Mesa Arts Center Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month This October With Dia de los Muertos Festival & More

Mesa Arts Center celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month through October, recognizing the blending of cultural borders through the contributions and heritage of Hispanic Americans. From free outdoor festivals honoring Hispanic culture, to extensive exhibitions that tell the colorful tale of Mexican history through elaborate  rich folk art.

MESA ARTS CENTER FALL SEASON KICK-OFF

Friday, September 11, 2009

Mesa Arts Center will ignite with an all-out spectacular on Friday, September 11, from 6-10 p.m., kicking off Mesa Contemporary Arts' extraordinary 2009 fall exhibitions. Festivities will include free live performances in the four theaters, a Sister Cities Concert, outdoor entertainment and live music, a Taxco Silver Trunk Show, Art Studio activities and demonstrations, and more.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CELEBRATION

Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Sunday, November 1, 12 p.m.- 5 p.m.

Mesa Arts Center hosts the third annual Dia de los Muertos Festival in conjunction with the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, Friends of Mexican Art, and the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens. Named the Best Place to Snag Day of the Dead Stuff by Phoenix New Times- 2008 Best of Edition, Dia de Los Muertos is a community celebration honoring the memory of departed loved ones. The event is complete with a community altar, live music and performances, food, and a Mercado featuring an assortment of Day of the Dead merchandise, jewelry, arts and crafts, children's activities, entertainment, and more. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind cultural festival.

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT DURING OPENING RECEPTION AT MESA CONTEMPORARY ARTS

Friday, September 11, 2009 7-10 p.m.

Andres Martinez and Mosiac perform sounds of Latin fusion during the Opening Reception at Mesa Contemporary Arts.

OUT TO LUNCH

Thursday, October 29, 2009 12:30- 1:30 p.m.

Nosotrosound

Traditional Music from throughout Latin America. Using a dozen typical instruments, Nostotrosound will present music from Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Argentina and take their audience on a musical journey through Latin America.

MESA CONTEMPORARY ARTS (MCA) FALL EXHIBITS AND EVENTS

FOMA Collects

Through November 15, 2009

FOMA Collects showcases the best in Mexican folk art from the private collections of FOMA (Friends of Mexican Art) members. Artwork includes paintings and sculptures, Ocumicho ceramics, paper mache figures, retablos, historic and contemporary x-votos, carved wooden masks, and Oaxacan figures. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Friends of Mexican Art.

Conexiones

Contemporary Works by Mexican Artists

Through January 3, 2010

In conjunction with FOMA Collects, this exhibition demonstrates the kind of artwork being produced today by Mexico's foremost emerging and established artists. Through their individual styles and medium choices, these artists preserve their cultural identity while challenging traditional artistic practices and subject matter. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Friends of Mexican Art.

TAXCO SILVER TRUNK SHOW AT THE STORE

The Store at Mesa Arts Center will be hosting a trunk show, on September 11, featuring over a thousand pieces of silver from a wide range of contemporary silversmiths from Taxco (pronounced THAS-co), a small silver mining village in Mexico. In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors discovered that the native inhabitants of the area around Taxco paid tribute to the Aztecs in huge amounts of silver, so they conquered the area, constructing silver mines of their own. Today, the mines are pretty much abandoned but Taxco is still considered the "silver capital of the world", and well-known among the most avid jewelry collectors. As part of Mesa Contemporary Art's fall exhibitions, a distributor will present Taxco silver pieces, spotlighting jewelry from the 1930s-1960s American movement. Today, Taxco designs range from classic European and Spanish colonial motifs to sleek contemporary sculptural pieces, all in sterling silver, meaning it contains 92.5% pure silver and .075 parts alloy such as nickel and copper.

 

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