Press Release

Tucson, AZ –Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) has entered into an agreement to provide office space to Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) in the Alice Chaiten Baker Center for Art Education located at 166 W. Alameda Street. Starting in April 2021, ATC will lease offices and share reception, education and meeting spaces in TMA’s newly-renovated facility.

The Alice Chaiten Baker Center for Art Education was built in 1943 as the City Court Building, a place for judges’ quarters. TMA leased it in 1989 to create space for classrooms, a library and an auditorium for public programs, and the museum’s administrative offices were moved into the building in 2012.

TMA received a gift from longtime supporters Alice and Paul Baker to completely renovate the aging structure. Work began in 2019, and the renewed and renamed building opened on January 12, 2020 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community celebration. In addition to updates and modernization throughout, the renovation work reconfigured the building’s interior to make best use of the available space, resulting in the addition of new private offices and expanded and improved classrooms.

ATC staff were housed for the past 14 years in the historic Glenwood Hotel on Scott Avenue, across from the performance venue at the Temple of Music and Art. Since late March 2020, ATC has reduced staff and a majority of the remaining employees are working remotely. As part of a strategy to ensure long-term viability, ATC restructured its operations and sold the Glenwood building. The box office, costume shop and production offices will be located at the Temple and Scene Shop, while business, development, marketing and education staff will be headquartered at TMA about one mile away.

“We’re excited about the synergy that we’ll have at the Tucson Museum of Art and look forward to using our spaces more effectively,” said ATC Managing Director Geri Wright. “With luck, support and some bold strategic moves, ATC will come out of this pandemic stronger than before.”

“TMA has a long-standing relationship with ATC, and a shared history in the Temple of Music and Art where the museum’s first public gallery was located,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, TMA’s Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO. “Arts organizations have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and when we work together, we ensure the survival of Southern Arizona’s vibrant creative landscape.”