Press Release

March 20, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2024  
MEDIA CONTACT: Sydney Ritter | [email protected] | 480-874-4663  

April showers bring colorful, joyous events to Scottsdale Arts

The ARTrageous Gala | Cosmic Crescendo and Earth Connections: Artist Conversation and Workshop with Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and Gloria Martinez Granados are among the many Scottsdale Arts events in April. Photo credits: David Blakeman and Mateo Caballero.  

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Arts will bring laughter, celebration and fun-filled enjoyment with many new exciting events this April. 

The April lineup starts with The ARTrageous Gala | Cosmic Crescendo on April 6, one of Scottsdale Arts’ grandest events of the year, filled with music, dance and contemporary art in celebration of this year’s solar eclipse. Three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone takes the stage on April 16, performing a multitude of songs from her renowned career. Artists Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and Gloria Martinez Granados return to SMoCA to share their artistic practices in a unique artist conversation and workshop on April 20. 

The following is a list of events and exhibitions from Scottsdale Arts, a nonprofit organization comprising Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence and Civic Center LIVE. Visit ScottsdaleArts.org for information.  

PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS  

Memory Lounge: Drawing for Relaxation 
Friday, April 5, 2024, 1 p.m.  
Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts  
Tickets per couple: $20 
Science now proves that drawing stimulates brain systems that help us de-stress and maintain a positive feeling of well-being. Memory Lounge is an arts program for people with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.  

ARTrageous Gala | Cosmic Crescendo 
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 6:30 p.m.  
Scottsdale Civic Center  
Tickets start at $450 
Scottsdale Arts’ ARTrageous Gala is back! This is more than just a gala; it’s a transcendent experience that captures the awe-inspiring essence of a solar eclipse. You’ll witness a harmonious symphony of art forms, where dance, music and contemporary art merge into a captivating spectacle.  

Golden Hour Concert Series: Night Beats  
Thursday, April 11, 2024, 6:30 p.m.  
Scottsdale Civic Center  
Tickets start at $25  
Immerse yourself in the distinctive sounds of the Southwest during our Golden Hour Concert Series featuring Night Beats with supporting artist Inkblot.  

Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes  
Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 7:30 p.m.  
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts  
Tickets start at $79 
Three-time Tony Award® winner Patti LuPone celebrates her legendary career through a “personal musical memoir.”  

Memory Lounge: Art Workshop with Carolyn Lavender 
Friday, April 19, 2024, 1 p.m.  
Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts  
Tickets per couple: $20 
Learn how to tell a story through charcoal drawing. Memory Lounge is an arts program for people with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.  

Earth Connections: Artist Conversation and Workshop    
Saturday, April 20, 2024, 12:30 p.m.  
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art  
Tickets: Free 
Join us for a unique artist conversation and workshop, featuring artists Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and Gloria Martinez Granados in collaboration with Borderlands Restoration Network. 

Library Creatives | Draw What You See: Outdoor Watercolor and Ink with Koryn Woodward Wasson   
Monday, April 22, 2024, 4:30 p.m.  
Scottsdale Civic Center Park  
Tickets: Free 
Join “Flirting with the Desert” artist Koryn Woodward Wasson on Earth Day for an outdoor exploration of the beautiful plants and structures outside the Scottsdale Civic Center Library’s walls. 

Glow Up @SMoCA: Gentle Yoga   
Thursday, April 25, 2024, 7 p.m.  
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art  
Tickets: $20
Go with the flow and relax in this gentle yoga class, led by Melinda Milton inside the exhibition “Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage.” 

The 2024 Scottsdale Jazz Fest: Jazz, Blues, & Brews 
Saturday, April 27, 2024, 3 p.m.  
Scottsdale Civic Center 
Tickets start at $35 
The Scottsdale Jazz Festival is just one of UNESCO’s celebrations taking place on International Jazz Weekend across the country.  

EXHIBITIONS   

Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage    
Feb. 3 through July 21, 2024   
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art   
Admission: $7 to $12   
“Color Mirage” is the first major U.S. museum exhibition on the prolific, yet underrecognized, American painter Dorothy Fratt.  

Carolina Aranibar-Fernández: Oleaje  
Feb. 10 through Aug. 4, 2024   
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art   
Admission: $7 to $12   
“Oleaje,” Spanish for “Groundswell,” features new large-scale installation works by Bolivian-born artist Carolina Aranibar-Fernández that map and memorialize the rippling effects of a coercive global trade industry.  

Randy Johnson: Storytelling with Photographs    
Feb. 23 through April 28, 2024   
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts   
Admission: Free   
Former Major League pitcher Randy Johnson’s new photography exhibition, coinciding with the 2024 Spring Training season, showcases images from his travels.  

Roelof Knol: the space in between   
Sept. 23, 2023, through July 28, 2024   
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art   
Admission: $7 to $12   
In this new immersive installation, emerging Dutch artist Roelof Knol creates a playful, interactive, audiovisual experience that invites viewers to explore their relationship between digital and physical spaces.   

_____ space Exhibitions   
Sept. 22, 2023, through July 28, 2024   
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art   
Admission: free   
____ space (blank space) is a new, experimental, flexible space at SMoCA, currently featuring two installations by artists Kenaim Al-Shatti and Roelof Knol.   

Breaking the Binary   
Oct. 11, 2023, through April 15, 2024   
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts   
Admission: Free   
Featuring surrealistic self-portraits by youth associated with the nonprofit one•n•ten, “Breaking the Binary” explores what being queer means to them.   

Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection   
Ongoing   
Various locations throughout Scottsdale   
Admission: free   
More than 150 artworks, many of them large-scale sculptures, can be found throughout the city at parks, in public facilities, and along the streets. See the map at ScottsdalePublicArt.org for locations.   

For more information about the events, and to order tickets, visit ScottsdaleArts.org

Scottsdale Arts would like to thank the following sponsors and partners: City of Scottsdale, Billie Jo Herberger, Nationwide, Panasonic Connect, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, SRP, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, AJ’s Fine Foods, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Republic, Great American Title Agency, Krumwiede Lewis Family Foundation, Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, Betty Hum & Alan Yudell, Christine and Richard Kovach, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Tiffany & Bosco.

News release prepared by Srija Raghavapuram, Scottsdale Arts communications intern.