At least that’s the idea behind ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience Arizona, a new festival slated to begin in Flagstaff a week from now on Thursday. The event will showcase 14 grant-funded art projects across nearly a dozen locations, primarily focused in downtown Flagstaff.

Get locals and visitors involved in challenging topics for free.

“ARTx is a festival of arts and ideas,” he said. ARTx Director Julie Sokol. “We aim to use art as a way to explore the social concerns of our communities. Contains comments.”

Sokol was hired by Creative Flagstaff in December to spearhead the planning of an immersive and innovative festival of arts and ideas. ARTx’s initial seed money came from the City of Flagstaff’s Beautification and Public Arts Commission. The concept was as ambitious as it was abstract, leaving room for a variety of proposals from the Flagstaff arts community to shape the pilot festival with the content of the project.

Those attending ARTx may encounter art in traditional gallery spaces, but they will also venture into performance art and are invited to participate in installations such as: flagstaff bridge, designed by six collaborators. That particular piece is set on the county courthouse lawn and features interactive and tactile elements.

“The real intention that has set within us is that, yes, we are publishing art, but there is an element of social criticism in it. Conversations about difficult issues. and explore what it’s like for Flagstaff through art experiences,” Sokol said.

One of those experiences is for artists to gather at places like Momentum Aerial to practice elaborate routines. Two flower farmers are collecting wildflowers and growing plants in organic gardens to use them in her ARTx performance on Friday night.

of Blooming from the ashes, forest fires, community resilience, A group of creators blend Western science and indigenous perspectives through dance, song, and poetry to explore the relationship between forests, fire, and humans.

Flower farmers Kate Watters and Terry Shuett plan to create living sculptures for Blooming and wedding-appropriate decorations, so the idea of ​​marrying the concept is almost literal. It will be.

According to show producer Molly McCormick, “Blooming from the Ash” will “explore the impact of wildfires on Flagstaff.”

McCormick is a plant ecologist by day, Southwest Fire Science Consortium — An organization with a mission to integrate forest science and land management practice through effective communication.

By night, McCormick becomes a dancer.

Even as ARTx opens and the Orpheum Theater fills with the scent of fresh cut flowers, McCormick will be among the dancers on stage, making a sort of science communication.

“It’s been a lot of fun fusing the two sides of me, but it’s also complicated at the same time. You don’t often wear all these hats at the same time,” McCormick said.

The show will have spoken word elements interspersed with performances by impromptu poets, and McCormick hopes to compose on the spot.

The aim of the show, in between verses, is to show how the ponderosa pine forest first co-evolved with fire, then how it was managed by indigenous peoples and ultimately influenced by colonization.

“We want to share stories of the devastating wildfires that resulted from this broken relationship during colonization, and the post-fire grief that many of us are in now, to this new breed of people. stewardship that weaves all the knowledge, science and indigenous perspectives into how we live with forests and fires,” McCormick explained, adding that the show will feature modern dance and live music. Added that it is included.

Because poles are a bit like trees, McCormick’s team introduces aerial pole dancers to represent towering conifers and the human forest experience.

Forest management is a topical issue in Flagstaff, Sokol said, which is why this is a perfect example of an ARTx project.

“This particular project did really well in being interdisciplinary,” Sokol said. “They are working on floral installations, the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, aerial dancing, music, singing, etc. So they literally hit the mark on everything. This is fire science and Flagstaff. It’s a big social critique of the flooding that happened in , and how we’re going to manage it going forward.”

McCormick hopes the meditations on fires and forest ecology will resonate with Flagstaff residents who have just survived a violent season of fires and floods.

“I hope it helps them. It’s about helping people do what they do,” McCormick said. “I don’t know if we’ll have enough time to get together and process what’s going on with forest change, climate change and fires, but I hope that somehow this problem will heal. increase.”

This didactic show will be one of the first elements of ARTx’s schedule, which runs from Thursday, May 25th through Saturday, May 25th.

Installations will be on the lawn of the County Courthouse, inside the historic Knuckard Gallery, and at the Liminal and Murdoch Center on Flagstaff’s South Side. The artist works in real-time in downtown Flagstaff’s alleyways, and Urban His Quilts shows are held inside many local businesses.

work in progress rock opera A work depicting the plight of the black-footed ferret will be exhibited for the first time at the Teatricos. At the Coconino Center for the Arts, Indigenous activists and performers showcase his 90-minute performances of his art, spoken his word, drag, dance and music. Consistent work of “Resistance Art”.

“Every part of ARTx is free. If you ever need to take attendance, it’s to keep track of people,” Sokol said.

“Although all productions are open to all ages, it has been noted that there are two productions that contain adult content. There are,’ he added.

She added that this first ARTx festival is unlikely to be the last.

“This year is really a demonstration event, so we will keep it as focused as possible. We are already talking across the city about what 2024 will look like. We want to reach all of Southside and Flagstaff, and we have 11 experience locations this year,” Sokol said.