The First50 project was devised as a complement to the NextAZ visionary planning initiative. Through research and reflection, First50 supports the work of NextAZ, providing context and historical perspective on the purpose of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the role the arts have played in the lives of Arizonans since the agency’s establishment.
The First50 team focused on two questions: where have we been (Reflections) and have we accomplished what we set out to do (Objectives).
FIRST50: REFLECTIONS
First50: Reflections features the voices of first-hand witnesses to the conception, establishment, and evolution of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. In the third chapter, representatives of Arizona’s diverse arts and culture communities reflect on the challenges and opportunities of the sector more broadly.Â
In 1965, funding was provided to all state governments to form a state arts entity and survey existing facilities, organizations, and individuals engaged in the arts in each state. In 1966, Governor Samuel P. Goddard enlisted the services of a young lawyer and arts advocate named Richard Whitney to draft the enabling legislation to establish the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
“All the Significant Pieces” offers an oral history of the Arts Commission’s first decade, from the foundations laid by Mr. Whitney through Dino DeConcini’s work as Arts Commission Chairman to secure the state’s continued investment.
- Beth Murfee DeConcini, Trustee, Heard Museum
- Richard Whitney, Attorney and Former Board Chairmain, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1982-1984
- Dino J. DeConcini, Former Board Chairman, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1979-1982
- Shelley Cohn, Former Executive Director, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1984-2005
Locations
- Heard Museum
- Xico, Inc.
Video Production
- Pixel Thick
- Robert Breunig, President Emeritus, Museum of Northern Arizona
- Pam Hall, Vice-Chair, Arizona Commission on the Arts and Professor of Art History, Glendale Community College
- James K. Ballinger, Director Emeritus, Phoenix Art Museum
- Dino J. DeConcini, Former Board Chairman, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1979-1982
- Richard Whitney, Attorney and Former Board Chairmain, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1982-1984
- Sam Campana, Former Mayor of Scottsdale, Arizona, 1996-2000
- Shelley Cohn, Former Executive Director, Arizona Commission on the Arts, 1984-2005
- Steven J. Yazzie, Multidiscplinary Artist, Phoenix
- James K. Ballinger, Director Emeritus, Phoenix Art Museum
- Susan Claassen, Managing Artistic Director, Invisible Theatre, Tucson
- Annie Lopez, Artist, Phoenix
- Maribel Alvarez, Executive Director, Southwest Folklife Alliance, Tucson
- Debi Chess-Mabie, Executive Director, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Beth Murfee DeConcini, Trustee, Heard Museum
- Sandy Chamberlain, Deputy Director and Chief Fundraiser, Phoenix Art Museum, 1983-2010
- David J. Hemphill, Executive Director, Â Black Theatre Troupe, Phoenix
- Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Executive Director, ASU Gammage
- Debi Chess-Mabie, Executive Director, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Cindy Ornstein, Director of Arts and Culture, City of Mesa and Executive Director, Mesa Arts Center
- Marshall Shore, The Hip Historian, Phoenix
- John Tannous, Director, Flagstaff Arts Council
- Eric Holowacz, Former Executive Director, Sedona Arts Center, 2015-2017
FIRST 50: OBJECTIVES
First50: Objectives explores the past 50 years of Arizona’s arts & Culture sector through the lens of the goals set out for the Arts Commission at its establishment in 1967:
- Stimulate Study and Presentation
- Encourage Participation and Appreciation
- Celebrate Arizonaâs Cultural Heritage
- Expand Arizonaâs Cultural Resources
- Encourage and Assist Freedom of Artistic Expression
- Steven J. Yazzie, Multidiscplinary Artist, Phoenix
- Robert Breunig, President Emeritus, Museum of Northern Arizona
- Maribel Alvarez, Executive Director, Southwest Folklife Alliance, Tucson
- Steven J. Yazzie, Multidiscplinary Artist, Phoenix
- David J. Hemphill, Executive Director, Â Black Theatre Troupe, Phoenix
- Annie Lopez, Artist, Phoenix
- John Tannous, Director, Flagstaff Arts Council
- David Ira Goldstein, Former Artistic Director, Arizona Theatre Company, 1992-2017
- James K. Ballinger, Director Emeritus, Phoenix Art MuseumSandy Chamberlain, Deputy Director and Chief Fundraiser, Phoenix Art Museum, 1983-2010
- Bernadette Mills, Executive Director, West Valley Arts Council
- Debi Chess-Mabie, Executive Director, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Eric Holowacz, Former Executive Director, Sedona Arts Center, 2015-2017
- Cindy Ornstein, Director of Arts and Culture, City of Mesa and Executive Director, Mesa Arts Center
- Alberto Ălvaro RĂos, Arizona Poet Laureate
- MartĂn Moreno, Artist, Educator, and Community Arts Mentor
- Richard Shelton, Regents Professor Emeritus, Creative Writing, University of Arizona, Tucson
- Fran Cohen, Artistic Director, Kadimah Dancers, 1955-1973
- Susan Claassen, Managing Artistic Director, Invisible Theatre, Tucson
- David J. Hemphill, Executive Director, Â Black Theatre Troupe, Phoenix
- James Reel, President, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Tucson
- Sandy Chamberlain, Deputy Director and Chief Fundraiser, Phoenix Art Museum, 1983-2010
- Harold Dixon, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, School of Theatre, University of Arizona, Tucson
- Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Executive Director, ASU Gammage
