Mesa Arts Center will mark the start of its 2018-19 season with a free, family-friendly festival titled Get Jazzed, Friday, September 14, 2018, 6-11 p.m. The event is inspired by five, jazz-themed exhibitions opening in Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum that same evening.
Features of the festival include: performances by Sidewalk Chalk, a Chicago-based ensemble whose music transcends the genre of jazz with a sound that blends elements of funk, hip-hop and R&B; additional performances by Dennis Rowland and Friends featuring Jesse McGuire, Blaise Lantana, a roving brass band and the Let Freedom Swing All-Stars; five contemporary art exhibitions in the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum; artist demonstrations in glass, jewelry, ceramics, printmaking and blacksmithing/welding studios; shopping in The Store, an artists cooperative gallery, featuring items by Arizona artists; hands-on activities; food vendors such as Soundbite Food Truck (and Short Leash Hot Dogs), Paletas Betty, WBs BBQ, Firehouse Kettle Corn and more.
Events to celebrate jazz will continue throughout the season, including free screenings of Jazz, a film series by Ken Burns, in the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum; a three-part series of ticketed outdoor jazz concerts offered in partnership with The Nash; and several Performing Live jazz concerts including Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis.
A schedule of jazz events along with descriptions and details of each upcoming exhibition are listed below.
Jazz Stories, by Faith Ringgold, Sept 14 Nov 25, 2018
A cultural icon, Faith Ringold is renowned for her unconventional quilts, which narrate events from her life as well as the Black-American experience.
KO MO Not Knowing, by Joe Willie Smith, Sept 14, 2018 Jan 6, 2019
Joe Willie Smith is a Phoenix-based visual and performance artist, whose interests span music, art, design and innovation. Smith is known for his playable musical instruments, fabricated from found materials.
Eras of Jazz: The Visual, by Reyes Padilla, Sept 14, 2018 Jan 6, 2019
Born with synesthesia, New Mexico artist Reyes Padilla uses his remarkable ability to paint music. Padillas site-specific installation transforms a gallery into a visual expression of jazz.
Crazy Vibes and Thangs, by Frank Morrison, Sept 14, 2018 Jan 13, 2019
Atlanta artist Frank Morrison is an acclaimed illustrator. Through the lens of hip-hop culture and urban iconography, Morrisons newest jazz focused paintings feature underrepresented people within a cityscape as well as the visual rhythms that choreograph everyday life.
Jazz It Up!, Jazz Inspired Art from Today, Sept 14, 2018 Jan 20, 2019
Jazz It Up! looks at the enduring impact of this important form of artistic expression on contemporary art as well as the celebrated musicians, who have become significant icons in American popular culture.
Curatorial Spotlight: Rudy Gutierrez
Incorporating a variety of cross-cultural references, New York artist Rudy Gutierrez uses vivid colors and broad-brush strokes to dynamically capture the energy of his subjects.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Season Kickoff Festival: Get Jazzed September 14, 2018, 6-11 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: Gumbo September 20, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: The Gift September 27, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz at Lincoln Center w/Wynton Marsalis October 4, 2018, 7:30 p.m. Ticketed
Sound in the Ground: Nash Nights at MAC October 5, 2018, 8:30-11 p.m. $20
Jazz screening: Our Language October 11, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: The True Welcome October 18, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: Swing: Pure Pleasure October 25, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: Swing: The Velocity of Celebration
November 1, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Sound in the Ground: Nash Nights at MAC November 2, 2018, 8:30-11 p.m. $20
Jazz screening: Dedicated to Chaos November 8, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: Risk November 15, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: The Adventure November 29, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Jazz screening: A Masterpiece by Midnight December 6, 2018, 7 p.m. Free
Sound in the Ground: Nash Nights at MAC December 7, 2018, 8:30-11 p.m. $20
Mesa Arts Center is located at One East Main Street in downtown Mesa. There is no charge to attend the Season Kickoff Festival or the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museums opening, and parking is free. More information can be found at MesaArtsCenter.com or by calling 480-644-6500.
The season kickoff event is generously sponsored by Celerion and Crescent Crown Distributing.