Saguaro Land is a series from The Show looking at the Sonoran Desert — the lushest, hottest desert in the world that happens to be our home.
The Show is again taking a look at maps. But the maps made by Jen Urso won’t necessarily help you get from point A to point B. Instead, they’ll help you get a better understanding of where you actually are.
Urso is a Phoenix artist, although she’s originally from the Philadelphia area. She’s done a project where she mapped cactus across the city, and she generally prefers taking a look at the spaces many other people walk right past.
The Show sat down with Urso at her home to talk about her work and what about maps appeals to her.
More Saguaro Land stories from KJZZ
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The Show's Amy Silverman reflects on the Saguaro Land series, and the plight of the iconic Sonoran Desert cactus that is its namesake. -
The Show is exploring the desert season by season in the series Saguaro Land — through music, art, literature, food, drink, flora and fauna — and now through design. -
Journalist Caroline Tracey has watched as Instagram and other platforms have turned a spotlight on the desert in ways she finds both refreshing — and troubling. She spoke to The Show more about the trend and what it means. -
In The Show's newest installment of Saguaro Land, we learned about using the desert to make music from Kyle Bert, who has been turning agave stalk into didgeridoos for 25 years. -
Tempe artist Safwat Saleem used baking as a metaphor for describing how he and his young daughter are learning to thrive in the Sonoran Desert.
