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Previous October 12, 2022 Next Citizen/Enemy: Japanese American Incarceration Camps October 12, 2022 December 23, 2023 Citizen/Enemy" confronts an uncomfortable period in American history, when the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to incarceration camps. The exhibition features historic documents, installations, and large-scale images from noted photographers Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee, offering a guide for reflection on this tragic political action and its repercussions for Japanese Americans.

Previous September 27, 2023 Next Circa 1930s: Memories of the General Store, Feed Sacks, Quilting and More Repair, reuse, make-do and don't throw anything away in this 1930s based exhibit that includes an era-inspired General Store. September 27, 2023 October 11, 2024 Subsistence and sustainability were central to life in the 1930’s. From the thrifty use of Campbell’s Soup as a meal to the sustainable use of brightly colored flour sacks as the fabric for clothing, the men and women of the 1930’s were experts at getting-by on very little. The Great Depression’s motto was “repair, reuse, make-do and don’t throw anything away!” Throughout our depression-era general store, we point out the sticker-shock price changes in the food and other goods that markedly have changed in the hundred years since these products graced the shelves of general stores in the 1930’s. Other products are gentle reminders of how far we have come as a society. The books on display tell their own story of the challenges they faced in helping pupils learn to read. Smaller towns and rural areas often did not have money to pay schoolteachers in the 1930s. One-room grade schools were common and children often had to work instead of being allowed to attend school. Millions used one book "The Dick and Jane Reader" to learn to read (introduced in 1931). "A woman displays dresses that she made from flour sacks" at Sabine Farms, Marshall, Texas (1939). Photo by Russell Lee. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. In this time period, a man could expect to live to 58, a woman to 62 years of age. Hospitals and doctors were expensive, few and often far away, babies were born at home, industrial and farm equipment was dangerous and accidents and disease claimed many lives. Work was hard, in cities, towns and on the farms. Across the nation, men and women stood in soup lines if they did not have enough work to put food on the table. Between the introduction by the USPS of rural mail delivery and the invention of mail order catalogs, general stores gradually lost their importance. Extensive catalogs (Sears and Montgomery Wards being the most popular) were referred to as “town-killers” by merchants because of their effect on rural townsfolks no longer needing to come to the urban areas and stores. With the increase in automobile travel and improved roads being developed for mail carrier delivery, people began to go to bigger cities to shop. In the 1930s, supermarkets began to spring up, and, unable to compete, general stores began to close. Among other focal points of a small town, such as the school, church and courthouse, the general store was once the lifeblood of the community. We hope you enjoy our general store. "Farm Boy Sitting on Cartons in General Store. Jarreau, Louisiana." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. Step back in time as you walk into Our General Store.

Contact Contact Information 7000 E Tanque Verde Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520-202-3888 mail@tucsondart.org Contact Us First name* Last name Email* Phone Write a message Submit

Previous January 12, 2018 Next Colors to Dye For: The Mysterious World of Dye-Making January 12, 2018 June 30, 2018 Colors to Dye For explores the mysterious industry of dye-making. The beautiful southwestern palette created in early Navajo textiles was produced through a variety of materials found in nature. This exhibition takes a close look at the history of indigo and red. Why was indigo referred to as a “color of the devil,” and how did a beetle from the Sonoran desert change the history of red? Come see the fascinating transformation of how wool is made into yarn and yarn is turned into beautiful textiles.

Previous November 1, 2015 Next Crossing Between Worlds: Life, Land and Culture of Canyon de Chelly November 1, 2015 March 22, 2016 Charles D. Winters is a photographer and cinematographer specializing in anthropology, nature and the environment. His exhibit of engaging photographs tells the story of Navajo life in the magnificent landscape of the Four Corners region. His work explores the rich heritage of the Diné and the confluence of tradition and modernity. Charles D. Winters is the retired head of the photography department at State University of New York, Oneonta. His work has been widely exhibited both in the US and internationally.

Previous January 10, 2020 Next Art is the Seed: Contemporary Native American Female Art January 10, 2020 May 31, 2020 Featuring a selection of nearly 30 works across mediums and decades, Art is the Seed explores how historic Native American crafts are the cultural “seeds” inspiring many Native American women artists’ works today. The exhibition features contemporary artworks by Native American artists Cara Romero, Marla Allison, Sarah Sense, Natani Notah, Darby Raymond-Overstreet and Leah Mata Fragua, in addition to historic artifacts loaned by Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery. Honoring and building upon the artistic legacy of their foremothers, the artists’ works fuse historic and culturally-specific symbols with 21st century ideas and art forms, including performance art, photography, sculpture, painting and collage. The artists’ works are explorations into what it means to be a modern, Indigenous woman today. Through their art, the artists forge new ways of being Native American in the modern world and affirm that Indigenous culture is both ever-evolving and here to stay. The exhibition is curated by Alyssa Travis, Chief Curator, Tucson Desert Art Museum. For generations, Native American women’s art has largely been ignored by the established art community, including situations where women’s work has been signed by men, further pushing women artists into silence. This exhibition takes a powerful tradition of female artists and speaks out with modern expression. The women artists on display take traditional craft arts from their heritage and transform them with contemporary twists to give voice to the multi- generational women artist community. Curator Alyssa Travis stated, “We are honored to exhibit such a powerful selection of artworks from Indigenous artists, past and present. The contemporary works on display reflect the artists’ personal attitudes towards what it means to be a contemporary Indigenous woman today.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2020/01/19/spotlight-continues-shining-on-female-native-american-artists/?ss=arts&sh=52a659ab588b

Previous January 14, 2023 Next ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas The history and culture of Latinos and their impact on American culture and society through the lens of baseball, shared in the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service’s (SITES) new bilingual traveling exhibition hosted here at TDART. January 14, 2023 April 9, 2023 The history and culture of Latinos and their impact on American culture and society through the lens of baseball will be shared in the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service’s (SITES) new bilingual (Spanish and English) exhibition, Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas. The exhibition will be on view at the Tucson Desert Art Museum (TDART) from January 14, 2023, to April 9, 2023. "Kansas City Lady Aztecas softball team," Kansas City, Kansas, 1939. Courtesy of Rose Arroyo in memory of Mary Montes. Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Museum of American History . The exhibition received generous support from the Cordoba Corporation and Linda Alvarado, and federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. This exhibition is made possible locally with funding from a grant from Arizona Humanities ; support from Adara Wealth Management and media sponsor, Tucson Lifestyle Magazine . "Roberto Clemente, Forbes Field," Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, around 1967 . Courtesy of The Clemente Museum The exhibition captures the excitement of the game, from community baseball teams to the Major League, highlighting how the game can bring people together regardless of race, class, and gender. It will feature reproductions of historic and personal photographs, and graphic elements as well as a short bilingual video produced by “La Vida Baseball.” Throughout the 20th century in the United States and Latin America, baseball provided a path for a better future. Workers in agriculture and industry in the United States used baseball to make ends meet and as a socially acceptable space to find community and organize for rights and justice. Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas has been made possible through close collaborations with over 30 partners in 14 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico to help bring visibility to Latino community histories through baseball. Smithsonian curators collaborated with partners and local communities across the country to document and preserve baseball stories at the heart of Latino communities. The traveling exhibition will visit 15 cities through 2025. "Carmen Lujan on base," Colton, California, 1936. Courtesy of the Salazar family To highlight how baseball has played a formative role in Tucson’s barrios, this local exhibition also features archival photography that highlights the importance of baseball in Tucson’s own local barrios, including Barrio Anita, as well as a collection of historic baseball memorabilia from Arizona. TDART will host events in connection with this exhibition, including: ¡Pleibol! Night at the Museum January 24, 2023, 6:30 – 8:30 PM Tucson Desert Art Museum Register Now

Notice of Filming & Photography The Tucson Desert Art Museum and Four Corners Gallery love to include images of our visitors in our social media, online, and print publications. When you enter the Tucson Desert Art Museum or Four Corners Gallery, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the premises, you consent to photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, webcasts, promotional purposes, telecasts, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose, by the Tucson Desert Art Museum and Four Corners Gallery, its affiliates and representatives. Images, photos and/or videos may be used to promote similar events in the future, highlight the event and exhibit the capabilities of the museum. You release The Tucson Desert Art Museum and the Four Corners Gallery, and all persons involved with the museum or gallery from any liability connected with the taking, recording, digitizing, or publication and use of photographs, video and/or sound recordings. By entering the premises, you waive all rights you may have to any claims for payment or royalties in connection with any use, exhibition, streaming, webcasting, televising, or other publication of these materials, regardless of the purpose or sponsoring of such use, exhibiting, broadcasting, webcasting, or other publication irrespective of whether a fee for admission or sponsorship is charged. You also waive any right to inspect or approve any photo, video, or audio recording taken by the Tucson Desert Art Museum and the Four Corners Gallery or the person or entity designated to do so by the Tucson Desert Art Museum or Four Corners Gallery.

Previous November 3, 2015 Next Women Artists of the West 45th Annual National Exhibition: WAOWing the Grand Canyon State November 3, 2015 November 28, 2015 Women Artists of the West is a unique and respected group of professional women artists from all over the United States and Canada. Its Annual National Exhibition is a competitive, juried show - only a fraction of the artwork submitted will be accepted for inclusion. Wyoming-based plein-air palette knife artist Carol Swinney is this year's juror. The Tucson Desert Art Museum is honored to have been chosen as the site of the 2015 WAOW show. It included paintings and sculpture in a variety of media, with landscape, still life, animal, and figurative subjects. For more information about Women Artists of the West please visit waow.org

Previous December 15, 2021 Next SNAP 2! Snapshots of History through Vintage Advertising December 15, 2021 June 25, 2022 SNAP! Snapshots of History through Vintage Advertising, opens May 1 and continues through November 30, 2019. SNAP! is back on view! The Museum’s extensive collection of vintage ads from the great southwest and its surrounding areas encourages guests to walk down memory lane by viewing vintage advertisements as a historical mirror of the burgeoning American consumer class, circa 1900-1960. The Museum warns that some of these ads may be offensive by current standards, as old stereotypes of race and gender abound in this exhibit. Come see the “Hidden Persuaders,” advertisements that both informed and mirrored the American experience. From colas to corsets, from cars to cigars, from Rosie the Riveter to Andy Warhol, explore memorable snapshots of twentieth century Americana.

Previous December 8, 2017 Next Vaquero & Charro: An Enduring Legacy Photographs by Cody Edison December 8, 2017 June 30, 2018 Vaquero and Charro: An Enduring Legacy, Photographs by Cody Edison and Artifacts from the Arizona Historical Society will explore the impact that Spanish traditions have had on Western horsemanship. Many customs, words, and traditions associated with the American West originated with the Vaqueros and Charros of Mexico. This legacy is presented through contemporary photographs of the Charros and Vaqueros of Southern California by Cody Edison and by historic artifacts dating to the mid 19th Century culled from the Arizona Historical Society. This exhibition is supported by a grant from the Arizona Humanities.

About Us Welcome to the Tucson Desert Art Museum, a nonprofit institution dedicated to showcasing the art and artifacts of the Desert Southwest. Our Mission Since opening our doors on November 1, 2013, our mission has been to educate our guests about the rich history, diverse cultures, and vibrant art of the region. At the heart of our collection lies one of the Southwest’s premier collections of Navajo and Hopi pre-1940s textiles, showcasing chiefs' blankets, Navajo saddle blankets, optical art textiles, and Yei weavings. We also house a diverse range of historical artifacts, and classic as well as contemporary Southwestern paintings, including works by renowned artists such as Maynard Dixon, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Gerald Cassidy, Ed Mell, Ray Roberts, Peter Nisbet, and Howard Post. Our museum features rotating special exhibitions that change annually, ensuring that each visit offers a new and engaging experience. From exhibits on Navajo Sand Painting to early armaments of the Southwest and artifacts from the Mesoamerican period, our collection offers a unique and eclectic array of Southwestern art and artifacts. Conveniently located on Tucson's Eastside, our museum offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in history through our beautiful art while enjoying the magnificent panoramic views of the Catalina and Rincon mountains. Our building spans 25,000 square feet. James E. Conley Jr. About the Founder (1943-2020) James E. Conley Jr., along with the Museum’s first executive director, Rhonda R. Smith, founded the Tucson Desert Art Museum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2013. The Museum showcases Jim’s premier collection of Southwestern art, artifacts and textiles. Jim always encouraged the Tucson Desert Art Museum to actively pursue special exhibitions that address or expose bias in our history, so that we may learn from these difficult periods and never repeat them. His order to, “never whitewash history” but to tell the truth about our past will continue to be part of the Museum’s mission. His extensive art and artifacts (collected over the course of his entire lifetime) will continue to be an important source of public and scholarly learning for centuries to come. Subscribe to Our Newsletter Enter your email here Sign Up Thanks for submitting!