Summer events coming to Scottsdale Arts this May and June

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Arts will finish its golden 50th anniversary season in May and June with an energetic lineup of events and exhibitions.

May brings back popular performers and events, including David Sedaris at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix on May 2 and “AJ’s The Art of Wine: Summer to Impress” on May 16 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. On June 5, Detour Company Theatre returns to the center for three nights of “Grease” in both English and ASL.

SMoCA will host events for every kind of art lover with “Artists & Writers in Conversation on Tender Alchemy” — an intimate afternoon conversation with the artists discussing the new exhibition — on May 9, two Glow Up @SMoCA events on May 14 and June 20, and an encore presentation of “Mystery in the Museum @SMoCA: Brushstrokes and Buried Secrets” on May 29.

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

Visions ’26 Opening Reception
Friday, May 1, 2026, 5 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Free
Join the celebrations as the young artists make their professional debut! This exhibition is the students’ first opportunity to share their voices and show their work in a professional art gallery.

David Sedaris
Saturday, May 2, 2026, 8 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre
Tickets start at $48
Witness a masterclass in observational storytelling from the author of “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” delivered with intimate candor, sharp comedy, and precise timing.

Artists & Writers in Conversation on Tender Alchemy
Saturday, May 9, 2026, 2 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Free
Join us for an intimate afternoon conversation around “Tender Alchemy” to discuss the exhibition and its accompanying catalog, exploring the ideas, processes and collaborations that shape the project.

Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra | Dreams of Freedom: The American Experience
Sunday, May 10, 2026, 4 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $20
Take a stirring orchestral journey through American spirit, struggle, and sound, featuring Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue,” Beethoven, Copland and Barber.

Glow Up @SMoCA: Sound Bath
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $25
Refresh your aura and bathe in the serene light of Squidsoup’s “Infinite” as a sound bath led by Melinda Milton eases you into deep relaxation.

AJ’s The Art of Wine: Summer to Impress
Saturday, May 16, 2026, 1 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $45
This annual wine tasting is elevated into a stylish summer soirée, inspired by the season’s colors, flavors and effortless elegance. Guests are invited to explore a curated selection of spring and summer wines, paired with garden-inspired sweet and savory combinations.

Mystery in the Museum @SMoCA: Brushstrokes and Buried Secrets Encore Presentation
Friday, May 29, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $25
Cryptic clues have been left behind, and we need your help to decipher them! It’s time to put your detective caps on to crack these puzzles and follow the clues throughout the museum to investigate this curious caper.

Detour Company Theatre Presents Grease
Friday, June 5, 2026, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 6, 2026, 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 7, 2026, 3 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Free
Detour Company Theatre ignites the stage with a high-energy production of “Grease,” starring adult actors with disabilities. Get ready to sing along to “Summer Nights” in both English and ASL—because this summer, “Grease” is for everyone.

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers: Indigo Park Tour
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $79
Dynamic, spontaneous and deeply musical — “that’s just the way it is” when Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers perform, transforming their music through intuitive interplay.

Glow Up @SMoCA: Sound Bath at Sunset
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $25
Refresh your aura as you enjoy this unique summer solstice celebration with us! Get comfy and lose yourself in the serene beauty of the James Turrell “Knight Rise” Skyspace as the sun sets, and revel in a moment of Zen with a sound bath led by Melinda Milton to ease you into deep relaxation.

LOOKING AHEAD 

Temporary Public Art Celebration
Thursday, July 16, 2026, 5 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Free
Join Scottsdale Public Art in celebrating the newest temporary public artworks installed in Scottsdale. Artists Sawyer Boyd and Tyson Krank will be present to discuss the inspiration, design and technical aspects of their respective artworks.

EXHIBITIONS 

Visions '26
May 1 through Sept. 13, 2026
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Free
“Visions ’26” highlights the skills, inspirations and ideas exchanged between advanced high school art students and Arizona-based professional artists over the year.

Desert Diamonds: Scottsdale’s 75th Anniversary
April 10 through June 30, 2026
Scottsdale Civic Center Library
Free
The arts have been part of the fabric of Scottsdale since its beginning. "Desert Diamonds” reflects Scottsdale’s creative and cultural history through photography, painting and sculpture.

Nancy Kravetz: Color Forms the Day
April 3 through June 14, 2026
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
With a career spanning seven decades, Nancy Kravetz has continually explored how form and color can be organized to create meaning.

Tender Alchemy: Beth Ames Swartz and Julianne Swartz
March 21 through Aug. 23, 2026
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art 
Admission: $10 to $16
"Tender Alchemy" presents the works of mother and daughter artists whose distinct practices are united by a shared devotion to transformation.

• Squidsoup • Infinite •
June 28, 2025, through Aug. 30, 2026
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $10 to $16
Enter “Infinite” and be surrounded by hundreds of illuminated spheres that form a symphony of notes.

Mark + Making | Selections from the SMoCA Collection
March 21, 2026, through January 31, 2027
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $10 to $16
Featuring drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture from SMoCA’s collection, “Mark + Making” explores the use of marks, gestures and line to build form and shape ideas in contemporary artistic practice.

SMoCA _____ space and Courtyard Installations 
Oct. 11, 2025, through May 17, 2026
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art 
Free 
In “Pathfinding,” Evan Roth reflects a search for slowness, light and warmth, using the sky above Scottsdale as both source and inspiration.

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 thanks the following sponsors and partners: City of Scottsdale, Betty Hum & Alan Yudell, Flinn Foundation, Karen and John Voris, Nationwide, Northern Trust, Scottsdale Fashion Square, SRP, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Krumwiede Lewis Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Old National Bank, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation and AJ's Fine Foods. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Sydney Ritter | SydneyR@ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-874-4663