I’m picking out old, half frozen strawberries out of a bowl and wondering what does this have to do with an artistic Tucson.

It’s hot like the dickens outside. I’m inside with the air conditioning turned off, thinking about the end of the month electric bill. My shirt is on my body like a hot wet leaf. My balding head, erupting with beads of Alien hell sweat.

But like a TV private investigator’s street informer, I hear myself say “I’m cool. Yo, I’m cool.”

Downtown is my bowl of mixed fruit. I found the bowl in the Dinnerware Artspace refrigerator leftover from the Salon des Refuses artist reception. It’s been in there over a week.

I start with the strawberries on top. They look like they’re half frozen. I hold the fruit by it’s green, leafy stem. Not bad. A bead of sweat disappears from by forehead. I feel comfortable eating about 75% of it. The rest, I send into the office garbage by my foot. I find the strawberries refreshing. They’re not brand spanking new off the plant, but I like them. Not unlike some of downtown’s old buildings. Their is something that tastes good about buildings that have been around for a while. They have character. They’re tattered along the edges. And they still have surprises.

Next are the cherries in my fruit bowl. I didn’t see them at first, but there they are. They’re cold and wet. They’re in season right now, so they’re cheap. They have long stems making them easy to grab. Nobody’s around.  I spit the pit into the garbage below. I miss. The pit bounces and rolls on the floor. I don’t mind. It’s the summer. Things are laid back. I’m having fun.  Who can be sad with the satisfying flavor of a cold cherry? Cherry picking is like choosing paintings from a local artist. Lots of variety, color, themes, and mediums to choose from. And the characters that produce works of art. Don’t get me started.

I pick a blueberry next, except it’s not a blueberry. It’s a dark blue, seedless grape.  I grab one, but a cluster of them come out instead. The grapes look strong, firm and happy to be on the same little branch. I know they’ve been at the bottom of that bowl for a while, yet they don’t seem bothered by that. They’re just happy to be together being grapes. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt that feeling. Artists like to be around other artists. They don’t necessarily need to be bumping into each other, but there is some comfort in knowing that other artists are nearby. Artists like to be in clusters. There’s strength and happiness in that.

This is my first blog entry at the Tucson Citizen. I’m just getting a taste of this fruit, but hope to start sharing more thoughts, images, information about goings on, especially in and around downtown Tucson. Most of the things I noticed seem to largely unnoticed. They can be small things that are big. Big things that are actually small.

I like cooking up innovative events and hope that others will do the same. I see it happening with special people like Colleena Cardelabra, or the Parasol Project, or Steven Eye at Solar Culture, Sharon Holnback up at the Triangle L Ranch, and so many more. I hope to shine some light their way this Fall. These are people who take the risk of doing interesting, and innovative things.

Hello.

My name is David Aguirre, and this is my blog at the Tucson Citizen. I’ve been in Tucson since 1987. I’m a ceramic sculptor, and I’ve been doing community volunteering for arts groups since I came here. I am the Director at Dinnerware Artspace where we help local artists find exhibit space, studio space, and live space.

Thanks to the Tucson Citizen staff who are putting a lot of effort into this website.

Come back often for thoughts and updates on Artistic Tucson.

A long, long time ago….Downtown used to be a hotbed of arts activity. As a 20+ year downtown veteran, I remember. I was even a part of the buzz for awhile as a staff member of the Tucson Arts District Partnership – the group tasked with downtown revitalization through the arts. Established in the mid to late 1980′s, after a feasibility study said that’s what we should do, the arts district burst onto the scene with a signature event – Downtown Saturday Night. Wildly successful in bringing the community to our urban core, it sadly ran its course and became a shadow of itself after a few years, but it was pretty amazing at its zenith. Thousands of Tucsonans walking the sidewalks (and spilling onto the street) to experience galleries, cafe’s, shops and performances of both art and music. New art spaces opening up in vacant storefronts (phantom galleries), the sight of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performing in the Ronstadt Transit Center, artists in residence interacting with the public to create murals and other works of art.

Downtown Saturday Night was just one program of the partnership (Managed aptly by staff member Claudia Jesperson) and became our community arts showcase. Other TADPI programs included; Artists in Residence, Thursday Night Art Walks, the Art 30 publication, Phantom Galleries, Art studios, an Artspace loan program, Warehouse District master planning, the Phantom Sculpture program and on and on.

What happened to all of this good stuff?

Times change, with the illusion of free easy Rio Nuevo cash, and, the creation of the Business Improvement District (Tucson Downtown Alliance), a lot of additional cooks entered the kitchen. TADPI’s original, long serving Executive Director Sarah Clements moved on, and so did many other staffers (Mary Glenn, Mary Ellen Wooten, Myself – to start the Fox Theatre project) and an era ended. Are we better off now? Those who remember the glory days may not think so, but I think this era laid the groundwork for what came next. No doubt in fits and starts, but this activity did get a segment of the community comfortable with coming back downtown. The decline of the seedy bars (Manhattan, etc.) and rise of hip galleries (Dinnerware, Central Arts, Berta Wright, etc.) and eateries – R.I.P Cafe Magritte – along with retail like the Arts District Bookstore were the needed transition elements. I hope we see this type of success again soon, and if not let’s remember what we had – a small urban success led in part by a noble organization, thanks TADPI!

Recent media accounts of the proposed development deal downtown raised the usual hue and cry of the taxpayer voices against “handouts” for artists. Why were the two selected arts-related groups scheduled to get funds from the Stiteler/Martin deal? Due to the location of the proposed development, these two groups were poised to both benefit from the development and also potentially be harmed by the deal. WAMO (Wharehouse  Area Management Organization) and Skrappy’s were potential partners in support, which I believe the developers sought to engage as part of a grass-roots groundswell of warm-fuzzies. WAMO was also at the table as the original development agreement included master planning of much of the warehouse district just north of downtown. Skrappy’s has been in search of a home for some time now after vacating their space at the rear of the Rialto block on Broadway and this deal would have given them some security for the near future. (I am omitting the Rialto Theatre in this post as I believe that angle of the story has already been covered in many places).

How, as a community, can we support the things that help define us and enrich our lives? Can we support specific artists whose work we all agree is significant? No, not likely. It is not possible to get any large group of people to agree on anything, art especially. Can we find ways to support places which are dedicated to presenting the arts, and places which allow artists to continue to work – at a reasonable cost? Yes. We support the Tucson Museum of Art, music, dance and theatre venues in many ways (government grants, etc.). I believe supporting the conservation of the warehouse district is one way to ensure that artists are still a part of the urban experience.

Disclaimer – I worked for the Tucson Arts District Partnership when that group established the warehouse district – late 1990′s – and am familiar ,and friends with, a number of artists currently working in this area. I also watched downtown lose a lot of character when early adopters (pre-Rio Nuevo) thought downtown was hip & cool but were forced to leave. We lost great businesses and arts spaces due to greedy landlords (Yikes, Berta Wright, The Arts District Bookstore, Cafe Magritte, etc.). While I will admit market forces and other elements had a hand in some losses, I would love to have these ghosts of downtown back today. If we lose the warehouse district in the near future we will lose another barrio – an arts barrio waiting to be CAREFULLY brought to fruition, and one that we cannot replace easily anytime soon. Let’s hope other developers can recognize a value in this gem that is awaiting support.