Southwest Folklife Alliance and Artists At Work Celebrate Working Artists and Resilience in Community Gathering

The Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA) and Artists At Work (AAW) bring together Southern Arizona artists for a day of creativity and community. The event celebrates the role of artmaking in problem solving and facing difficult times. Activities include communal artmaking (1-2:30pm) and a conversation (2:30pm–4pm) with Holly Doll of Ignite Rural with the Department of Public Transformation, an “at-home” artist residency focused on uplifting and supporting rural artists engaged in social/civic work, and four Tucson artists currently supported by AAW.

Attendees will begin the afternoon with hands-on sessions led by Mario Valencia (printmaking), Adriana Felix (tiny clay doll crafting), Annetta Koruh (Hopi weaving with natural materials), and the current AAW Tucson Artists.
AAW is a national workforce resilience program supporting artists and their communities through artistic civic engagement. AAW leverages the creativity of artists to address pressing issues in their local communities—from substance abuse to youth welfare to public health, among others—and fosters new economic models of support for artists.

Participating artists receive salaried employment, benefits, and support for 18 months. AAW is currently supporting artists through community partners in Albuquerque, Dearborn, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Tucson. The Southwest Folklife Alliance serves as the anchor cultural institution for four Tucson artists, which include:

Harrison Preston, a potter working with a local Tohono O’Odham Pottery Collective
Shane Beeshligaii, a silversmith working with the living agricultural museum Mission Garden

Katrina Kerstetter, a mixed-media artists working with Iskashitaa Refugee Network on their ongoing Refugee Garden Art Program

Porfirio “Pilo” Mora, a potter in the Mata Ortiz tradition working with the grassroots network Regeneración on Tucson’s south side

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Free and open to the public. Refreshments served. Space is limited. Please RSVP by April 7.

WHEN: Sunday, April 12, 2026 | 1pm-4pm

WHERE: YWCA Frances McClelland Community Center, 525 N. Bonita Ave, Tucson, AZ. Free parking in the lot and on the street.

ACCESSIBILITY: English<>Spanish Interpretation provided. With accessibility questions or requests, please email: Access@SouthWestfolklife.org

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Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA) is a non-profit organization and affiliate of the University of Arizona whose mission is to build more equitable and vibrant communities by celebrating the everyday expressions of culture, heritage, and diversity rooted in the Greater Southwest and U.S. Mexico Border Corridor. Nationally, SFA amplifies models and methods of meaningful cultural work that center traditional knowledge, social equity, and collaboration. The official state-designated folk arts partner of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the parent-producing agent of the annual Tucson Meet Yourself Folklife Festival, SFA offers yearlong programs that celebrate and preserve the art, culture, heritage, foodways, and folklife of the borderlands region.