What happens when you pair a poet with an astronomer, a performance troupe with a forest service expert, a renowned installation artist with students from an after school program, or a traditional Native dance group with an emerging playwright? Unexpected experiences emerge that are authentic and evocative of the diverse lived experiences of the Southwest.
ARTx invites the creative contributions of many to create a current, experiential, interactive, and ever evolving festival. Think SXSW (South by Southwest), TEDx meets Scottsdale’s Canal Convergence, Edinburgh Fringe meets Miami’s Art Basel.
The shape, color, and energy of the festival is rooted in an annual call for entries that juries events, activities, and installations city-wide and then is further extended by a crowd-sourced fringe.
For nearly three years, a group of volunteers has been meeting with a simple idea to establish an arts festival.
ARTx will play a critical role in helping Creative Flagstaff fulfill its mission to foster creative opportunity and affirms the commitment to interdisciplinary creativity. A festival, done right, focuses philanthropy and corporate support for arts and culture, gains the attention of the media, gets the community involved, focuses collaborative and interdisciplinary energy, and leaves a lasting and positive impact on the community, year after year.
Providing a regional and national platform for local artists, creatives, and thinkers. An annual, accessible community opportunity to engage with the arts in an immersive and interactive way.
ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience Pilot Event takes over Flagstaff
ARTx Art + Ideas Experience Arizona pilot event took place from May 25-27, 2023. The pilot event gave Flagstaff and ...
UPDATED: Community Meeting regarding the ARTx Festival set for March 29th
Join festival committee members and Creative Flagstaff to learn more about ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience Arizona at an open community ...
Meet Julie Sokol: ARTx Festival Director
Creative Flagstaff is ecstatic to announce that Julie Sokol has joined our team as the Festival Director for the ARTx: ...
2023 Pilot Event
ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience Arizona seeks to elevate Flagstaff as a sustainable and accessible community for creative practice, artmaking, placemaking, and exploration.This pilot festival lays the groundwork for the inaugural 5+ day festival to be held in May 2024.
Join us for the inaugural ARTx pilot festival experience as we host artists, collaborators and thinkers as they invite the public to engage and immerse themselves in public art. This first-ever event will start small, in the downtown core; with visions of a constellation of experiences, flowing throughout our neighborhoods in years to come.
The best submissions are those that tell the story of our community; acknowledging our past and highlighting the joy and beauty found in resilience. Our hope is these experiences, performances and pieces inspire action and conversation as we move forward as a community, and define the future of Flagstaff.
ARTx welcomes proposals from curators, mission-driven organizations, artists, thinkers, thought leaders, and collaborations.
What can we learn from the world? What can we share with the world?
The festival, both immersive and interactive, showcases the convergence of art, science, and culture, from Flagstaff, the Southwest, and the world.
Wherever possible, we are exploring ways to bring artists and thinkers together to explore important issues of our time. Flagstaff is a laboratory of thought.
What can we learn from the world? What can we share with the world?
Together, we can harness incredible artistic and collaborative energy to advance understanding on racial and social justice, climate change, the wonders of the universe, and more.
Letters of Support / Partners
The following organizations have expressed written support for the festival.
- Arizona Historical Society
- City of Flagstaff
- Coconino Community College
- Flagstaff Festival of Science
- Flagstaff Unified School District
- Lowell Observatory
- Museum of Northern Arizona
- Northern Arizona University
- Theatrikos Theatre Company
Many others have participated in regular festival stakeholder meetings.
Festival Committee
The festival committee is appointed by the Flagstaff Arts Council Board of Directors.
- Chris Verrill, Chair
- Gina Marie Byers, Co-Chair
- Pearl Tsosie
- Mary Kershaw
- Jana Weldon, City of Flagstaff
- Stephanie Stallings
- Kathleeen McGeever
- Julie Sokol, Creative Flagstaff Staff, ARTx Festival Director
