After an extensive national search, Jarrad Bittner — an experienced organizational leader focused on strategic initiatives serving children and families — has been named the new director of the i.d.e.a. Museum, a City of Mesa museum. He began his new position on Aug. 2. Bittner joins a dedicated, talented and experienced team that provides art…
Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum announced its fall 2021 exhibitions, featuring major solo and group displays by internationally renowned visionary art leaders including Beth Ames Swartz of Paradise Valley. The fall exhibitions center on the contemporary visionary art movement and feature the vibrant, transcending work of international artists Alex Grey & Allyson Grey. Other highlights include…
Photo: Leanne Schmidt-Slater and Marlene Strang as The Ladies. Leanne Schmidt-Slater and Marlene Strang are the creative force behind The Ladies, a wacky duo of physical comediennes that perform live, immersive events in unexpected places. They even took their show to parking lots around the Valley during the pandemic and called it “Ladies in the…
By Lauren Isaacs The new Netflix series, “My Unorthodox Life,” is a reality show about a former religious Jewish woman and her family, and the current secular lives that they live. The show’s main character describes her harrowing journey from religious Jew in a somewhat closed community to entrepreneur, model agent aficionado, and all-around female…
Set against a majestic Tel Aviv sunset, Israeli soul singer Bat Ella presents a special tribute concert honoring the late Jewish-American singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman (1951-2011), who was among the most prolific and influential spiritual leaders in the world of Jewish music. The concert will premiere on Jewish Life Television/JLTV, the largest Jewish-themed television network in…
Anne Frank and her alter-ego Kitty come to life in Ari Folman’s vivid animation. Photo courtesy Purple Whale Films. Featuring Anne Frank’s imaginary friend Kitty as its guiding force, a new animated film presented at the Cannes Film Festival seeks to reconnect one of the defining stories of the World War II Holocaust against the…
Photo: “To Care” by Saguaro High School student artist Ella Luthro explores similarities between the Spanish flu and COVID-19. It is part of the exhibition “A Stitch in Time” at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Inspired by a current exhibition at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), students from two local high schools have…
JLTV (Jewish Life TV) proudly announces the broadcast premieres of international award-winning thrillers “Fauda” and “Prisoners of War” in U.S. and Canada, debuting on July 1, 2021. While these series have been available in a limited capacity via select streaming services, JLTV’s broadcasts marks the first time that these landmark series will air on cable…
Phoenix Art Museum announces a newly branded annual artists’ grants program made possible through the generosity of local donors Sally and Richard Lehmann. Known as the Sally and Richard Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards (Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards), the annual grants program will provide the opportunity for up to three Arizona-based artists to receive a grant…
Roz Monahan is no stranger to the stage. She grew up taking dancing lessons and then went on to work on Broadway in several shows. “I don’t want to be specific with names, but I was in several shows – some were successful, many were not,” she says. She danced in the “most famous chorus…
