A quarter-century ago, architect Will Bruder turned a former movie theater into the stylish Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), and on Friday, Feb. 9, Scottsdale Arts will celebrate the 25th birthday of the Old Town museum.
PHOTO: In the late 1990s, architect Will Bruder converted a former movie theater into what is now Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. SMoCA will celebrate its 25th birthday on Feb. 9. Photos by Scottsdale Arts.
“For 25 years, SMoCA has been an integral part of the artist community in the valley as a place to highlight the best of our local talent and beyond,” said Jennifer McCabe, SMoCA’s director and chief curator. “The transformative ability of our institution makes it the ideal space to highlight a multiplicity of art mediums and innovative events. We have been a gathering place for creatives, and we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.”
SMoCA’s 25th Birthday Celebration + Opening on Feb. 9 will feature signature cocktails, treats from Pinwheel gourmet rolls food truck, music from DJ J-ME LEE, a performance by artist Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and live music. Activities will take place inside the museum and outside the front entrance.
The event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. It is open to the public and free to attend with RSVP.
“We cannot wait to commemorate the occasion with special throwbacks, fun photo ops and more surprises throughout the museum all evening,” said Julie Ganas, curator of engagement and digital initiatives. “Whether you have been coming to SMoCA for 25 years or are new to visiting the museum, we want to celebrate our vibrant community, thank you for your support and toast to the future together.”
The evening will also fete the opening of two new exhibitions: “Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage” and “Carolina Aranibar-Fernández: Oleaje.”
“Color Mirage” is the first major U.S. museum exhibition on the prolific yet underrecognized American painter Dorothy Fratt (1923–2017), who spent more than half of her life in Arizona. McCabe co-curated the exhibition with Lauren O’Connell, SMoCA’s curator of contemporary art. It is accompanied by a beautiful coffee table book of Fratt’s colorful, abstract paintings.
The Fratt exhibition officially opens on Feb. 3, six days before SMoCA’s 25th Birthday Celebration. Scottsdale Arts ONE Members can obtain free tickets to preview the exhibition from 11 a.m. to noon that day. It will then open to the public at noon.
“Oleaje” will officially open to the public at noon on Feb. 10, the day after the celebration. Again, there will be a member preview hour from 11 a.m. to noon that day for any Scottsdale Arts ONE Members who don’t make it to the Feb. 9 event.
This exhibition features the work of emerging artist Carolina Aranibar-Fernández and is curated by assistant curator Keshia Turley. “Oleaje,” Spanish for “Groundswell,” features new large-scale installation works by the Bolivian-born artist, who maps and memorializes the rippling effects of the global trade industry.
Prior to the establishment of the museum, Scottsdale Arts (formerly the Scottsdale Cultural Council), curated exhibitions in the atrium of what is now Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. In the 1990s, the council decided to complement the center — completed in 1975 with a design from the prominent architect Bennie Gonzales — with a stand-alone museum. Award-winning architect Will Bruder was chosen for the task of adapting the adjacent five-screen United Artists cineplex for this purpose.
Replacing the earth tones of the former movie theater, Bruder clothed the existing stucco structure in an eggplant/gray palette. He also added an oblong service pod of galvanized metal on the west side of the building and a softly curving entrance pod, also of galvanized steel, on the east. The pods are a friendly nod to the bull-nosed volumes of the neighboring Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Prominently featured at the southeast corner of the museum is “Glass Scrim Wall,” a public artwork by James Carpenter Design Associates of New York City. The green glass sheets shudder around a curve with a joinery of dichroic glass spacers that form a vibrant, lantern-like effect around the building. The wall creates a courtyard space that currently features the mural “Environ” by Phoenix-based artist Janel Garza and a permanent public artwork, the “Knight Rise” Skyspace by internationally known, Arizona-based artist James Turrell.
Inside, Bruder’s minimalist and ingenious design has five galleries, a retail space and a multi-use area recently renamed _____ space (blank space). Because Bruder, Carpenter and Turrell all worked together to create the signature art and architectural volumes that define SMoCA, materials, colors and forms echo throughout the building. The museum officially opened on Feb. 14, 1999.
Visitors to the 25th Birthday Celebration will have the opportunity to appreciate all these design features while exploring the new exhibitions. Tickets for the free event are available here.
SMoCA — named “Best Art Museum” by the Phoenix New Times in the 2023 Best of Phoenix awards — is located at 7374 E. Second St., Scottsdale, Arizona 85251. It is open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Admission is $10–$12 for non-members; $7–$9 for students, seniors (65+) and veterans; and free for Scottsdale Arts ONE Members, healthcare workers, first responders, and patrons 18 and younger. Admission to the museum is pay-what-you-wish every Thursday and every second Saturday of the month.
