Highlights

Phoenix Art Museum opens May with its first Small Symposium — a two-day gathering of artists, academics, and authors examining the cultural and forensic reach of miniature art — alongside a Florentine-themed Mother's Day morning and the next edition of its monthly music series SOUNDCHECK.

The Small Symposium runs Saturday and Sunday, May 2–3, in Singer Hall and is hosted by the Lemon Art Research Library. Saturday's program, included with general admission, opens at 10 a.m. with a lecture demonstration by local artist Jorge Ruiz on miniature model making, followed at 11 a.m. by a presentation from Dr. Christopher "Kit" Maxwell, Curator of the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, on Narcissa Niblack Thorne and interwar design. A cross-disciplinary panel at 1 p.m. adds Emily Wolverton, Head Curator of the Mini-Time Machine Museum in Tucson, alongside Maxwell and Ruiz, moderated by Rachel Zebro, Associate Curator of Collections. Sunday programming shifts to ticketed workshops: Ruiz leads a hands-on weathering workshop from 10 a.m. to noon ($10 members, $20 public), followed by a Zoom presentation at 1 p.m. from author and photographer Corrine Botz on the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, and a 2 p.m. talk by librarian Jesse Lopez on Chicano artist David Gonzalez and the Homies. The Small Symposium is made possible by Cathie Lemon.

Mother's Day on Sunday, May 10, runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is built around a 17th-century Florentine theme. Programming includes live music by Sweetwater Strings, a mimosa bar by ARTenders, gelato by Fabio on Fire, charcuterie by Charcute Mobile, and professional family photos by Kenzie Rich Photography. Moms receive 10% off at the Museum Store. A 1 p.m. screening of Mamma Mia! in Whiteman Hall closes the morning. The event is free for members and included with general admission for the public.

On Thursday, May 21, SOUNDCHECK welcomes Dirt Rhodes, a Diné band fronted by Ryan Alison from Fort Defiance, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. The bar opens at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. Dirt Rhodes released its first album, "Navajo Country Music," in September 2020. SOUNDCHECK is presented by the Men's Arts Council, with additional support from Desert Financial Credit Union and the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for the Performing Arts.

First Friday on May 1 (5–8 p.m.) centers on the current exhibition Colorwear: A Kaleidoscope of Fashion, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of the PhxArt Fashion Collection and runs through August 15, 2027. The evening includes a conversation with fashion designer Barbara Hulanicki and Helen Jean, Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion, at 5:15 p.m., an open mic hosted by Rashaad Thomas at 6 p.m., and a runway "serve off" at 7 p.m. General admission is free; the special exhibition carries a $10 ticket. First Friday is made possible by APS with additional support from Arizona Community Foundation.

The Collection: 1960 – Now opens May 13, refreshing PhxArt's contemporary galleries with works by Helen Frankenthaler, Donald Judd, Louise Nevelson, and Fritz Scholder, among others, plus recent acquisitions including Reflections Between Flashes (2023), a large-scale mobile sculpture by Tuan Andrew Nguyen acquired through the Men's Arts Council. The installation is curated by Christian Ramírez, Olga Viso, Colin Pearson, and Rachel Sadvary Zebro.

Tickets and full scheduling for all May events are available at phxart.org.

Sources

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  1. phxart.org retrieved 2026-05-06T08:11:27.105046+00:00

Authored by lily_ortega. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 2026-05-06T08:11:27.105046+00:00. Every claim traces to a source.