2 Arizona Art Events to Visit This Season

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Visit Scottsdale, Arizona now through March 13 to check out the state’s longest-running art show and an annual juried art show and sale highlighting artworks by top students and alumni.

Celebration of Fine Art

Through March 30, 2025

JONATHAN NOON (b. 1985), "Dying of the Light," 2024, oil on ACM, 20 x 30 in.
JONATHAN NOON (b. 1985), “Dying of the Light,” 2024, oil on ACM, 20 x 30 in.

Now entering its 35th year, Celebration of Fine Art is Arizona’s longest-running art show. It brings together 100 artists from across America, all invited to spend 10 weeks creating pieces in front of visitors. Their works range widely in both aesthetics and media, from realist to abstract, Western to modern, and everything in between.

Guests are invited to ask questions as the artists work, and these encounters are complemented by Art Discovery discussions every Friday during which visitors learn about the processes, adventures, and techniques that shape the art. Everyone is welcome to explore the one-acre sculpture garden, which features nearly 100 pieces, and to enjoy meals and wine in the cafe on site.

In 1991, inspired by California’s Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, Tom and Ann Mor-row collaborated with Scottsdale officials and the community to open CFA’s “big white tents” for the first time. Now encompassing 40,000 square feet of covered space, the event is carried on by Tom’s daughter Susan Morrow Potje and her husband, Jake Potje. She notes that, since last year’s show, CFA has moved just 200 yards south of its previous location, though the entrance and layout remain the same. She is particularly excited about a few welcome updates inside and in the sculpture garden.

Scottsdale Artists’ School: “Best & Brightest”

February 8 – March 13, 2025

TAYLOR CORREA  (b. 1993), Descanso Roses, 2023, oil on linen, 10 x 8 in., Best of Show in the 2024 Best & Brightest
TAYLOR CORREA (b. 1993), “Descanso Roses,” 2023, oil on linen, 10 x 8 in., Best of Show in the 2024 Best & Brightest

Now in its 41st year, the Scottsdale Artists’ School is set to present “Best & Brightest,” the annual juried art show and sale highlighting artworks created by its top students and alumni living around the world. All artists who have taken a workshop, program, or online class through the school since 2019 were invited to submit their works for consideration.

The official reception and awards announcement ceremony is set for February 13. First and second place awards will be presented in each of six categories: drawing, oil painting, pastel, water media, sculpture, and small work.

The school’s executive director, Trudy Hays, is quick to praise the “professional quality of Scottsdale Artists’ School students” and laughs that she does “not envy the team assembled to jury the pieces, because they have a difficult assignment.”


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