Arizona Arts presents a 2026 fall semester of arts experiences to engage audiences on campus at the University of Arizona and in the Tucson community.
Arizona Arts and its units produce over 700 events each year, most of them free. The division integrates the arts throughout the university experience; gives all students – regardless of major – access to meaningful experiences in the arts; and ensures that the arts play an essential role in realizing the university’s mission of community engagement.
- More than 100 photographs and archival objects, bring together nearly 300 animals across 30 species for the Center for Creative Photography’s exhibition, “Animality: 100 Years of Photographs.”
- Let’s do the time warp again with the School of Theatre, Film & Television’s “The Rocky Horror Show.”
- Houston-based artist, writer and filmmaker Dario Robleto will discuss his otherworldly film “Ancient Beacons Long for Notice” to kick off the 20th year of the School of Art’s VASE Lecture Series.
- The School of Dance’s renowned faculty, special guests and student performers will make you “Fall for Dance.”
- The beauty and spectacle of stagecraft is examined in “Staged: The Art of Performance” featuring works from the University of Arizona Museum of Art’s collection and loans from local private collections.
- “A Celebration of the Life” will honor engineer Wiley Ross with faculty and alumni recording artists performing.
- Los Apson headlines Fiesta Del Maiz, a free community event celebrating the cultural and culinary legacy of maíz, presented in partnership with Arizona Arts Live, Tucson City of Gastronomy, Pueblos del Maíz and Ranch House Media.
EXPERIENCES
Manual Cinema | The 4th Witch
Arizona Arts Live
Oct. 31, 2026 | Centennial Hall
Manual Cinema’s “The 4th Witch” reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth through shadow puppetry, silhouette performance and live music, telling an entirely new story without a word of dialogue. When a warlord’s army invades her town, a young girl flees into an ancient forest, where a witch takes her in and teaches her the craft. As her skills grow, so does her grief and her hunger for vengeance. This visually stunning production is among Manual Cinema’s most ambitious works. MORE.
Scott Silven | The Lost Things
Arizona Arts Live
Nov. 17-21, 2026 | Marroney Theatre
Scottish illusionist Scott Silven invites audiences into the mysterious side of being human with The Lost Things, a journey through wonder, memory and the strange beauty found in what we lose. The show weaves awe-inspiring illusions – that will leave you speechless — with a deeply personal narrative, creating something that feels less like a magic show and more like a profound shared experience. Arizona Arts Live is a proud co-commissioner of this acclaimed production, making Tucson part of its story. MORE.
DANCE
Jazz ‘n’ AZ
School of Dance
Oct. 6-8, 2026 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
A one-hour celebration of jazz dance that features performances showcasing choreography by faculty, students, and guest artists. Part of the Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase, this annual favorite brings joy, connection, and pure performance magic to the stage. MORE.
Season Preview
School of Dance
Oct. 16, 2026 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
A first look at the year ahead, this preview offers a curated selection of in-process works from our faculty. A night of insight, inspiration, and anticipation.
Fall for Dance
School of Dance
Nov. 12-22, 2026 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
The school’s signature fall concert brings together thrilling new work and world-class talent. With choreography by award-winning guests and faculty. MORE.
Student Spotlight: Innovate
School of Dance
Dec. 4-6, 2026 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
Showcasing original works choreographed by BFA & MFA students, the next generation of choreographers, emerging artists develop and share their unique voices through movement. Bold, fresh, and imaginative.
FILM
Ancient Beacons Long for Notice
School of Art
Oct. 28, 2026 | Marroney Theatre
Dario Robleto screens his film that explores the history and legacy of the Golden Record, launched in 1977 aboard NASA’s Voyager space probes, which were designed to explore the outer solar system. The Golden Record is a pair of discs containing images, greetings, and music representing the life and culture of Earth. MORE.
LECTURES / CONVERSATIONS
SNAP: A Conversation about Animals, Humans, and Photographs
Center for Creative Photography
Sept. 3, 2026 | CCP Auditorium
Professors Netzin G. Steklis, H. Dieter Steklis, and CCP Chief Curator Rebecca Senf will discuss the ways photography has shaped our understanding of animals over the past century. Drawing from works featured in Animality: 100 Years of Photographs. MORE.
Stories of Ylla
Center for Creative Photography
Oct. 10, 2026 | CCP Auditorium
Through photographs, personal reflections, and historical context, author Pryor Dodge (“Ylla: The Birth of Modern Animal Photography”) and CCP Chief Curator Becky Senf will explore the remarkable life and legacy of Camilla ‘Ylla’ Koffler. MORE.
VASE Lecture Series | Dario Robleto
School of Art
Oct. 29, 2026 | CCP Auditorium
Houston-based artist and filmmaker Dario Robleto will discuss his interdisciplinary approach to crafting and conveying messages of emotion and identity into the cosmos, a kind of “humanities off-planet.” Robleto’s work is held in the Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery of Art collections. MORE.
Artist Talk: Colleen Plumb
Center for Creative Photography
Nov. 6, 2026 | CCP Auditorium
Photographer and interdisciplinary artist Colleen Plumb will explore her artistic practice, discussing the role of photography in fostering new ways of seeing and understanding the more-than-human world. MORE.
VASE Lecture Series | Cara Romero
School of Art
Dec. 2, 2026 | CCP Auditorium
Artist/photographer Cara Romero will give a career-spanning talk about the making of a contemporary Native American artist — from her training at the Institute of American Indian Arts to founding the Cara Romero Gallery and Studio in Santa Fe. Romero, an enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, has works in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA. MORE.
MUSIC
Soundquest Festival
Arizona Arts Live
Aug. 28-30, 2026 | The Century Room
An eclectic lineup unfolds over three days from Friday’s standing-room metal night to Saturday’s Ambient Showcase to Sunday’s Sonic Sacred Sunday. Six stages of sound. MORE.
U of A Faculty Jazz Ensemble Plays Originals
School of Music
Aug. 29, 2026 | The Century Club
This special faculty concert series showcases the artistry, originality, and collaborative spirit of four master musicians who are not only dedicated educators but also internationally respected performers. MORE.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Arizona Arts Live
Sept. 18, 2026 | The Rialto Theatre
Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram returns to Tucson, following last year’s sold-out performance. His album “662,” earned him his first Grammy (Best Contemporary Blues). MORE.
A Celebration of the Life and Discography of Wiley Ross
School of Music
Sept. 18, 2026 | Crowder Hall
A concert of alumni recording artists, faculty musicians who released recordings in the Arizona Haskell Recording Studio with the expertise of celebrated engineer Wiley Ross, who passed away in 2026. MORE.
Fiesta del Maíz
Arizona Arts Live
Sept. 26, 2026 | Kennedy Park
An annual celebration of the cultural and culinary legacy of maíz in the Sonoran Desert with music, local food and more. Los Apson headlines this year’s fiesta. Los Apson is one of the most beloved and iconic banda and cumbia groups in the history of Mexican popular music. MORE.
Symphonic Choir Fall Concert
School of Music
Nov. 1, 2026 | Crowder Hall
Symphonic Choir, the premiere choral ensemble at University of Arizona, presents a dynamic and engaging program of choral works representing a variety of styles and traditions. MORE.
Orfeo ed Euridice
School of Music
Nov. 18-21, 2026 | In and around Crowder Hall
Step inside the myth and flip the usual relationship between stage and seating. Opera immersion. MORE.
THEATRE
The Rocky Horror Show
School of Theatre, Film & Television
Oct. 11-25 | Marroney Theatre
The cult-classic rock musical where innocence collides with a glitter-soaked world – and nothing is ever the same. MORE.
Stop Kiss
School of Theatre, Film & Television
Nov. 15-Dec. 6, 2026 | Tornabene Theatre
A powerful, non-linear journey through the beauty of unexpected love and the resilience required when that love is met with violence. It’s a haunting yet hopeful look at how one moment in New York City can change two lives forever. MORE.
VISUAL ARTS
Sentimental Impressions
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Opens Aug. 29, 2026 | UAMA Galleries
Featuring artworks from he UAMA spanning the mid-18th through late 20th centuries with selections aimed to inspire clam and curiosity, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the emotions and memories that lie beneath the quite beauty of everyday moments. MORE.
Staged: The Art of Performance
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Opens Oct. 10, 2026 | UAMA Galleries
The beauty and spectacle of stagecraft. “Staged” features artworks from the UAMA collection and loans from local private collections, including “Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn)” by Andy Warhol and “Avalon Ballroom” by Warrington W. Colescott. With an exhibition reception on Oct. 15, 5-7p. Free and open to the public. MORE.
Relative Impulse
School of Art
Opens Oct. 13, 2026 | UAMA Galleries
Features artworks for which the making — or destroying — of family archives is material and metaphor. Funny, heart-wrenching, or bizarre, using the ephemera of memory itself or a copy of a copy, each artwork reminds us that everything’s relative. MORE.
The Vault Show: Big/Little
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Through Sept. 19, 2026| UAMA Galleries
How do we express big and little ideas, feelings, disruptions and transformations? This iteration of an annual summer exhibition invites audiences to explore small details and vast expanses, including hidden gems and giants from the museum’s permanent collection. MORE.
Look at Me and See What?
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Through Dec. 5, 2026 | UAMA Galleries
Artwork, poetry, reflections and acts of survival created by incarcerated people, with particular attention to queer and trans experiences inside prisons designed to regulate visibility, gender and self-expression. MORE.
Animality: 100 Years of Photographs
Center for Creative Photography
Through Dec. 12, 2026 | Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery
More than 100 photographs and archival objects, drawn entirely from CCP’s permanent collection, bring together nearly 300 animals across 30 species — plus 100s of bats — spanning styles from journalism to street photography to contemporary art practice. MORE.
Ecstatic Time: The Alchemy of Photography
Center for Creative Photography
Through Jan. 3, 2027 at the Phoenix Art Museum
Celebrating the 20-year partnership of CCP and the Phoenix Art Museum, the exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum explores how the medium shapes, transforms, and reimagines reality rather than simply recording it. An unusual group of photographs that delight, puzzle and disrupt. MORE.