Scottsdale Arts offers array of events in April

Scottsdale Arts will bring laughter, celebration and fun-filled enjoyment with many new exciting events this April.

The April lineup starts with The ARTrageous Gala | Cosmic Crescendo on April 6. It is one of Scottsdale Arts’ grandest events of the year, filled with music, dance and contemporary art in celebration of this year’s solar eclipse. Three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone takes the stage on April 16, performing a multitude of songs from her renowned career. Artists Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and Gloria Martinez Granados return to SMoCA to share their artistic practices in a unique artist conversation and workshop on April 20.

The following is a list of events and exhibitions from Scottsdale Arts, a nonprofit organization comprising Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence and Civic Center LIVE:

• Memory Lounge: Drawing for Relaxation
Friday, April 5, 1 p.m.
Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets per couple: $20
Science now proves that drawing stimulates brain systems that help us de-stress and maintain a positive feeling of well-being. Memory Lounge is an arts program for people with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.

•  ARTrageous Gala | Cosmic Crescendo
Saturday, April 6, 6:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center
Tickets start at $450
The event is a harmonious symphony of art forms, where dance, music and contemporary art merge into a captivating spectacle.

•  Golden Hour Concert Series: Night Beats
Thursday, April 11, 6:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center
Tickets start at $25
Immerse yourself in the distinctive sounds of the Southwest during our Golden Hour Concert Series featuring Night Beats with supporting artist Inkblot.

•  Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes
Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets start at $79
Three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone celebrates her legendary career through a “personal musical memoir.”

•  Memory Lounge: Art Workshop with Carolyn Lavender
Friday, April 19, 1 p.m.
Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets per couple: $20
Learn how to tell a story through charcoal drawing. Memory Lounge is an arts program for people with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.

•  Earth Connections: Artist Conversation and Workshop
Saturday, April 20, 12:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: Free
Join us for a unique artist conversation and workshop, featuring artists Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and Gloria Martinez Granados in collaboration with Borderlands Restoration Network.

•  Library Creatives | Draw What You See: Outdoor Watercolor and Ink with Koryn Woodward Wasson
Monday, April 22, 4:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center Park
Tickets: Free
Join “Flirting with the Desert” artist Koryn Woodward Wasson on Earth Day for an outdoor exploration of the beautiful plants and structures outside the Scottsdale Civic Center Library’s walls.

•  Glow Up @SMoCA: Gentle Yoga
Thursday, April 25, 7 p.m.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Tickets: $20
Go with the flow and relax in this gentle yoga class, led by Melinda Milton inside the exhibition “Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage.”

•  The 2024 Scottsdale Jazz Fest: Jazz, Blues, & Brews
Saturday, April 27, 3 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center
Tickets start at $35
The Scottsdale Jazz Festival is just one of UNESCO’s celebrations taking place on International Jazz Weekend across the country.
Exhibitions

•  Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage
Feb. 3 through July 21
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
“Color Mirage” is the first major U.S. museum exhibition on the prolific, yet under recognized, American painter Dorothy Fratt.

•  Carolina Aranibar-Fernández: Oleaje
Feb. 10 through Aug. 4
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
“Oleaje,” Spanish for “Groundswell,” features new large-scale installation works by Bolivian-born artist Carolina Aranibar-Fernández that map and memorialize the rippling effects of a coercive global trade industry.

•  Randy Johnson: Storytelling with Photographs
Feb. 23 through April 28
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
Former Major League pitcher Randy Johnson’s new photography exhibition, coinciding with the 2024 Spring Training season, showcases images from his travels.

•  Roelof Knol: the space in between
Through July 28, 2024
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7 to $12
In this new immersive installation, emerging Dutch artist Roelof Knol creates a playful, interactive, audiovisual experience that invites viewers to explore their relationship between digital and physical spaces.

•  _____ space Exhibitions
Sept. 22, 2023, through July 28,
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: free

•  ____ space (blank space) is a new, experimental, flexible space at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, currently featuring two installations by artists Kenaim Al-Shatti and Roelof Knol.

•  Breaking the Binary
Oct. 11, 2023, through April 15
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Admission: Free
Featuring surrealistic self-portraits by youth associated with the nonprofit one•n•ten, “Breaking the Binary” explores what being queer means to them.

•  Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection
Ongoing
Various locations throughout Scottsdale
Admission: free

More than 150 artworks, many of them large-scale sculptures, can be found throughout the city at parks, in public facilities, and along the streets. See the map at ScottsdalePublicArt.org for locations.

For more information about the events, and to order tickets, visit ScottsdaleArts.org.