Arizona Arts presents a 2026 spring semester of arts experiences to engage audiences on campus at the University of Arizona and in the 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.
- After completing installation of a new HVAC system, the University of Arizona Museum of Art reopens with a major survey of work by celebrated Tucson artist and School of Art Professor Emerita, “Bailey Doogan: Ways of Seeing.” MORE.
- In Recital: Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, 2025 Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Instrumental Solo as part of the Sandra F. Lai Residency in Piano Guest Artist program. MORE.
- The Tucson Flamenco Festival features dance, song and music from Spain, New York and our very own Sonoran Desert. MORE.
- Award-winning director and choreographer Camille A. Brown brings her latest production, “I AM,” to Centennial Hall, presented by Arizona Arts Live. MORE.
“The joy of ‘I AM’ is the joy of being entirely yourself,
entirely present in the moment.” – The New York Times
- Iconic portraits of artists and writers highlight the Center of Creative Photography’s “Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna”exhibition, organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College. MORE.
- Students from the School of Theatre, Film & Television’s No. 4 ranked film program continue to amaze at “I Dream in Widescreen” at the Fox Tucson Theatre. MORE.
- MFA graduate students exhibit their artwork at the School of Art and perform their choreography at the School of Dance in these popular annual capstone events.
- The School of Art’s VASE Lecture Series features Lauren Bon, Eduardo Cadava and Cannupa Hanska Luger. MORE.
EXPERIENCES
Blind Summit Theatre: The Sex Lives of Puppets
Arizona Arts Live
Feb. 25-28 | Marroney Theatre
A bold, funny, and heartfelt performance exploring intimacy, aging, and sexual wellbeing — all told through the unexpected voices of puppets. Inspired by real stories from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. MORE.
Cirque Kikasse
Arizona Arts Live
April 14-18 | Tucson, Arizona
Grab a drink, find your spot, and hold your breath as this traveling circus turns a food truck into a stage for jaw-dropping flips, spins, and stunts you have to see to believe. An immersive experience with breathtaking performances of skill and spectacle. MORE.
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Arizona Arts Live
April 21 | Centennial Hall
Come ready to laugh, cheer, and maybe even sing along with a stage full of ukuleles playing everything from Tchaikovsky to punk rock — with a wink and a grin. This is virtuosity with a side of mischief. MORE.
DANCE
Dance Visions: Mentorship & Community
School of Dance
Jan. 28 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
Showcase of student, faculty, and guest choreographers, along with community leaders and industry innovators, with live performance, conversation, and behind-the-scenes insight. MORE.
Tucson Flamenco Festival
Arizona Arts Live / La Rosa
Feb. 8 | La Rosa
Experience the passion, power and poetry of flamenco at Tucson’s premier flamenco festival, an all-day, two-stage celebration with dancers, singers and musicians, world-class artists from Spain, New York and the Sonoran Desert. MORE.
Student Success Scholarship Series
School of Dance
Feb. 19-22 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
Performances by the U of A Traveling Dance Ensemble, original works by faculty and students and Broadway star D. Jerome, currently touring as the Tin Man in “The Wiz.” MORE.
Camille A. Brown & Dancers | I AM
Arizona Arts Live
March 19 | Centennial Hall
Tony-nominated Camille A. Brown‘s I AM is a joyful dance celebration, inspired by “Lovecraft Country” blending African diasporic traditions, live music and liberation. MORE.
Dance Springs Eternal
School of Dance
April 9-12, 16-19 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
Featuring powerful new works by faculty and guest choreographers, this concert is an uplifting showcase of technique, imagination and the dancers’ spirit. MORE.
Adventure: Student Spotlight
School of Dance
May 1 – 3 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
This concert features original works of choreography by our BFA and MFA students, the next generation of choreographers shaping the future of dance. MORE.
MFA Thesis Concert
School of Dance
May 8-9 | Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
The culminating works of MFA candidates, who push boundaries of movement and expression through innovative choreography and thought-provoking themes. A showcase of the depth of their research and the evolution of their artistic voices. MORE.
FILM
Man on the Run: Paul McCartney
Arizona Arts Live / Film Fest Tucson
Feb. 22 | Marroney Theatre
From acclaimed director Morgan Neville, comes the story of Paul McCartney’s extraordinary life following the breakup of The Beatles and how the love he shared with Linda became his bedrock. Based on never-before-seen archives of Paul and Linda’s home videos and photos, and new interviews. MORE.
Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession
Arizona Arts Live / Film Fest Tucson
March 29 | Marroney Theatre
This film traces the history of Tiki culture through its iconic collectible Tiki mugs, exploring how boutique publishing and the internet gave rise to a passionate, global community. It also tells the story of Fini, an obsessive collector, whose dedication inspired Cabali, a Tiki bar in Oro Valley, Arizona. MORE.
If These Walls Could Rock
Arizona Arts Live / Film Fest Tucson
April 26 | Marroney Theatre
Rock stars, wild parties, and untold stories come alive at LA’s iconic Sunset Marquis hotel, where music legends created unforgettable moments during the hedonistic peak of ‘70s and ‘80s rock culture. MORE.
I Dream in Widescreen
School of Theatre, Film & Television
May 10 | Fox Tucson Theatre
The 21st annual showcase of thesis films created by seniors in the nationally renowned School of Theatre, Film & Television’s film program that ranks No. 4 in the nation for public universities in The Wrap’s latest ranking of “Top 50 Film Schools.” MORE.
LECTURES / PRESENTATIONS
Panel Discussion: Artist Bailey Doogan
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Jan. 23 | CCP Auditorium
Panelists Terry Etherton, Doug Nielsen, Cynthia Miller and Ann Simmons-Myers will illuminate the personal and often collaborative processes artist Bailey Doogan used to create her work, as well as approaches she shared with generations of students and peers. MORE.
Curator Talk and Conversation
Center for Creative Photography
Jan. 30 | CCP Auditorium
“Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna” exhibition curator Jessica D. Brier will present, followed by a conversation with Brier and School of Art undergraduate student Sage Marshall. MORE.
Horror and Humor:
Bailey Doogan and the Feminist Revolution
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Feb. 5 | Virtual
Bailey Doogan’s art is infused with the revolutionary ideas swirling around feminist thinking in the early 1980s. This talk by Eleanor Heartney looks at how feminist ideas about the female body, power and gender, and pleasure and pain shaped Doogan’s outlook. MORE.
AIAR Speaker Series: “Affect Theater”
Applied Intercultural Arts Research
Feb. 20 | Slonaker House
How does a theater maker build theatrical worlds from empirical research that convey not only story, but affective experiences? In this talk, Dr. Cristiana Giordano of UC Davis and TFTV’s Greg Pierotti describe their cross-pollination between social research and narrative practices in theater and anthropology. MORE.
VASE Lecture Series
School of Art
- Lauren Bon | Feb. 11 | CCP Auditorium
An American environmental artist and activist and a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow, Lauren Bon will discuss “The Cyborg Watershed of the American West.” MORE. - Eduardo Cadava | March 17 | CCP Auditorium
The Philip Mayhew Professor of English at Princeton University, Eduardo Cadava will detail his two-decade engagement with the photographic work of Fazal Sheikh, a New York-born and Kenyan Pakistani photographer and his projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan, India, Utah, Israel and Palestine. MORE. - Cannupa Hanska Luger | April 2 | CCP Auditorium
New Mexico-based multidisciplinary artist and 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, Cannupa Hanska Luger, creates monumental installations, sculpture and performance to tell stories of 21st Century Indigeneity. MORE.
Garrison Keillor
Arizona Arts Live
April 12 | Arizona Arts Live
Garrison Keillor will present an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience song, and poetry. One man, one microphone. There are sung sonnets, limericks, and musical jokes, and the thread that runs through it is the beauty of growing old. MORE.
MUSIC
Emmet Cohen Presents: Miles and Coltrane at 100
Arizona Arts Live / Tucson Jazz Festival
Jan. 22 | The Rialto Theatre
Pianist Emmet Cohen brings an all-star quintet to the Rialto Theatre for a landmark celebration of the centennials of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. MORE.
Víkingur Ólafsson in Recital
School of Music
Jan. 27 | Crowder Hall
Grammy Award-winning pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, one of the most celebrated classical artists of our time, will perform, thanks to the Sandra F. Lai Guest Artist Residency. With over one billion streams, Ólafsson won the 2025 Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his album of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” MORE.
Beth Goodfellow
Arizona Arts Live
Jan. 31 | Sunshine Wine
International percussionist and Tucson-based Beth Goodfellow performs an evening of marimba, voice and live-looped patterns, a performance that unfolds layer-by-layer in real time. MORE.
President’s Concert
School of Music
Feb. 7-8 | Crowder Hall
The Arizona Symphony Orchestra will perform with the 2024-2025 Concerto Competition winners and the Symphonic Choir in the 52nd edition of this annual tradition. MORE.
Patty Griffin // SOLD OUT
Arizona Arts Live / La Rosa
Feb. 15 | La Rosa
Patty Griffin, an influential singer-songwriter, has earned two Grammy Awards with seven nominations and received the Americana Music Associations Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting. MORE.
Musical Murals
School of Music
March 2 | Downtown Tucson
Blending live music and visual art in a downtown walking tour, School of Music student ensembles perform in front of one of Tucson’s epic murals. MORE.
Women of Americana
Arizona Arts Live / La Rosa
March 10 | La Rosa
Cristina Vane and Brennan Leigh pay a heartfelt tribute to the roots of American music, performing iconic songs early folk, gospel, and Western swing music. MORE.
Trampled by Turtles
Arizona Arts Live / La Rosa
March 15 | La Rosa
The Turtles blend bluegrass instrumentation with rock-and-roll drive, topping the Billboard bluegrass chart with every album they’ve released. They’ve performed at Coachella, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza. MORE.
The Telephone & Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario)
School of Music / Opera Theatre
March 25, 27, 29 | Crowder Hall
Two one-act comedic operas with a full orchestra. In Menotti‘s “The Telephone,” a suitor battles a constantly ringing phone for his proposal, while Mozart‘s witty “The Impresario” skewers the chaos and diva clashes behind the scenes of a theater production. MORE.
Kronos Quartet: Ground
Arizona Arts Live
April 1 | La Rosa
Kronos Quartet has blended sounds across lines of culture and era, moving beyond the typical terrain for a string quartet. “Ground” is a powerful new work weaving Indigenous stories of migration and resilience into music that will move you, commissioned by Arizona Arts Live and the University of Arizona. MORE.
75th Anniversary Festival Concert
School of Music / Symphonic Choir
May 2 | Crowder Hall
Founded in 1951, the University of Arizona Symphonic Choir celebrates its 75th anniversary with an ensemble of current and former members, performing a blend of music, including a newly commissioned piece. MORE.
THEATRE
Almost, Maine
School of Theatre, Film & Television
Feb. 22 – March 8 | Tornabene Theatre
“Almost, Maine” where the Northern Lights have a magical effect on the residents of a tiny, unincorporated town. In a series of sweet and funny stories, people fall in and out of love in surreal, unexpected ways, proving love in a delightful midwinter night’s dream. MORE.
New Directions Festival
School of Theatre, Film & Television
March 26-29 | Tornabene Theatre
New directions, new voices. Annual festival of new works by BA students. Student-created, designed, and performed content. BA students tell their stories through voices that are uniquely their own. MORE.
Jerry’s Girls
School of Theatre, Film & Television
April 19 – May 3 | Marroney Theatre
This dynamic revue celebrates the music of Jerry Herman, highlighting the broad spectrum of thrilling material he wrote specifically for female performers. Features all the best songs and crowd favorites from such immortal musicals as Mame, Hello Dolly!, Milk and Honey, Mackand Mabel, andLa Cage Aux Folles. MORE.
VISUAL ARTS
Nice to Meet You!
School of Art
Through Feb. 6 | Rombach Gallery
The annual first-year MFA showcase celebrating School of Art graduate students: Athena Apodaca, Marcus Chormicle, Fiona Doherty, Rafaela Dittrich Guebert, Clarissa Kear, Keelin Miller, Melanie Montes, Sheldon Patten and Bryce Pol. MORE.
A Love Letter to This Bridge Called My Back
School of Art
Through Feb. 20 | Joseph Gross Gallery
The exhibition honors the groundbreaking 1981 feminist anthology edited by Gloria Anzaldúa and Cherríe Moraga— “This Bridge Called My Back” — and invites visitors to immerse themselves in text, audio, video, installation and visual art. MORE.
Bailey Doogan: Ways of Seeing
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Jan. 17 – April 4 | UAMA
The exhibition will showcase a survey of work by Bailey Doogan (1941-2022), a celebrated artist, graphic designer and esteemed professor emerita at the University of Arizona School of Art. For the first time, this exhibition will display works from each phase of her career, highlighting her artistic processes and evolution. The breadth of her artistic practice is vast —from surreal to hyper realistic, whimsical to stark. MORE.
Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna
Center for Creative Photography
Jan. 31 – May 16 | CCP Galleries
Organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, this is the first major survey of American photographer Rollie McKenna, who built a prolific career spanning architectural and portrait photography, with work published in Fortune, Harper’s, Vanity Fair and Vogue. The exhibition features her iconic portraits of writers and artists including W. H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, T. S. Eliot, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Dylan Thomas, and Eudora Welty; and architectural images shown in the Museum of Modern Art’s landmark 1955 exhibition Latin American Architecture Since 1945. MORE.
MFA Thesis Exhibition
School of Art
April 18 – May 16 | UAMA and Gross Gallery
Carrying on a tradition that began in 1970 graduate students will present their work, a culmination of their three-year MFA studio degree program. MORE.