Celebrate Frida Kahlo at First Friday in July
It’s going to be a hot one, not to mention the start of a holiday weekend, but events are popping up across the downtown Phoenix arts district for the First Friday in July.
The artist collective Phoenix Fridas are back with new art created during the pandemic. Each piece is inspired by world renowned artist Frida Kahlo.
During the event, there will be an interview with the group’s founder Kathy Cano-Murillo, aka The Crafty Chica, about her recent book, “Forever Frida.” Cano-Murillo will also be on-site signing books.
“It’s a fitting way to bring Frida back to our fans, since we were unable to celebrate her 113th birthday with the community in 2020,” said Cano-Murillo in a press release. “We are excited to reconnect with our fans through ‘Expresiones por Frida’.”
Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum are open and simply accepting donations for admission on First Friday.
If you go to PAM, there are new acquisitions to the museum’s collection being featured. At the Heard Museum, this is the final month to see Leon Polk Smith’s exhibition “Hiding in Plain Sight.”
Masks are still required in many indoor spaces. Check the website for whichever venue you plan to details.
Here are some events happening in downtown Phoenix for July’s First Friday.
First Friday Artwalk
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Though Artlink has not yet restarted the monthly First Friday Artwalk, unofficially artists have resumed setting up
shop on Roosevelt Row to sell art and paint during First Friday. The artists will be back in July with new artworks and performances.
Details: rooseveltrow.org/ fridays-in-phoenix/
‘This Just In: A Spotlight on New Acquisitions’ at Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix Art Museum has opened a new installation featuring works recently acquired into the museum’s collection. “This Just In: A Spotlight on New Acquisitions” showcases new fashion, Asian art, American and Western American art, modern and contemporary art. Artists include a sketch by Joe Eula of the late fashion designer Geoffrey Beene and a painting titled “WPA” by Miné Okubo, which is the first work in the American art collection by a Japanese-American woman.
Details: Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-257-1880. phxart.org.
‘Contemporary Voices Section 4’ at Found:RE Contemporary
“Contemporary Voices Section 4” is the last in a series of four exhibitions at FOUND:RE Contemporary Gallery. The show features artworks curated from submissions to the 21st Annual Artlink Juried Exhibition “Contemporary Voices.”
The series presents a variety of mediums including sculpture, painting and mixed media. Artists include Tara Catalano, Joe Dal Pra, Joanne L Gallery, Fernando Cabrera Gonzalez, Megan Johnson,
Liz Medrano and Elisa Reed.
Details: FOUND: RE Phoenix Hotel, 1100 N. Central Ave. 602-875-8000,
foundrehotels.com/contemporary.
‘Things We Carry’ at Lisa Sette Gallery
Artworks from artists Merryn Omotayo Alaka, Sam Fresquez, and Angela Ellsworth shine a light on the complex beauty of identity and culture. The exhibition is titled “Things We Carry,” their large works take up physical space to showcase how claiming one’s identity in the public sphere can be fraught with resistance for women and people of color but will not shrink to fit any molds.
Their selection of works will be exhibited at Lisa Sette Gallery until Sept. 21. Regular hours have returned to the Lisa Sette Gallery after the COVID-19 pandemic caused restrictions. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Details: Lisa Sette Gallery, 210 East Catalina Drive. 480-990-7342, lisasettegallery.com.
‘Expressiones por Frida’ at Mucho Más Studio and Art Gallery
The Phoenix Fridas art collective is back with a new exhibition titled “Expressiones por Frida.” The show opens July 2 at Mucho Más Studio and Art Gallery. The gallery will be open to First Friday visitors from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
A live-stream show will begin at 7 p.m. and will focus on the members of the Phoenix Fridas which include rare facts about Kahlo and her life with muralist Diego Rivera, individual interviews with each artist in the show and live readings from the diaries and letters of Kahlo.
Also, the Fridas plan to solicit “Dear Frida” letters from the group’s fans; some letters will be selected to share during the live-stream show, while many will be shared online at the Phoenix Fridas’ Facebook page.
Members of the Phoenix Fridas will be selling hand-crafted items and art work inside Mucho Más during the First Friday event.
Details: Mucho Más Studio and Art Gallery, 1736A E. McDowell Road. muchomasartstudio.com
Susan Allred ‘Hold Over Flow’ at Eye Lounge
Consider the relationship between beauty and utility in this solo exhibition features a series of fiber vessels such as pitchers, that “explore visual metaphors for receptivity, holding on and letting go,” according to the Gallery’s description. The parts of a pitcher (handle, belly and spouts) are symbols for human desires to be stable, useful and generous.
First Friday event is 6-9 p.m. Details: Eye Lounge, 419 E. Roosevelt St. 602-430-1490, eyelounge.com.
Free admission at Heard Museum
This is the last weekend to see the popular exhibition, Leon Polk Smith’s “Hiding in Plain Sight.” This exhibition takes those who see it from Smith’s birthplace in Oklahoma to New York City where he would become a founding icon of mid-century modern art.
In addition to the Polk exhibition, also on display at the Heard Museum are the exhibitions “Small Wonders” and “All at Once: The Gift of Navajo Weaving.”
Admission to the museum is free on First Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.
Details: Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave. 602-252-8840, heard.org.
Elizabeth Montgomery is Arts and Culture Reporter for The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com. Reach her at emontgomery@azcentral.com or 602444-8764. Follow her on Twitter @emontnews. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.