About Lectures
Each year the Tucson Museum of Art presents an exciting series of lectures that offer unique insights into TMA’s collections, exhibitions, programs, or related art world topics. Through these programs, engage with a diverse array of artists, community members, curators, museum professionals and scholars for an innovative lecture series on art, community, and more.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Upcoming Lectures
October 2022
Docent Art Talk: Van Gogh – The Sorrow and the Joy, presented by Chuck Tampio
Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Monthly lectures examine art and artists that have influenced the world, from the great classics of Europe to the art of the Southwest, to the most exciting trends in modern and contemporary art. The Museum will also be open on those days, so bring the family, enjoy the Art Talk, and then wander the galleries!
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Leadership Circle Lecture Series – Exploring Identities and Creative Practices in More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West
Saturday, October 15 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Join artists Steffi Faircloth, Sarah Sense, and Ezra Tucker as they highlight how their artworks included in More Than challenge, destabilize, and broaden the stereotyped myths surrounding the “West.”
This lecture is in conjunction with the exhibition More Than: Expanding Identities of Artist from the American West.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Exploring Identities and Creative Practices is supported in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art and is presented by Bank of America and Leadership Circle Sponsors Ann and Roger Looyenga.
November 2022
The Critical Eye: Curators in Conversation
Thursday, November 3 at 5:30 pm
Stonewall Community Room
In conjunction with the jurying of Arizona Biennial 2023, join curators Taína Caragol (Curator of painting, sculpture, and Latinx art and history, National Portrait Gallery), Laura Copelin (Curator at Large, Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson), and Julio Morales (Senior Curator, ASU Art Museum) in conversation with TMA’s chief curator Dr. Julie Sasse to discuss current trends and what they look for in contemporary art.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Arizona Biennial 2023 is presented by the Tucson Museum of Art Contemporary Art Society. The 2022/2023 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by Jim and Fran Allen, Jon and Linda Ender, James and Louise Glasser, and I. Michael and Beth Kasser. AC Hotel Tucson Downtown/Loveblock is the official hotel sponsor of TMA.
Docent Art Talk: Sculpture in the Wild – The International Sculpture Park in Western Montana, presented by Mary Jo McMullen
Sunday, November 13 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Monthly lectures examine art and artists that have influenced the world, from the great classics of Europe to the art of the Southwest, to the most exciting trends in modern and contemporary art. The Museum will also be open on those days, so bring the family, enjoy the Art Talk, and then wander the galleries!
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Curator Tour: More Than Expanding Artist Identities from the American West
Thursday, November 10 at 10:30 am
Galleries
Join senior curator, Glasser Curator of Art of the American West Christine Brindza in a tour of More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West as she explores overarching themes, key artists, and the changing ideas of identity in Western Art.
Culture Pass, guest passes, and other forms of complementary admission will not be accepted for this event. RSVP Required, limited to 20 attendees.
Curator Tour – More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West is supported in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
December 2022
Curator Tour: More Than Expanding Artist Identities from the American West
Friday, December 2 at 1:00 pm
Galleries
Join senior curator, Glasser Curator of Art of the American West Christine Brindza in a tour of More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West as she explores overarching themes, key artists, and the changing ideas of identity in Western Art.
Culture Pass, guest passes, and other forms of complementary admission will not be accepted for this event. RSVP Required, limited to 20 attendees.
Curator Tour – More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West is supported in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Curator Spotlight: Latin American Art
Friday, December 9 at 11:00 am
Galleries
Learn more about the museum’s permanent collection of Latin American Art with Dr. Kristopher Driggers, assistant curator, Schmidt curator of Latin American Art. Dr. Driggers will share insights on the collection and spotlight recent acquisitions.
Curator Spotlight: Latin American Art is presented by Stuart J. Meinke.
Docent Art Talk: The Art of the Wild, Wild West, presented by Adrienne O’Hare
Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Artists of the American West create paintings, drawings and sculptures that tell a story about the land, cowboys and their horses, native American life, and action and adventure. Some of the art was designed to glorify the west. Some was designed to honor its traditions, and some was designed to sell it.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
January 2023
More Than: Words
Thursday, January 5 at 5:30 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Join us for an immersive poetry experience, curated by TC Tolbert and featuring queer, trans, and BIPOC poets. This event is in conversation with the current exhibition, More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West.
The Pre-Raphaelites: A Revolution in Three Parts, with Prelude,
presented by Martin Randall
Sunday, January 8 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
In the mid-19th century, a small group of young and rebellious art students set out on an unlikely mission to overthrow the art establishment that they felt had been on the wrong track since the time of Raphael. They called themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and the revolution they started, and the movement that followed, would change the course of western art forever, and set the stage for the rise of modern art in the 20th century.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Curator Spotlight: Art of the American West
Friday, January 13 at 11:00 am
Stonewall Community Room
Learn more about the museum’s permanent collection of Art of the American West with Christine Brindza, senior curator, Glasser curator of Art of the American West. Brindza will share insights on the collection and spotlight recent acquisitions.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Curator Spotlight: Modern and Contemporary Art
Friday, January 27 at 11:00 am
Stonewall Community Room
Learn more about the museum’s permanent collections of Modern and Contemporary Art with Dr. Julie Sasse, chief curator. Dr. Sasse will share insights on the collection and spotlight recent acquisitions.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
February 2023
Enduring Legacies Panel Discussion
Thursday, February 2, at 5:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Celebrate the opening of Enduring Legacies with a panel discussion featuring Monica Buckle, Julia Arriola, and David Tenario—humanities scholars who supported the curatorial process—to learn about the various meanings and histories behind the exhibition.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Enduring Legacies: The James T. Bialac Indigenous Art Collection is presented by the Arizona Humanities, Anne and Jeff Gartner, Kit and Dan Kimball, and the Tucson Museum of Art Western Art Patrons. The 2022/2023 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by Jim and Fran Allen, Jon and Linda Ender, James and Louise Glasser, and I. Michael and Beth Kasser. AC Hotel Tucson Downtown/Loveblock is the official hotel sponsor of TMA.
Leadership Circle Lecture Series – Victoria Lyall
Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Victoria Lyall is the Frederick and Jan Mayer Curator of the Ancient Americas at the Denver Art Museum. Lyall’s recent exhibition projects include ReVisión: A New Look at Art in the Americas, curated with Jorge F. Rivas Pérez, and Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche, curated with Terezita Romo. Previously, Lyall served as Associate Curator at LACMA and Associate Professor at San Francisco State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Mesoamerican art history from the University of California Los Angeles.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
2022/2023 Leadership Circle is sponsored by Ann and Roger Looyenga. AC Hotel Tucson Downtown/Loveblock is the official hotel sponsor of TMA.
Helen Hardin: Her Art, Her Influences, Her Legacy, presented by Linda Friedman
Sunday, February 12 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Helen Hardin was Contemporary Artist you might not know! She was a trailblazing Indigenous artist from Santa Clara Pueblo whose art was unexpected. Helen Hardin was known for creating complex contemporary works of art that combined colorful symbols from her Native American heritage with abstract art techniques and geometric patterns.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
March 2023
Winslow Homer: Art that Challenged America’s Early Beliefs, presented
by Kit Kimball
Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
As America recovered from the Civil War, Winslow Homer’s art was ahead of its time. His art portrayed subject matter in ways that gently challenged America’s values. Also, he elevated watercolor to become a serious art form by creating large, dazzling and colorful visions, often of the tropics. You will enjoy seeing many of his famous works in a new light!
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
April 2023
Arizona Biennial 2023: Artists Spotlight
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Join Arizona Biennial 2023 artists as they discuss their process, share insights on their works in the biennial and discuss how they relate to their larger body of works.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Arizona Biennial 2023 is presented by the Tucson Museum of Art Contemporary Art Society. The 2022/2023 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by Jim and Fran Allen, Jon and Linda Ender, James and Louise Glasser, and I. Michael and Beth Kasser. AC Hotel Tucson Downtown/Loveblock is the official hotel sponsor of TMA.
dada was here! presented by Paul Garner
Sunday, April 6 at 2:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
As a response to World War I, a group of young European artists set out to expose and question the culture that caused death and destruction on a horrific scale. Using a mix of performance, literature, and fine arts, and foundational in their use of “new media” – photography, film, photomontage – this group gave birth to an “anti-art” movement that became known as dada; breaking down barriers between art and life and asking what is the artist’s response to war? Starting in Zurich and the Cabaret Voltaire in 1916, we will get to know the extraordinary women and men of dada and their work as we follow the movement to Berlin, Paris, and New York, and trace the influences of dada through subsequent art movements.
Lectures are $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
May 2023
Artist Talk: Justin Favela
Thursday, May 4 at 5:00 pm
Stonewall Community Room
In conjunction with Popol Vuh and the Maya Art of Storytelling, join contemporary artist Justin Favela as he offers insights to his creative practice and his relationships with the Popol Vuh story and the work of Carlos Mérida. Then, enjoy the kick-off for his Family Fiesta—a public celebration and performance work featuring his family’s traditions, live music, art-making activities and more!
Lecture is $5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
First Thursday is presented by an anonymous donor.
Artist Talk: Justin Favela and Justin Favela’s Family Fiesta is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
June 2023
Arizona Biennial 2023: Artists Spotlight
Thursday, June 1 at 5:30 pm
Stonewall Community Room
Join Arizona Biennial 2023 artists as they discuss their process, share insights on their works in the biennial and discuss how they relate to their larger body of works.
$5 for non-members; free for members and students with ID.
Arizona Biennial 2023 is presented by the Tucson Museum of Art Contemporary Art Society. The 2022/2023 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by Jim and Fran Allen, Jon and Linda Ender, James and Louise Glasser, and I. Michael and Beth Kasser. AC Hotel Tucson Downtown/Loveblock is the official hotel sponsor of TMA.
Current Exhibitions
The Sacred and the Profane
August 11, 2022 – June 2, 2025
Palice Gallery of European Art
Palice Gallery of European Art
Monica Aissa Martinez: Nothing in Stasis
September 1, 2022–April 23, 2023
Kasser Family Wing of Latin American Art
Kasser Family Wing of Latin American Art
Frances Murray and Harold Jones: Simpatico
August 18, 2022 – August 6, 2023
Kenneth and Judith Riskind/Peter Salomon and Patricia Carr Morgan Gallery
Kenneth and Judith Riskind/Peter Salomon and Patricia Carr Morgan Gallery
The Story of a Painting: José Gil de Castro’s Carlota Caspe y Rodríguez
July 7, 2022 – July 23, 2023
Jon and Linda Ender Gallery
Jon and Linda Ender Gallery
Place, Time, and Identity: Asian Art from the Permanent Collection
August 19, 2021 - August 31, 2022
John K. Goodman Pavilion
John K. Goodman Pavilion
Still Here: Still Life Imagery in the Permanent Collection
August 19, 2021 - January 15, 2023
John K. Goodman Pavilion
John K. Goodman Pavilion
Latin American Folk Art | Arte Popular de Latinoamérica
March 11, 2021—ongoing
Bernard and Jeanette Schmidt Gallery
Bernard and Jeanette Schmidt Gallery
Indigenous Arts | Arte Indígena
March 11, 2021 - ongoing
Indigenous Arts Gallery
Indigenous Arts Gallery