Arts + Entertainment

The humanities provide a prism through which we can better understand the human condition. In this essay, commentator Herb Paine contemplate how theatre has performed such a role in highlighting over time the excesses and abuses of politics — in particular, the global rise of autocrats who challenge the foundations of democracies.

The Arabian National Breeder Finals is happening now in Scottsdale. It features competition horses from all over the world, Brazil, Belgium, Europe, the Middle East and across the country. Austin Garrett has spent his entire life in the world of Arabian horses, and joined The Show to talk about the world of Arabian horse breeding and what the competition looks like.

The Musical Instrument Museum is currently running an exhibition featuring stringed instruments played by some of the most famous jazz, folk and bluegrass artists in American history. MIM curator Rich Walter recently spoke with The Show to talk about the exhibit.

In a post on Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday evening, Ronstadt herself said she was saddened to see Trump bring his “hate show” to her hometown of Tucson — a town she said with deep Mexican-American roots and a joyful, tolerant spirit.

Louis Carlos Bernal was a pioneering Chicano photographer who dedicated much of his career to chronicling the lives of Mexican Americans in Tucson and the Southwest. Bernal’s work is the subject of a new exhibition at the UA’s Center for Creative Photography, which opens this weekend. It’s called “Retrospectiva,” and curator Elizabeth Ferrer joined The Show to talk more about it.

Kay Siebler is an English professor at the University of Omaha in Nebraska, and Lexi Locket has been performing burlesque in Phoenix for a decade. They’re part of a long history of performers who have worked against the dominant culture of the day.

The firm hired to create the new campaign worked with an Indigenous artist, creating what tourism officials said would communicate all that Arizona has to offer. John Pierce, ASU marketing professor, has worked on campaigns like this before and joined The Show to talk more.

Cecilia Fajardo-Hill teaches museum studies and art history in Arizona State University's School of Art and spoke to The Show about how identity politics have intersected with museums throughout history.

Peter Catalanotte, director of Film Tucson, says Arizona offers a wide variety of Western town locations and its own two-year-old incentives.

The State of Culture report is the first stage of a local project that aims to create a roadmap to preserve, build upon and celebrate Tucson’s arts and cultural heritage.