< Back ​ The Dirty Thirties: New Deal Photography Frames the Migrants’ Stories "The Dirty Thirties" explores the journeys of rural migrants fleeing the Dust Bowl, drought, and economic difficulties during the 1930s. In desperate search for jobs and new opportunities, thousands of former farm owners and ex-tenant farmers left their homes in the Southern Plains states and set off to the cotton fields of Arizona and the “Promised Land” of California, where supposedly work could be found. This exhibit explores why the migrants left, their journey westward, their experiences living and working in Arizona, and what life could be like for those who traveled onto California. Told primarily through the compelling documentary photography taken under the auspices of the New Deal programs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, some images from this exhibit will likely stay with you throughout your lifetime. ​​ Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Under A Vast Sky: American Women Artists American Women Artists (AWA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the inspiration, celebration, and encouragement of women in the visual fine arts. The Tucson Desert Art mUseum is proud to host the AWA national juried art show and sale. The exhibition features close to 150 painting and sculpture works by outstanding women artists from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Crossing Between Worlds: Life, Land and Culture of Canyon de Chelly 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 ​ Next

< Back ​ Art is the Seed: Contemporary Native American Female Art 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 ​ Next

< Back ​ Citizen/Enemy: Japanese American Incarceration Camps 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 ​ Next

< Back ​ ​The Dazzled Eye: Navajo Textiles from the Getzwiller Collection Featuring Navajo eyedazzlers and optical textiles from world renowned collectors Steve and Gail Getzwiller, The Dazzled Eye contrasts these works of woven art with American Op Art and explores the popularity and history of Navajo eyedazzlers and optical textiles. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ SNAP 2! Snapshots of History through Vintage Advertising 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 ​ Next

< Back ​ Behind Barbed Wire: Japanese American Incarceration in Arizona This exhibition examines the federal internment facilities in Arizona, it also includes photos and details of the Japanese American men and women who served during WWII. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Buffalo Soldiers: The 10th Cavalry Regiment Told Through the Art of David Laughlin Buffalo Soldiers: The 10th Cavalry Regiment Told Through the Art of David Laughlin paints a picture of daily life for African American soldiers serving in the post-Civil War American West. Through his paintings, drawings, and block prints, artist David Laughlin depicts the 10th Cavalry Regiment’s daily activities while stationed in AZ from 1885 - 1896. With the US Government pushing for western expansion, the Buffalo Soldiers’ tasks ranged from building outposts and laying telegraph lines to protecting settlers, stagecoaches and railroad crews and fighting Native Americans, outlaws and rustlers. Their days were full and difficult, however their military service offered them a chance to obtain better rights as citizens in the recently liberated United States. For this exhibition we are partnering with GSAAC ; a local Buffalo Soldiers Educational group that is working to erect a Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Plaza here in Tucson. Help support GSAAC's memorial project mission by donating. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Paul Kitagaki's Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit: Triumphing over Adversity ​GAMBATTE! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit is the first body of work devoted to capturing the past and the present of Executive Order 9066 through photographs and oral histories. Through the juxtaposition of historic images and contemporary portraits of the same individuals or their descendants, Paul Kitagaki takes us on a visual exploration of the Japanese concept of Gambatte, or triumph over adversity. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Wayne Norton: Desert Relations The subjects of these still life photographs, which Wayne Norton calls Desert Relations, are objects that he has gathered in the deserts of the American Southwest. As an avid desert hiker and explorer for over the past 30 years, he has come across many discarded man-made relics and natural items that he finds interesting and attractive in a unique, rustic manner. Previous ​ Next

< Back ​ Sacred Dancers: Ceremonial Navajo Weaving In the early 1900s, many Anglo tourists were fascinated by Native American religion. Encouraged by traders capitalizing on this trend, Navajo weavers developed a new genre: ceremonial weaving. Traditionally, depicting the Yeis, or the Navajo Holy People, in permanent form was considered downright dangerous. Oftentimes, weavers faced intense pressure from their communities to not depict holy beings in their textiles. Reconciling their reverence for their own religion with market demands, weavers wove creative rugs that were most often artistic interpretations of the sacred, rather than accurate replicas of religious imagery. Featuring Yei, Yeibichai, and sandpainting textiles, Sacred Dancers tells the history of weavers, including medicine man Hosteen Klah, who boldly portrayed ceremonial imagery in their weavings. From the Collection of Steve and Gail Getzwiller, Nizhoni Ranch Gallery Previous ​ Next