August 23rd, 2024
With multiple new art exhibitions, a full lineup of concerts, creative workshops and much more, Scottsdale Arts offers a captivating calendar of events through September and October.
CAPTION: Ben Folds is among the September concerts at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) will celebrate its new exhibitions with a Fall Opening Celebration. Photos: Lewis Ginter and David Blakeman.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With multiple new art exhibitions, a full lineup of concerts, creative workshops and much more, Scottsdale Arts offers a captivating calendar of events through September and October.
Rosanne Cash, Ben Folds, Andy Grammer, Kelli O’Hara, Herb Alpert & Lani Hall and TUSK, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, will all perform live at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts while Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) welcomes patrons to its new exhibitions with a Fall Opening Celebration on Sept. 20.
Scottsdale Arts ONE Members receive special benefits, including unlimited free admission to SMoCA and discounts on select events.
The following is a list of events and exhibitions from Scottsdale Arts, a nonprofit organization comprising Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, SMoCA, Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence, and Civic Center LIVE. Visit ScottsdaleArts.org for information.
PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS
Glow Up @SMoCA: Sound Bath
Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $25
Refresh your aura with a cozy and relaxing sound bath experience in SMoCA.
Sippin’ Series: Empress Gin Garden Party
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $50
Indulge in a delightful array of specialty cocktails, showcasing Empress Gin, at the limited summer edition of the Sippin’ Series.
Ben Folds
Paper Airplane Request Tour with Special Guest Lindsey Kraft
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $66
Known for comedic and bittersweet tunes, engaging anecdotes and dexterous improvisation, Ben Folds will take song requests sent from the audience via paper airplanes.
Fall Opening Celebration
Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Free with RSVP
View SMoCA’s newest exhibitions while enjoying music by Miss Mixx in her Desert Disco Boxx, drinks from a cash bar and light bites by a local food truck.
TUSK: The Classic Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, 8 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $35
TUSK recreates the music of Fleetwood Mac to perfection with note-for-note renditions of the band’s iconic hits like “Dreams,” “Rhiannon” and “Go Your Own Way.”
Workshop with Cut+Paste Phoenix
Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, 4:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Free; first come, first served
Airi and Riho Katsuta of Cut+Paste Phoenix will lead a tour the “Stick Together” collage exhibition they co-curated with Scottsdale Public Art and then lead a creative hands-on workshop.
After Hours: Scottsdale Arts Staff Show Opening Reception
Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, 4 p.m.Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Free
Visit with the creative minds behind Scottsdale Arts’ performances, exhibitions, public art management and arts education efforts at this exhibition featuring their artistic work.
Brains and Beauty Exhibition Tour with Neuroaesthetics Expert Anjan Chatterjee
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, 7 p.m.
SMoCA
Free; RSVP required
Delve into an area of science that is all about art (or is it an area of art that is all about science?) with the director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics.
Flamenco Íntimo
Fridays and Saturdays throughout October 2024, 8 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $37.25
Flamenco artists perform unforgettable dance and music, drawing on tradition and improvisation with beautiful costumes, undulating arms, fiery footwork, intricate Spanish guitar and soul-stirring vocals.
ariZoni Theatre Arts Awards of Excellence Youth Ceremony
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $20.50
The ariZoni Theatre Awards are dedicated to recognizing excellence in theatrical performances, as well as individuals who produce exceptional work in all aspects of theater.
ariZoni Theatre Arts Awards of Excellence Adult Ceremony
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, 8 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $20.50
The ariZoni Theatre Awards are dedicated to recognizing excellence in theatrical performances, as well as individuals who produce exceptional work in all aspects of theater.
Janet Towbin: Meditative Mindscapes Opening Reception
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, 4:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Free
Meet artist Janet Towbin and celebrate the opening of her new exhibition “Meditative Mindscapes.”
Glow Up @SMoCA: Gentle Yoga
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $25
Go with the flow and relax in this gentle yoga class inside one of SMoCA’s exhibitions.
Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $52
Trumpetist Herb Alpert and vocalist Lani Hall lead an eclectic evening of American standards and Brazilian jazz, including stories about the power couple’s lives, A&M Records and the legendary artists they’ve collaborated with over the past 50 years.
Public Art Walking Tour
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, 4:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Free; first come, first served
Explore Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture and Scottsdale Public Art’s “Stick Together” exhibition during this one-hour walking tour.
ArtRx: The Mind-Body Connection Opening Reception
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, 6 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Free
Join Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation and the artists of “ArtRx: The Mind-Body Connection” for an exhibition reception.
Andy Grammer – Greater Than: A One Man Show
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, 8 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $48
Emmy winner and multiplatinum artist Andy Grammer stops by with an all-new, one-man show, featuring songs, poetry and stories.
The Seth Rudetsky Concert Series starring Kelli O’Hara with Seth Rudetsky as music director & host
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, 8 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $65
Kelli O’Hara, star of stage and screen, has established herself as one of Broadway’s greatest leading ladies with performances in “The King and I” and “Kiss Me, Kate.”
Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, 4 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $15
Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra, founded in 2023, uplifts the community with high-caliber live concerts, embodying musical excellence, kindness and respect.
Rosanne Cash
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $62
“One of the most ambitious and literary songwriters of her generation” (Rolling Stone), Rosanne Cash’s poignant and distinctive vocals turn every song into a revelatory tale.
Mystery in the Museum @SMoCA
Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets $50 (per couple), $30 (single)
Bring a friend or assemble a team, then put on your detective caps to decipher cryptic clues at this night of art, intrigue and fun.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dreamy Draw Music Festival
Friday, Nov. 1 and 2, 2024, 1 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center
Tickets start at $75 per day or $135 for both days
Dreamy Draw Music Festival features two days of Americana and country music from Mt. Joy, Flatland Cavalry, Charles Wesley Godwin, Shakey Graves, Paul Cauthen, Shane Smith and the Saints, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and Josiah and the Bonnevilles.
Canal Convergence
Friday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, evenings
Scottsdale Waterfront
Free
Scottsdale Arts’ Canal Convergence will explore both literal and metaphorical reflections with large-scale, light-based public artworks, live music and dance performances, creative workshops, educational tours and activities, food trucks, a mini film festival and a beer and wine garden.
Exploding Native Inevitable Celebration
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, 6 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Free with RSVP
Co-curators Brad Kahlhamer and Dan Mills introduce a night of programming that includes performances, videos and poetry.
Arizona Concours d’Elegance
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, 7 a.m. dawn patrol, 9 a.m. general admission
Scottsdale Civic Center
Tickets: $90
The Arizona Concours d’Elegance presents some of the world’s most superb examples of the art of coachbuilding and automotive engineering, shown in the luxury atmosphere of a stylish garden party.
EXHIBITIONS
SMoCA _____ space and Courtyard Installations
Sept. 21, 2024, through Feb. 23, 2025
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Free
Phoenix-based artist Shomit Barua’s “Entrainment 718” explores spatial and temporal perception through video and sound techniques in the _____ space (blank space). Admission is free to this exhibition and Barua’s sound installation “Hyperwilding,” located in SMoCA’s courtyard.
Exploding Native Inevitable
Aug. 10, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
“Exploding Native Inevitable” features the work of contemporary Indigenous artists, accompanied by a program of dance, film, music, performance, readings, storytelling and video.
poetics of dissonance
Aug. 10, 2024, through March 23, 2025
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
Situated on the cusp of another pivotal election, “poetics of dissonance” presents 18 artists from the SMoCA collection whose work navigates the tumultuous landscape of socio-political discourse.
Brains and Beauty: At the Intersections of Art and Neuroscience
Aug. 17, 2024, through Jan. 19, 2025
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
Visually explore neuroaesthetics, the new and rapidly expanding field of research that combines neuroscience and psychology to study the neural processes of aesthetic experience.
Cybele Lyle: Floating Seeds Make Deep Forms
Aug. 24, 2024, through Jan. 19, 2025
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
“Floating Seeds Make Deep Forms” is a site-specific installation that responds to deserts in the North American Southwest as non-places — liminal expanses for ambiguity within a regenerative ecosystem.
Stick Together
July 12 through Sept. 23, 2024
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Admission: free
This juried group exhibition of collage artworks shows the ingenious minds of artists who are sticking unusual elements together to bring a cohesive voice to the viewer.
Meditative Mindscapes
Oct. 7 through Dec. 31, 2024
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Admission: Free
Paradise Valley artist Janet Towbin’s intricate drawings and prints are tangible evidence of creative meditations.
Visions ’24
May 10 through Sept. 22, 2024
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
Visions is a year-long invitational visual arts program that has been provided to Valley teens for 25 years. In collaboration with six high schools, students attended monthly workshops conducted by professional artists, toured universities, and connected with exhibitions offered by SMoCA.
ArtRx: The Mind-Body Connection
Oct. 17, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
“ArtRx: The Mind-Body Connection” explores the healing qualities of arts engagement through music, visual art, poetry, dance and architecture.
After Hours: Scottsdale Arts Staff Show
Sept. 27, 2024, through March 3, 2025
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
See the creative inspiration behind the work at Scottsdale Arts with original works by the creative minds behind the nonprofit organization’s performances, exhibitions, public art management and arts education efforts.
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 world class and title sponsors and partners: City of Scottsdale, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Flinn Foundation, Billie Jo Herberger, Krumwiede Lewis Family Foundation, Nationwide, National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, SOAR Foundation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, SRP, Terra Foundation for American Art, Karen and John Voris, Arizona Republic, Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, Betty Hum & Alan Yudell, Buddy Taub Foundation, and Virginia M. Ullman Foundation.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sydney Ritter | SydneyR@ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-874-4663