime venue.
The hottest ticket in town is the annual Palm Springs International Film Festival held in January, which draws top-name celebs like Brad Pitt.
“Because Palm Springs has such a history with the stars, it’s fun to open an event at the festival,” Green says.
Other film festivals include the summertime Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, a popular LGBT festival called Cinema Diverse in July, a senior’s film festival as well as a Native American film festival.
Palm Canyon Drive closes on Thursdays for a street fair, showcasing handmade items, such as jewelry, sculpture and other artworks.
Las Vegas
Amid all the kitsch and glitz lies a true art scene in Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Art Museum itself.
“There is an alternative to the casino environment, and we know from speaking with meeting planners they occasionally want a non-casino setting,” says Erika Pope, spokesperson for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “For any clientele interested in high-brow culture, we do have it.”
The Las Vegas Art Museum offers flexible space for receptions, and is open for catered events. Several new projects are in the works, including the Neon Museum, slated to open in the old La Concha Motel next year, as well as the Mob Museum, scheduled to debut in 2010 in Las Vegas’ first federal courthouse.
The largest project is the building of a major cultural center: The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, to be centrally located in downtown’s 61-acre Union Park. The $475 million complex center will house a 2,050-seat performance hall and three smaller theaters, with a completion date set for 2011. The Nevada Ballet Theater will perform there, as will the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
A longtime Las Vegas icon, Cirque du Soleil continues to expand with added resident shows throughout the city. Chris Angel’s Believe debuted at Luxor in October, featuring master illusionist Chris Angel. When CityCenter opens in 2009, another resident Cirque du Soleil will open featuring the music of Elvis.
At the Wynn, the Le Reve show offers incentive groups a VIP experience.
“You get your own banquette seating and your own cocktail server keeps your glass full of champagne during the show,” Pope says. “The shows are very creative. There are also video screens at the banquette so you can see what goes on behind the scenes during production.”
A relative newcomer for groups, the Las Vegas Springs Preserve is a 180-acre non-gaming cultural and historical attraction that was once home to the springs that were a source of water for Native Americans who inhabited the area.
The Springs Preserve experience includes colorful desert botanical gardens, museum galleries, outdoor concerts and events, an indoor theater, a historic photo gallery and a series of walking trails that wind through a scenic wetland habitat.
Las Vegas also boasts a vibrant First Friday program in the downtown arts district. Aside from galleries and antique shops, First Friday offers outdoor performances, and is a draw for locals and visitors alike.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Groups don’t have to search hard to experience the history and culture of Albuquerque. Its 300-year-old Old Town features numerous clusters of shops, galleries and restaurants, each cluster with a patio that can host groups. Entertainers, from mariachi bands to flute players, have performed on these patios for group gatherings.
Old Town is also home to six museums, including the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, National Atomic Museum and Explora Science Center, all open to groups.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural recently expanded, adding restaurant space to seat 300 people. Groups can take advantage of brunches on weekends, when Native American flautists play. There are also bread-baking and art demonstrations. The center offers meeting space with a large balcony sporting views of the Sandia Mountains.
Groups can also view flamenco performances at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
The Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum, located near the landing fields where the city’s famed annual Balloon Fiesta takes place, is open for indoor or outdoor parties.
Known for its red and green chilis, a number of Albuquerque’s restaurants specialize in Southwestern fare.
“Food is an art and part of the culture,” says Linda Brown, vice president of convention sales at the Albuquerque CVB.
Both Garduno’s of Mexico and El Pinto specialize in group events, offering specialties such as chili roasting, tequila tasting and strolling mariachis. El Pinto also offers cooking classes.
Santa Fe, N.M.
Rating as one of the country’s art capitals, Santa Fe impresses with more than 200 galleries and over a dozen museums, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and varied collections on Museum Hill, which consist of the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Museum of International Folk Art and Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.
Santa Fe is also home to annual world-famous art markets. The Santa Fe Indian Market, held every August, is Santa Fe’s largest event, with more than 1,200 artists from 100 tribes. The July Spanish Market celebrates traditional handcrafted works by 250 Hispanic artists. The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market brings more than 100 folk artists from 40 countries to the world’s largest market of its kind, also in July.
Aside from using venues for receptions and dinners, there are more experiential opportunities offered via companies like Native Destinations. The company can organize an outing to a sculpture garden and bring in a Native American dance demonstration followed by a catered dinner on-site. Another program takes people north of town to the Rio Grande for a float down the river with a local artist. Attendees sketch with the artist during the outing and the following day paint what they have sketched.
Santa Fe Mountain Adventures works with the Santa Fe School of Cooking, arranging short hikes in the mountains followed by a cooking class on the mountain, such as learning to make tortillas. Sometimes a string quartet or jazz combo performs as well.
“There are also ghost tours of Santa Fe and a bars and brothels tour, taking historic components of the city and fashioning them in a modern way,” says Keith Toler, executive director of the Santa Fe CVB.
Some of Santa Fe’s trendiest galleries, as well as restaurants and boutiques, are relocating to the Santa Fe Railyard, an industrial, 50-acre lot that was once used as a switching ground for trains. The Santa Fe Farmers Market has also taken up residence in the district.
The new Santa Fe Community Convention Center is also incorporating local art into its decor, including outdoor sculptures.
For live performances, the Santa Fe Opera is renowned.
“We have people come from all over the world for our opera,” Toler says.
The opera company allows groups backstage for tours of the set and costume designs. Lunch on the opera grounds is a popular option.
Las Cruces, N.M.
With its proximity to Mexico, Mexican culture is part of the fabric of Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley, as is a vibrant art scene with over 40 galleries and over 200 artists.
Downtown Las Cruces is being revitalized.
“In the ’70s they enclosed downtown and it killed it,” says Chris Faivre, media and publications manager for the Las Cruces CVB.
Work is being done to renovate downtown, including the renovation of the historic Rio Grande Theatre, an early-1900s two-story adobe theater that is open to groups.
The Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum is also distinctly Las Cruces, and features the agricultural history, heritage and science of the state with an emphasis on hands-on exhibits such as blacksmithing, plowing, and animal and plant life. Groups can use the main gallery space as well as a courtyard patio.
“The city of Las Cruces has the Las Cruces Museum of Art. Like most galleries it’s really adaptable,” Faivre says. “A new facility, the Preston Contemporary Art Center, is a beautiful facility and can be adapted to many groups.”
Just south of Las Cruces lies Old Mesilla, one of the most popular trade centers between the Midwest and the West Coast 150 years ago. Mesilla now features a plaza filled with shops, boutiques and restaurants.
“You can use the plaza and have an outdoor festival,” Faivre says. A touch of Mexican culture can be added, such as bringing in mariachis.
