Tucson Sculpture Festivals (2012 - 2015)

 I helped make four Tucson Sculpture Festivals happen, from 2012 -- 2015.

Opening for the 

Tucson Sculpture Festival 2013

The Tucson Sculpture Festival was started by Danny Wolverton with the Parasol Project at the Sculpture Resource Center in 2010.  It always happened during the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. The Anarchestra was a large part of three of the Sculpture Festivals I worked with.

2012

At the last moment I stepped in to receive the sculptures at the 3rd Annual Tucson Sculpture Festival 2012, and wound up gallery sitting for whole two weeks of the exhibition at the Sculpture Resource Center as the Gallery Tyrant. I also blogged about the festival and produced a catalog.

Flyer for the 3rd Annual

Tucson Sculpture Festival 2012

Front gate during the Tucson Sculpture Festival 2012

The courtyard

of the Sculpture Resource Center

The gallery inside

the Sculpture Resource Center

The gallery inside

the Sculpture Resource Center

Danny Wolverton performing

at the opening

(which he would also do later

for America's Got Talent)

The opening January 27th

The Anarchestra at the opening

Meanwhile at the same time elsewhere in Tucson, Eric Firestone put on the Boneyard Project by inviting graffiti artists to paint the airplanes.  The reception was January 28th.

Nunca from Brazil

painted this airplane at the Boneyard Project in Tucson

Later on February 7th, the Anarchestra put on a concert using a Rubens Tube (with some help by Xerocraft).

Playing the Rubens Tube

with the Anarchestra

I also put out a thin catalog, for sale on Lulu:

Catalog for sale on Lulu

2013

The next year I took the 4th Annual Tucson Sculpture Festival 2013 to the Whistle Stop Depot, and it expanded.  We had simultaneous openings at the Whistle Stop and the Sculpture Resource Center. I organized, blogged and produced this festival.  Plus I was the Gallery Tyrant.

Flyer for the 4th Annual Tucson Sculpture Festival 2013

The Anarchestra was prominently featured

at the 2013 Sculpture Festival

Dan Collins, a pioneer of 3D digital sculpture and ASU professor, let us exhibit the smaller version of the sculpture below which he created in China.

ASU sculpture professor Dan Collins,

lent us the smaller version of this sculpture

to exhibit

The gallery behind Susan K Johnson's figurative masterpiece

Different gallery view

from Moises Orozco's figure

Opening night on February 1st was packed and eventful (YouTube Video):

Opening night February 1st

The Tucson High School Drumline

lead visitors from the Whistle Stop Depot

to the Sculpture Resource Center

on opening night

The exhibition waiting at the 

Tucson Sculpture Center

Likewise the closing event on February 15th was spectacular, with the Poi-Zen fire dancers:

Closing at the Whistle Stop

with the Poi-Zen fire dancers

During the Sculpture Festival, Guillermo Gómez-Peña hosted a workshop nearby, at the Cirque Roots space in the Solar Culture complex, on February 9th:

Part of the performance art

of the troop of Guillermo Gómez-Peña

We had a great turnout for this event, both at the opening and closing, with brisk visitors during the two weeks in between.  Tucson just poured out in support and attendance.  As Clark Trujillo said, "It wanted to happen."

It Wanted to Happen

We owe a big debt to Nancy Bender, the owner of the Whistle Stop, and Carl White and Tana Kelch for pulling the festival off.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli took pictures and created the catalog for us, which can be seen online at ISSUU.

Catalog for sale on Lulu

2014

Tanya Rich directed the 5th Annual Tucson Sculpture Festival 2014 and I helped produce it.  We had simultaneous openings at The Art Gallery and the Sculpture Resource Center on February 1st.

Flyer for the 5th Annual

Tucson Sculpture Festival 2014

Famous TUCSON mural

on the side of the Art Gallery building

Yay Sculpture Festival!

The Art Gallery was the main venue

that hosted the Tucson Sculpture Festival 2014

Well attended opening on February 1st!

During the opening

we scanned people in 3D

A few days later

Metalphysic milled out a few

large 3D scans in Styrofoam

The second half of the festival

was at the Sculpture Resource Center

Gallery shot of the Sculpture Resource Center

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli took pictures and created the catalog for us, which can be seen online at ISSUU.

Catalog for sale on Lulu

2015

Tanya Rich directed the 6th Annual Tucson Sculpture Festival 2015 at The Art Gallery, and I helped produce it.  We had simultaneous openings at The Art Gallery and the Tucson Sculpture Festival on January 31st.

Flyer for the 6th Annual

Tucson Sculpture Festival 2015

The Art Gallery was the main venue

that hosted the Tucson Sculpture Festival 

for a second time, in 2015

The Gallery

(painted green in 2015)

Another main gallery view

The opening was huge and well attended

 on January 31st

Opening night spread

from January 31st

Tanya Rich (l) was in charge,

and pleased at most of the sculptures

The second half of the exhibition

was at the Sculpture Resource Center

A few of the same sculptors

showed at the Granada Gallery --

which also showed fossils and reconstructed holograms

of the Archaeopteryx (the oldest bird fossil)

Archaeopteryx at the Granda Gallery

fossils and holograms

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli took pictures and created the catalog for us, which can be seen online at ISSUU.

Catalog for sale on Lulu

Currently there is now the Sculpture Tucson Festival (which I have nothing to do with as I now live in Albuquerque), and I would love to attend once things get back to normal after Covid.