From the artist:
“Here in Northern Arizona, a small change in moisture can have profound consequences for life: moss-laden Douglas firs thrive in the shade of Walnut Canyon while parched agaves eke by on the rim above. Flagstaff’s regional watersheds are stunningly beautiful and diverse microclimates adapted to dry air punctuated by winter snows and summer monsoons. But the future of our land and water are at risk. Climate change is warming our region, altering precipitation patterns, stressing trees, and increasing demand for groundwater. Wildfires, while necessary for forest health, have grown dramatically more severe, leading to erosion and flooding. Population growth is outpacing Flagstaff’s water supply, prompting the city to purchase a ranch 40 miles away for its water rights. Demand for housing puts open spaces on the outskirts of town at risk of being lost to suburban sprawl. Today, we stand at a watershed moment. Decisions made in the coming years will dramatically affect our community’s future. In 2022, Flagstaff will begin the public process of drafting a 2045 Regional Plan. Will we succeed in prospering economically, while preserving our unique natural resources?

The pieces in this show portray local water-related processes affected by climate change. I incorporate forms and materials gathered from lands at the edge of Flagstaff’s growth boundary, especially those along 89A, which I helped defend against a recent zoning change and have come to know intimately. I use dyes and tannins from tree bark, leaves, and walnut husks; pigments from charcoal, mud, and vintage barbed wire; and wood salvaged from construction sites or wildfires. I capture plant forms using cyanotype chemistry, the same process used to make blueprints in the nineteenth century. To this bright blue foundation I add a second layer of botanical forms using a technique I discovered of making a primitive image by manipulating the wicking properties of certain dyes. Then I build up layers of natural toners, dyes and pigments, along with acrylic paint. These subtle layers reveal themselves gradually with extended viewing, bringing the dimension of time to the two-dimensional surface. I try to create meditative works that beckon you to pause and reflect on the greater mysteries that underlie the natural world and our relationship to it.”

About the Artist

Bryan David Griffith explores profound issues using simple forms and materials in innovative ways. An interdisciplinary artist, he works across multiple media and learns or invents new techniques as needed to convey the concepts in each body of work. Griffith earned a degree in engineering and worked for a leading management consulting firm before he resigned to follow his conscience. He bought an old van to live out of, scraping by as he toured the country to build a new career as an artist. When Griffith’s van broke down in Flagstaff, he fell in love with the town, and then his wife, and never left.

In 2016, Griffith won the Flagstaff Arts Council’s Viola Award and the Phoenix Art Museum’s Artist Grant for his work on wildfire. His work is held in a number of permanent collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Center for Creative Photography, and Fort Wayne Museum of Art. His recent solo exhibitions include the Fresno Art Museum, High Desert Museum, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, and Griffin Museum of Photography. Griffith is represented by Bentley Gallery in Phoenix.[/ultimate_modal]

In 2021 Decker created a custom presidential painting for the National Indian Gaming Associations headquarters. The portrait is of Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. (and founder Rick Hill.) It is on display on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Also in Washington D.C, a custom original painting of Charles’ has been purchased and installed at the National Congress of American Indians Embassy, located near the White House. Charles visited the Embassy and met with C.E.O Kevin Allis and current staff for the new installation.

Additionally in 2021, Charles Decker unveiled his murals at the Kuttz Barber College and Beauty School  in Flagstaff. Decker described the piece as “a multi-cultural mural that symbolizes the diversity within our community” Decker goes on to say “It was a privilege to create something visually inspiring for such a culturally diverse hub in Northern Arizona. The motivation and courage that the college gives to its community and students is outstanding.”

From his website:

Charles Decker is an Apache, an artist, and an enrolled member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Middle Verde Arizona near Sedona, where he is receiving wide recognition for his new approach to rendering canvas paintings through oils, acrylics, and mixed media. Decker incorporates celestial art motifs with ancestral symbols and landscapes to fit in with traditional designs of his Native American World. All of these designs are meticulously hand-made into colorful backgrounds with various brilliant and vibrant colors contrasting the foreground and background. These paintings are very unique with their Apache culture infused. Decker incorporates traditional Native symbols within the totality of his modern painting techniques to render a new whole. Charles calls this “transformational art”-taking a specific technique and adapting it into a new form. In this case, he is telling a story of his Native culture using contemporary techniques.

Charles Decker is self-taught, and comes from a family of artists, both on his mother’s and father’s sides. Charles’ male clan name is “Dzl’taddn”” or “Below the mountain”. Charles’ great great grandfather was Henry Irving, a well noted Apache medicine man who was born near Payson, Arizona and later grew up in Fossil Creek west of Payson, Arizona during the mid-1800s to the late 1800s. Henry was known as Deyelleh or “One who dreams”.

Charles is now taking the steps by using his painting techniques to tell of his people’s culture in a pleasing manner using contemporary methods to convey his story of a time and place.

From 2017 to 2020, Charles Decker was the local Native American artist in residence at both the Enchantment Resort and Mii Amo Spa, world class travel destinations located in beautiful Sedona, there you could find him creating his original works. Charles is dedicated towards speaking about the historical, cultural, and factual properties of the Sedona area to guests from all over the world. Decker is gaining global recognition for his works through his genuine participation, knowledge, and cultural connection to Boynton Canyon, where the resort is located. The Dilzhe’e Apache, or “The Hunters” which is the most Western of the Western Apache, have been living in the Sedona territory for over 700 years. Charles’ tribal reservation, the Yavapai-Apache Nation is located less than 20 miles from Boynton Canyon.

Decker was commissioned by the Cliff Castle Casino located in central Arizona and here he created four large cultural paintings depicting cultural and spiritual imagery of the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Decker, has original paintings of his creation and design that have been installed in the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s tribal administration offices of Chairman John Huey, as well as Vice Chairwoman Tanya Lewis.

The Havasupai Tribal Nation located in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, at a beautiful and globally known area called Havasupai Falls, commissioned Charles for a series of large custom cultural paintings depicting the sacred deities of the Havasupai people, an incredible honor. The paintings were flown into the Canyon by helicopter and are now installed in the Tribal Council Chambers.

Charles Decker, recently completed a large commission for a new hospital built in Surprise, Arizona. The state of the art 60,000 sqft hospital  created by Dr. Martin Newman, is designed to lead a new path in the behavioral healthcare industry. The commission is the perfect fit for Decker’s inspirational and culturally motivated works. “My art will help create strength for those who need it the most’ -Decker.

Charles has partnered with local wineries in central Arizona. His works have been commissioned and used as wine labels and he wants to explore this creative area more.

Decker has two large custom canvas paintings hanging on display inside of the Purgatory Ski Resort, located in Durango, Colorado.[/ultimate_modal]

“It is a graphic that gathers up the fragments of the past so that the wholeness held in the memory and conscience of our elders can be shared with our young ones and with those who have forgotten the stories of origins, of journeys and union, of the early times when the clans gathered and through enhancement and prayer became one people, became Hopi,”the artists explained. “We blended our voices and vision with those of our ancestors in a new effort to restore our political and cultural sovereignty.”

A brilliant mural painting tradition flourished at the height of the Puebloan civilization in the American Southwest between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries.[/ultimate_modal]

The artistic director of Dark Sky Aerial wanted to share her enthusiasm for the project. “This was Dark Sky Aerial’s first foray into dance film, and we chose the stunning backdrop of the Grand Canyon for our dance film. It was the first time Dark Sky Aerial had worked on natural stone features, and also is the first time a dance company has ever created an aerial dance film in the Grand Canyon. This type of innovation took a considerable amount of collaboration with our creative team. We worked with two film production companies- SandCast Media is comprised by local film makers Harlan Taney, Justin Clifton and Blake McCord. This amazing team helped us create the dance film. Firewatch Media, local documentary filmmaker Nick Geib’s company, shot the documentary.

Filming OMEN was a feat all of itself. We had two days of rehearsal in the canyon in which we were tasked with creating the choreography. During this time, our team of 5 aerialists also had to come to terms with the surroundings, or what would be our ‘dance floor’: the 800 ft walls of the Grand Canyon! Getting comfortable suspending from our harnesses on our ropes at this height was not easy, and some members of the company got used to it quicker than others. Together, we created movement for our film that would be shot over a 4 day stretch. These filming days started at 4am and didn’t end until 10pm. We used every possible minute to capture the shot list needed to tell the story of OMEN.

This story is a universal message of surrendering to the unknown, facing and embracing your fears, and relying on one another for support. We wanted to share this message in an art / dance film at this time because so many of us have experienced the unknown due to the pandemic and the subsequent fall out.

So far, the audience members who have seen OMEN have shared an outpouring of support. I have heard feedback that this film touched people who have experienced a difficult time, whether due to the pandemic, or other challenges in life. OMEN deserves to be nominated for a Viola Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts because Dark Sky Aerial continues to demonstrate innovation in its art form, take on projects that challenge the bounds of what is possible with aerial arts, and always aim to do so in a way that connects people to themselves, their humanity and each other.”

[/ultimate_modal]

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare has it all: love, comedy of errors, magic, and fairies! The play follows four lovers as they get lost in the forest, are tormented by fairies, and discover their true love. Midsummer had an all-star company of 11 actors, and was directed by renowned Shakespeare director Jim Warren. The play was originally performed in summer 2021 at the Fort Tuthill Pepsi Amphitheater for a live audience and was filmed and edited for digital viewing after. The play was performed in conjunction with Hamlet by William Shakespeare that summer, and was FlagShakes’ return to fully staged live theater after the pandemic. The company saw great audience numbers at the show and patrons raved about returning to live theater, being outside at the amphitheater, and that the play was joyful and fun!

One patron said “I thought this play was hilarious and well-staged. I can appreciate the difficulty of putting on a show during Covid and I thought FlagShakes did a great job with this one. Gustavo who played Puck in particular was a delight. His deliveries were unexpected and very funny. Well done across the board.”[/ultimate_modal]

In January of 2021, iiwaa announced themself to the world with an emotional debut single entitled “Boys Don’t Cry.” The subsequent release of their first EP Dysphoria solidified iiwaa as an artist with capacity for diverse musical expressions and styling.

Their music appears on Serenade, a compilation album dedicated to Queer youth, Executive Produced by Kyle and Gretta Miller of Tow’rs. iiwaa’s offering, “Learning to Love Myself” is a mantric declaration of radical self-love recorded at Flagstaff’s very own Lore Audio.

They have also released music in conjunction with local producer Tsoh Tso (Fang Over Fist Records/An Illustrated Mess) — a titanic hip-hop anthem, “Circadian”. A slew of new music and collaborative efforts are slated for 2022 release.

In just over a year’s time, iiwaa has gone from relative unknown to successful regional act due in large part to their inspired musical performances focused on cultivating space for connection, healing, and joy.[/ultimate_modal]

The album had two music videos, both directed by acclaimed filmmaker Deidra Peaches. It was produced entirely by Cecil Tso (of An Illustrated Mess & Cocec). The single(s), and album cover art was helmed by Andy McAlpine who’s worked with a variety of talent from Indie Rap heavyweights such as Ceschi Ramos, to superstars such as Miley Cyrus.[/ultimate_modal]

2021 was a notable year for the band. In January, observing a traditional quiet time, Tha ‘Yoties featured online winter “Coyote Stories” from Ed on Facebook and YouTube. In response to the pandemic, the band played patio shows during spring, summer and fall throughout the four corner states; rocking out Flagstaff on Heritage Square for the opening and closing days of the Community Market for International Peace Day, as well as the Flagbrew patio for a Sunday matinee and our annual “Howl-O-Ween” show.

The band’s only indoor show of 2021, was Rumble on the Mountain 7 at the Orpheum Theater on August 7th. Rumble on the Mountain 7, “Welcome to Flagstaff” focused on bringing attention to the disparate number of arrests on Native American people in the city, the vital importance of the Little Colorado River to Hopi, and a cultural understanding of artificial snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks.

Another project that the band was engaged in 2021 was the recording their 6th studio project, “Xoyote Soldier”. The new album is scheduled for release in May of 2022, and features song tributes to the Navajo, Hopi, and Havasupai Nations, as well as a cry for the Little Colorado River as the title track.

The Xoyote Soldier album was recorded at Frogville Studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Tha ‘Yoties also performed during Indian Market and Indigenous Peoples Day. In December, the band released a self produced video from Frogville in tribute to the red & green chili traditions of Nuevo Mexico called “Christmas in New Mexico”. \m/[/ultimate_modal]

From The Arizona Daily Sun:

It was the summer of 2010 when Ash Davidson first started writing the story that would one day become Damnation Spring.

For nearly a decade, the Gundersen family and the small logging community they called home lived inside her head. She carried them with her throughout her time at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and back to Flagstaff again, through dozens of dark mornings huddled over the keyboard with a cup of coffee at Tourist Home before heading to her full-time job.

And now they’re about to meet the world. Davidson’s debut, Damnation Spring.

“It’s such a strange and magical experience to realize that these characters have been in my laptop for a decade and suddenly other people are going to know them too,” Davidson said. “It’s wonderful, and it’s also deeply strange.”

Damnation Spring is a sweeping, immersive debut chronicling the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town reckoning with a threat that could destroy everything they so desperately know and love.

For generations, Rich Gundersen’s family made their livelihood chopping out of the redwood forest along California’s rugged coast. Rich and his wife, Colleen, are raising their own son near a swath of ancient redwoods named Damnation Grove. Rich seizes an opportunity to buy 24-7 Ridge in hopes of a better life for his wife and young son, Chub. The purchase exhausts the money they squirreled away for their growing family, unbeknownst to Colleen. But their family isn’t growing as Colleen has lost pregnancy after pregnancy — as have numerous other women in their community. Colleen has seen the devastation firsthand as a midwife.

As an old face returns to town, many of the community members are forced to reckon with the thought that the herbicides used by the logging company aren’t as harmless as promised. As mudslides take out clear-cut hillsides and salmon vanish from creeks, Colleen’s search for answers threatens to unravel not just Rich’s plans for the 24-7, but also their marriage and their town.

What results is a beautifully immersive debut. At more than 400 pages, the epic of a novel swallows you whole, immersing the reader in the lush forests as told from the varying perspectives of Rich, Colleen and Chub. It’s a compassionate portrayal of a family and community clinging to a quickly vanishing way of life as the environmental degradation becomes impossible to ignore.

Davidson’s family lived in the town of Klamath, California where the book is set. They relocated to Flagstaff when she was in middle school. Now, Davidson works as the communications director for the non-profit Grand Canyon Trust. She’s not blind to the juxtaposition of a self-described “tree hugger” penning a novel that so delicately details the struggle between preserving and profiting off the land.

While the struggle does parallel the current climate crisis, Davidson noted that there are no winners and losers in a situation like this. She’s gained respect for those who work on the forest and those who have devoted their lives to preserving it.

“I think we often blame people who work in extractive industries [logging, fracking, coal mining] as if they’re complicit in the environmental damage and therefore deserve any suffering it brings them, but we have to empathize that this is how a family is keeping their lights on and keeping food on the table,” Davidson said.

Interviewing people on both sides of the issue made her reevaluate her own preconceived notions and helped her write the book coming from a place of non-judgment. In one scene, Davidson details a public meeting where a board must decide whether to allow the logging of Damnation Grove. Those in opposition call out the proposal for destroying the ancient redwoods, while those of the community of Klamath speak of how much they value the land beyond something to look at before returning home.

“People who work in industries that can be destructive to the environment often have a great attachment to the outdoors,” Davidson said. “I come in and work in an office every day, but a logger goes out and works in the woods every day and spends their free time there, too. They’re very attached to the woods and they love the woods.”

Davidson took inspiration for this scene from her own time in public meetings on the topics of forest thinning or uranium mining. She dug through newspaper archives detailing public meetings from decades ago similar to that in the book. Much of the language and jargon is directly inspired by those nearly 50-year-old articles. She returned to Klamath for interviews and to get the details of such a specific place right. At first, people hesitated to speak with her as she was an outsider. Then someone recognized her mother in a local diner and she was soon introduced to a logger. They stepped outside and spoke for two hours, leaning against the side of his truck as the rain pounded down around them. The next time she saw him, he brought an old photo album showing his crew cutting the massive redwoods decades before.

Eventually, she mustered up the courage to ask him about the herbicides and he confided that he had been sprayed and how it impacted him.

Two epigraphs mark the start of the novel. One is the quote, “they are not like any trees we know,” from author John Steinbeck. Steinbeck goes on to say no one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood. Davidson found herself enchanted with the redwood, but found herself facing the same problem, struggling to help readers understand their majesty and what it’s like to feel so small to something so big. The Steinbeck quote was the most honest way, she said.

“I hope people will be curious enough to look them up and see for themselves,” she said.[/ultimate_modal]

The artistic director of Dark Sky Aerial wanted to share her enthusiasm for the project. “This was Dark Sky Aerial’s first foray into dance film, and we chose the stunning backdrop of the Grand Canyon for our dance film. It was the first time Dark Sky Aerial had worked on natural stone features, and also is the first time a dance company has ever created an aerial dance film in the Grand Canyon. This type of innovation took a considerable amount of collaboration with our creative team. We worked with two film production companies- SandCast Media is comprised by local film makers Harlan Taney, Justin Clifton and Blake McCord. This amazing team helped us create the dance film. Firewatch Media, local documentary filmmaker Nick Geib’s company, shot the documentary.

Filming OMEN was a feat all of itself. We had two days of rehearsal in the canyon in which we were tasked with creating the choreography. During this time, our team of 5 aerialists also had to come to terms with the surroundings, or what would be our ‘dance floor’: the 800 ft walls of the Grand Canyon! Getting comfortable suspending from our harnesses on our ropes at this height was not easy, and some members of the company got used to it quicker than others. Together, we created movement for our film that would be shot over a 4 day stretch. These filming days started at 4am and didn’t end until 10pm. We used every possible minute to capture the shot list needed to tell the story of OMEN.

This story is a universal message of surrendering to the unknown, facing and embracing your fears, and relying on one another for support. We wanted to share this message in an art / dance film at this time because so many of us have experienced the unknown due to the pandemic and the subsequent fall out.

So far, the audience members who have seen OMEN have shared an outpouring of support. I have heard feedback that this film touched people who have experienced a difficult time, whether due to the pandemic, or other challenges in life. OMEN deserves to be nominated for a Viola Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts because Dark Sky Aerial continues to demonstrate innovation in its art form, take on projects that challenge the bounds of what is possible with aerial arts, and always aim to do so in a way that connects people to themselves, their humanity and each other.”

[/ultimate_modal]

In Deidra’s videos, you get to see people in the context of the landscape, you get to see the stunning turquoise waters of the Little Colorado River, and Grand Falls raging. But there’s a lot that went into these films that you don’t see. To create this collection of ten 1-minute videos:

• Deidra took over 1,100 portraits of the individuals. (Deidra has this amazing ability to make people feel comfortable in front of the camera.)
• Deidra went through over 107 versions of the videos. (That’s an average of 10.4 cuts per video, all with minor refinements. Her grueling editorial process included thousands of edits to footage, audio and video editing, and commissioning and integrating contemporary Native music.)

The result is an astonishingly beautiful, authentic, and moving work of art that records the voices of people whose ancestors have nurtured connections to the Little Colorado River since time immemorial, and who continue to keep those vibrant and vital connections strong to this day. It’s an extraordinary feat of filmmaking, of art, and of storytelling, and a stunning display of Deidra’s incredible talents.

As you’ll see through the films, Deidra is an amazing storyteller. Her ability to showcase the spirit of people and places shines in her work, and her videography and photography amplify voices in Native communities. If you haven’t been on a shoot with Deidra before, it is an amazing production that involves loading and unloading, setting up and taking down. Deidra is constantly manning multiple cameras, microphones, lights, reflectors, and sunshades, swapping batteries, weighting down equipment with sandbags, cooling camera equipment with bags of frozen vegetables when they overheat midway through a shoot, and readjusting things after every gust of wind. Most of the shoots for Lifeways were in remote places, outside, without outlets or windbreaks or shade. On at least one occasion, the interview subject arrived on horseback. And Deidra choreographs all of it with such ease and grace. She makes it look easy when it is not.[/ultimate_modal]

“Visiting the Anxious Ladies” depicts a variety of distorted self-portraits that feature representations of herself as a sorrowful woman in a red bathing cap. These images are tender and raw; based on a series of photographs taken of herself through the duration of trauma therapy. Derived from frustration in the healing process of anxiety disorder and depression, these photographs ultimately became the references for the paintings. Through this series, she found that not only was her work useful as a coping mechanism for her own healing, but it connected with others experiencing mental illnesses as well. The use of these stylized portraits offers a chance for the audience to place themselves as the main subject. When did they last feel the kind of anxiety demonstrated in the figures’ faces? Comparing themselves to the portraits, how do they feel in that moment? This kind of discourse is fundamental to the reception of mental illnesses.

Dana continues to explore advocacy around mental health and access through her artistic practice and has centered her graduate work around representing the personal stories of those who engage daily with mental illness in an effort to dispel stigmas, and offer opportunities for compassion and connection.[/ultimate_modal]

My name is Ember Crowley, I’m twenty years old, I attend Northern Arizona University and am majoring in Independent Filmmaking in the Creative Media and Film Department where I’ve earned several scholarships, including a scholarship from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the director’s workshop scholarship from The Sundance Film Institute, the Bill Close Broadcasting Memorial Scholarship as well as the Janet Schnoor Memorial Scholarship from the Women and Genders studies department. I will be graduating in May 2022 with a degree in independent filmmaking with an emphasis in directing, however, after being accepted into the accelerated Master’s program this August, I’ve already started attending graduate courses for a master’s degree in documentary studies. This year I was invited to speak (via zoom) at several film festivals in Ireland, France and the U.S. about my experiences as a female director and was invited to share on a local podcast, Live at the Theater Basement, hosted by the extraordinary Jamey Hasapis. Born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, being nominated for the Viola Awards comes with such honor for me. When I graduated high school a year early to get a jump start on filmmaking and college, it never really occurred to me to attend any other school except NAU. My parents are alumni of NAU as well as my sister and I grew up my entire life just a ten minute walk from campus. Being so close with my family, leaving town at seventeen-years-old to go to another college felt shaky. Now, as I enter my senior year of college, it seems almost impossible that four years have passed. I’ve traveled out of the country several times in my life, however, this May will be the first time I’ve traveled without my family. Backpacking around Iceland felt like the most inspiring place to visit first, so come May, two days after graduation I’ll be on a plane to Reykjavik!

My latest project is a short documentary about witchcraft. This project will examine the Wicca/Witchcraft community along with discussing common misconceptions people have about witchcraft. Being a direct descendent of Rebecca Nurse, the second woman in history in Salem to be executed as a witch and one of the lead characters in The Crucible, it felt like this was the appropriate time in my life to create a short documentary exploring this history. Though the witch community does not take their practice lightly, they are also inviting and want others to feel accepted in their journey. I’ve interviewed several women already, those who own or work in businesses in Phoenix as well as some who are based in Flagstaff. I will also add archival footage that could reflect the historical aspects of the interviews.

This year, I began my academic studies towards acquiring a master’s degree in documentary studies. I cannot seem to ever say enough about the two professors who have been integral to my development as a screenwriter. Janna Jones, an award winning screenwriter and professor at NAU and Xin Yi, also a professor who teaches advanced screenwriting at NAU, have empowered me to push myself as a screenwriter. As a senior, I’m required to create a capstone project and instead of making another film to use as a capstone, I decided to push my comfort zone and instead write a feature length screenplay. My strengths lie in directing and cinematography, so to use a screenplay as my senior capstone has been an intimidating yet enlightening process, which is due to the empowering female filmmakers in my life. When this newest screenplay is complete, I will begin to distribute it to as many film festivals as possible.

This summer I was invited back to work for a well-known reality TV show where I had previously worked on-set as a production assistant. Additionally, I was invited this fall to attend the Los Angeles Pacific Asian Film Festival in support of the film, “Devotee”, where I  worked  as Sound Tech and 2nd Assistant Camera directed by Sharmila Ray, who was nominated for Best Female Director. I was with UTV at NAU from my freshman year through junior year where I worked as a manager and director. During the spring of 2021, I completed a short documentary, “Heart’s Manifesto”, which I wrote and directed, supported by an incredible crew and cast, through UTV Studios at NAU. I cannot mention my time in UTV Studios without mentioning my professor and mentor, Bill Carter. He is an award winning filmmaker and author as well as a  professor in the Creative Media and Film department at NAU and producer at UTV Studios. He has never failed to promote and support me in every single one of my film endeavors since my first semester as a college student.

So much of my time at NAU has also been spent working at the side of Paul Helford.  I’ve worked as his TA for an upper division film class for the last two years now. This summer, in partnership with Paul, I worked for the Andy Harvey Indigenous Youth Media Workshop which brings twenty-five Native American high school students from across the Southwest to NAU during the summer to learn about broadcast media and journalism. Professor Helford has taught film studies at NAU for over thirty years and has been a wealth of knowledge and never ending support for me. After years of working for him as his TA, his assistant for the BREDA workshop and for the Andy Harvey workshop, he offered me a job where I will teach my first college level class about comedic film history. A few months ago I was also hired as assistant director for a PSA about human trafficking and recently finished working as BTS videographer/photographer as well as assistant camera for Boundaryless, which was facilitated by Chad Williamson.

I started working as an intern for Dr. Maria Campbell for The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival and The Arizona Women’s Film Festival when I was still in high school. This year I became a board member of The Arizona Women’s Film Festival and rose to the position of Executive Assistant for The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival. There simply aren’t enough words to convey my admiration and respect for Dr. Campbell. She is such an important mentor in my life, however, her influence over the Flagstaff community, environmental issues, her extensive involvement advocating for the empowerment of women and being an ally to women who are victims of domestic violence has paved the way for me to reach towards the kind of advocate I strive to become.

As an evolving filmmaker, I feel I have to offer credit where it is due. With that said, I was so disappointed recently when I learned the news that the FilmBar in Phoenix is going to have to shut its doors due to lack of support during the pandemic. The FilmBar was the very first place to invite me to screen my first completed film there and due to a growing number of followers from people who wanted to see “an Ember film”, FilmBar continued to invite me to screen my films there whenever it was possible. Matthew Robinson, who is a prolific film critic and the person who curated films for the FilmBar, has been one of my greatest advocates for several years. This was worth mentioning because Matthew and the FilmBar were so vital in creating the confidence I needed as a young filmmaker. The first time I ever saw one of my films on a big theater screen was at the FilmBar. It was such an empowering moment that justified my continued pursuit of filmmaking.

My film bio from the time I was 15 years old has grown quite a lot over the years and the films I created over the last six years have won many awards and official selections in festivals nationally as well as internationally. To date, my short documentary, “Heart’s Manifesto”, has gathered many recognitions from Ireland, Singapore, Bhutan, India, Sweden, France and New York. I am mostly proud of the awards gained this year as Best Female Filmmaker, Best Female Student Director and Best Student Film. It took a village to raise “Heart’s Manifesto” and the recognition it has gained was because of an extraordinary collective effort.

Over the years, I’ve been so honored to have been nominated for several film awards, including The Jean Luc Godard Award which was especially important to me because of my love for the film genre, French New Wave.

This year I was nominated for the Golden Galaxy Film Award and the Golden Merlion Film Award.

Again, I am so profoundly honored to have been nominated for an Emerging Artist Award and cannot thank the Flagstaff Art Council enough for this distinguished recognition! See you all in April!

Ember Lou Crowley

*Included is a list of awards/official selections that have been received for this year’s short documentary, ‘Heart’s Manifesto’, completed in the spring/summer of 2021:

Druk International Film Festival/ Bhutan: Award winner for Women Filmmakers

Virgin Springs Cinefest/Calcutta: Silver award winner for Best Student Film

World Film Carnival/ Singapore: Award winner for Women Filmmakers

Royal Society of Television and Motion Picture Awards: Award winner for Women Filmmakers

Gothamite Monthly Film Awards New York: Award winner for Best student film of the month

Paris International Film Awards: Finalist for Best Student Film

Sweden Film Awards: Finalist for Best Woman Filmmaker

Lulea International Film Festival/ Sweden: Finalist for Best Woman Filmmaker

Prestige Film Festival: Official Selection

Auber International Film Festival/ Paris: Official Selection

HER International Feminist Film Festival/Ireland: Official selection[/ultimate_modal]

In January of 2021, iiwaa announced themself to the world with an emotional debut single entitled “Boys Don’t Cry.” The subsequent release of their first EP Dysphoria solidified iiwaa as an artist with capacity for diverse musical expressions and styling.

Their music appears on Serenade, a compilation album dedicated to Queer youth, Executive Produced by Kyle and Gretta Miller of Tow’rs. iiwaa’s offering, “Learning to Love Myself” is a mantric declaration of radical self-love recorded at Flagstaff’s very own Lore Audio.

They have also released music in conjunction with local producer Tsoh Tso (Fang Over Fist Records/An Illustrated Mess) — a titanic hip-hop anthem, “Circadian”. A slew of new music and collaborative efforts are slated for 2022 release.

In just over a year’s time, iiwaa has gone from relative unknown to successful regional act due in large part to their inspired musical performances focused on cultivating space for connection, healing, and joy.[/ultimate_modal]

Devotion. This is word that so perfectly describes Diane’s life’s work. Her students are the primary focus of her life, and it shows in the highly successful results her students achieve each year. She is a teacher who is completely devoted to the gentle, nurturing, patient guidance and instruction of the students who are lucky enough to be in her classes. No child is ever left behind in her classroom, no matter what difficulties may be encountered with the individual. And she works tirelessly to encourage and guide her students in the skills of critical thinking, following their individual curiosities, and exploring ideas through art and science.

Diane brings her passion for the arts and sciences and a lifetime of experience as a careful observer of the natural world to her students. Her students learn in turn to observe and record their observations of the natural world. Children become poets in her class, finding their voices and creating word images and powerful pictures for their readers. Her students become artists, authors, botanists, biologists, and geologists by applying classroom learning to the real-world. And they learn history through art and music, coming to appreciate the connection between the physical world and human experience.

Diane spent five summers in San Francisco working as a teacher-mentor in the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score program for teachers from several states across the nation. This institute was designed with the primary goal of teaching teachers the methods for integrating music into the classroom learning process. She naturally brought all this learning experience back to her classroom and without exception has continued to do so since that time. It is hard to imagine a finer example of teaching to provide students with the most well-rounded education possible, designed to integrate music through all areas of learning and applying the diversity of information required at the third-grade level and beyond.

She “feels” her students deeply and strives to provide them with an understanding of personal boundaries and presents beautiful modeling of behaviors that will bring them to their maximum achievement in learning and interacting with their fellow students. Her compassion for each student’s personal problems, sufferings and struggles with the varied learning difficulties that inevitable arise during the school year are well known to all that know her. And the fact that she is so frequently visited by her former students, often from classes decades before, is testament to the love and esteem in which they hold her, and the value they gained from having been in her classes and guided by her so long ago.

She also has mentored and continues to mentor countless NAU students and first-year teachers on their way to their chosen teaching professions. In fact, she has long been well known by students in the NAU education department as The Teacher to work with in the various levels of student teaching.

Her own education focused on the disciplines of art and science, which admirably prepared her to bring a diverse background of experience and learning to her students. She is wise in her understanding and skill in working to integrate all subjects in an ecosystem of learning, showing her students how to navigate the various experiences they encounter in the classroom (and that they will encounter in life going forward) in a thoughtful and balanced manner. And she has continued to take numerous professional development courses through the years to keep her skills current and evolving.

Observing Diane in the classroom is a pure experience of the Art of Teaching, with the primary goal never wavering from doing whatever is needed to enhance everyone’s understanding of the myriad topics they must cover during the year, of growing in their understanding of themselves, and of their ability to interact with other students in the classroom and in the world at large.

Diane comes from a family of teachers. Her father, Robert Dawson, was a well-loved elementary school teacher at Sechrist Elementary, who also was a local leader of forays into the back country for adults and kids alike. Environmental education was his passion, which led to the origins of Camp Colton and into the lives of his own children, adults, and decades of students. Her mother taught elementary school in Flagstaff, and her brother has taught 5^th grade in Santa Fe, New Mexico for many years.

Diane has been a devoted trail runner for decades and has hiked perhaps every known trail in the Grand Canyon, beginning at the age of 8 with her father. Her father mentored her in a deep appreciation of the Grand Canyon, of nature in general and of native American traditions. And over time she has continued to exemplify the important characteristics of physical and mental strength in her life and in the classroom, as well as wisdom in understanding and navigating the vagaries and many layers of life in general.

Diane was born to do this work, and she is following the lead of her destiny with a truly exemplary heartful and caring commitment to excellence.[/ultimate_modal]

During her music career, she has been a member of many orchestras including the Aspen Festival Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Tucson Symphony. She retired in 2019 after 25 years as Concertmaster of the Arizona Opera Orchestra, based in Phoenix and Tucson. She has been Concertmaster of the Flagstaff Symphony since 1985 and joined the orchestra in 1976.  In addition to her orchestral work, she has performed many chamber music programs with NAU colleagues and her husband, Frank Scott, who is Emeritus Professor of Piano at NAU.

Dr. Scott regularly presents master classes, workshops, and clinics across the country, especially with advanced students in the Suzuki method. Summer workshops include the Hawaii Suzuki Institute, the NAU Suzuki Institute, the Anchorage Alaska Suzuki Institute, the Fairbanks Alaska Suzuki Institute, the Black Hills South Dakota Advanced String Camp, the Oregon Suzuki Institute, the Stanford Advanced String Camp, the Southern California Suzuki Institute, and the Curry Summer Music Camp at NAU.

She has been actively involved in national string teaching organizations, including the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the American String Teachers Association, serving as President of the Arizona ASTA from 1990 to 1992 and presently serves on the board of the Arizona Suzuki Association. As a Violin Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Dr. Scott has provided Suzuki teacher training for many NAU college students in the Undergraduate Suzuki Certificate program and the MM degree in Suzuki Pedagogy. Many NAU grads are now teaching in schools in nearly every city across Arizona and programs in different states in the USA. Several former graduate students have remained in Flagstaff to teach at Northland Preparatory School, Pine Forest School, Marshall School, teach lessons and play in the Flagstaff Symphony. She has always been motivated by the motto, which she told to every incoming NAU violin student: “We teach, and we play, and we play, and we teach. If you are prepared to teach with the knowledge, skills and materials needed, you will be successful and most likely will love it.”

Dr. Scott was awarded the Northern Arizona University Distinguished Faculty Award in 1992, membership in Phi Kappa Phi in 1996 and the Arizona American String Teacher Association Outstanding Studio Teacher Award in 2011. She served as the Director of the School of Music at NAU from 2002 to 2006.[/ultimate_modal]

As an Arts Educator for 6-12^th grades at FALA, Rena Hamilton strives to not only introduce techniques and materials to our aspiring young artists but to also to use art as a vehicle and voice to awareness of local and global social issues, raise funds, and create change.

FALA students and teachers are passionate about connecting and collaborating with community and larger society and making positive impacts through our actions, including our art creations.

Examples include partnering with:

• local non-profit, Acts of Kindness, to create a mural on the windows of BBVA Bank downtown to advertise and recruit for a life-saving blood drive;
• the Flagstaff Children’s Hospital Boo Bash creating a celebratory Halloween themed event based on the Pixar film, Coco, open to the public and for children hospitalized and unable to attend trick-or-treating events in person;
• students making handmade ceramic bowls and hosting Empty Bowls sales events to raise funds for local family food centers, St. Mary’s and Northern Arizona Foodbank (though with Covid we haven’t had an in-person sale in a couple of years we have been stockpiling our creations and are planning a massive celebration fundraising event soon!).
• One New Education (ONE) local nonprofit raising funds for girls in developing nations to attend school.  Many of our arts supporters in the Flagstaff community have purchased FALA student created artworks from “Chairs for Change” or the ONE Global Art Market.

Amazingly through Covid stay-at-home teaching and learning Mrs. Hamilton’s students were creating artworks for the public while isolated including:

• “Flowering Flagstaff” to create chalk art or other public art in our yards and driveways to honor our mothers, grandmothers, aunties and care takers in our first first months of Covid;
• Staying engaged in larger social issues and using that as a springboard for our at home art making including Black Lives Matter and social justice movement impressive 20” tall collaborative sculpture that was created in isolation in their bedrooms.  A beautiful example of power in togetherness even while apart;
• and Random Acts of Kindness painting rocks with images of joy and inspirational messages found in surprising unlikely places while social distancing enjoying outdoor neighborhood and forest walks;
• mostly recently this past holiday season creating beautiful one-of-a-kind watercolor cards for residents at The Peaks senior residential center.

Additionally, Rena Hamilton strives to teach by example to her students that a life in the arts is possible and fulfilling.   With FALA’s National Art Honor Society, Mrs. Hamilton hosts a holiday Winter Art Market featuring 40 community and student artists selling their creations to the public giving students a real-life opportunity to put on an arts event and to showcase their work to the public while gaining marketing, exhibiting, and selling experience.

In the spirit of teaching by example a life in the arts, Rena has maintained an active home studio and exhibition pursuits.  Rena has exhibited throughout the U.S. and has work included in private collections in the United States, Australia, and Canada. This spring 2022, Rena has works on display in two exhibitions running concurrently with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) annual convention in Sacramento, California.

Rena Hamilton also founded the Flagstaff Potters’ Guild in 2011 for area potters to share resources and information while building community and promoting our work.  The Potters’ Guild connects to community with a goal of bringing handmade to the hearts, hands, and cupboards of NoAz and beyond and also occasionally fund raises for other community organizations by selling handmade works such as “Pots for Paws” raising funds for Paw Placement of Northern Arizona and volunteering as a group to take pledge call donations for our local Public Radio, KNAU.

Rena says “I strive to create work that resonates with a range of human emotions and our place in the natural world. Taking deep satisfaction in functional beauty, my work is rooted in utility with ever-increasing explorations in color, pattern, and scale. As a maker, it brings me much delight to create pieces that are used in moments of celebration and daily rituals; whether it’s a gathering of closest friends and family sharing good food and drink or a quiet contemplative moment alone with a morning cup of coffee.   I hope my pottery brings joy, beauty, and a touch of grounding in a busy, sometimes chaotic, sometimes isolated, world”.[/ultimate_modal]

The Art Loft Collective is “accomplishing something I haven’t seen successfully done in Flagstaff — they’re holding an art space for their resident artists while also collaborating to create artistic opportunities for kids and promoting the work of local artists. I’m excited with the work they’re doing, hosting different artists every first Friday while continuing to create a wonderful studio space.”

“First Fridays unlock the nooks and crannies, demystify the creaky beautiful second and third floors of the town’s old brick buildings. The recently opened Art Loft Collective occupies the top floor above The Artists Gallery and FLG Terroir. A plant-dotted atrium overlooking the local wine bar is the first indication that you’ve almost arrived at the studio space and dream-come-true of local artist Ashley Matelski…The space has been full to the brim with visitors every First Friday since Art Loft opened. Urdang, Jacoby and Matelski hope to offer more adult classes and workshops in the future as well.” -Svea Conrad (AZ Daily Sun)

Ashley Matelski was interviewed and said, “the hardest thing about being an artist is putting yourself out there and having a safe space where there are people to see your art and someone to facilitate that,” Matelski said. “I had one artist approach me and say, ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough,’ and I said, ‘Yes of course you are.’ I want a space where anybody feels welcome and open to show.” -Svea Conrad (AZ Daily Sun)[/ultimate_modal]

Other pieces on the concert program were:

• Strauss, Thunder and Lightning Polka
• Strauss, Blue Danube Waltz (excerpt)
• Khachaturian, Sabre Dance from Gayane
• Ellington, It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing (arr. Sayre)
• Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Movement I

Tickets to the Family Pops Concert were accessibly priced, and entry for children 12 & under was free. An original Peter and the Wolf coloring book commissioned for this performance and paid for by FSO was distributed to all children in the audience along with a box of crayons.

Attendance at the concert exceeded expectations, and by all measures the event was a rousing success thanks to strong support from the Arizona Community Foundation and several local businesses. This performance was part of FSO’s continuing commitment to music education and outreach in our community, which includes the annual free 4th of July concert, the Link Up program in collaboration with Carnegie Hall, and the symphony’s “side-by-side” concerts featuring local string students who rehearse and perform alongside FSO’s professional musicians.

Following an 18-month period of no live orchestra performances due to COVID-19 restrictions, this collaboration reminded those in attendance of the power of laughing, crying, cheering, and “con-spiring” (literally “breathing together”) to some of our favorite music – an important step towards repairing the damage to our community wrought by the pandemic.[/ultimate_modal]

Participating Artists:

• Ballet Folklórico (dance)
• Eric Retterbush (tintype photography)
• Shawn Skabelund (scultpure)
• Owen Davis (sound artist)
• TOW’RS (local band)
• Momentum Aerial (aerialists)
• Jacob Carothers (ceramics)
• Liv Knoki (dancer, pianist, painter)
• Leslie Baker (choreography)
• Cree (visual arts)
• Edward Peace (actor)

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Ballet Folklórico de Colores contributes to Flagstaff’s quality of life by:

• providing an affordable after school program to low socioeconomic and underrepresented families,  

• dancing many performances for schools, churches, nonprofit and community events .
• helping the Mexican culture to be viewed positively by breaking down stereotypes and keeping the Mexican history and culture of our Southwestern region alive.

Some of our big performances during 2021 include: a performance presented by MOCAF and Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, the Co-Vids: An Arts in Flagstaff Series, Museum of Northern Arizona’s Celebraciones de la Gente, a collaboration with NAU Wind Symphony’s Escenas concert, a performance of Huapango, and The Nutcracker in Modern Barefeet with Canyone Movement Company.

“BFdC has provided students with an opportunity to explore their creativity, express their culture, and engage with others in a unique and meaningful way”. – Principal Mark Culbertson, Puente de Hózhó[/ultimate_modal]

Threaded Together offers free and low-cost sewing and textile arts programming around our community. They have been holding weekly sewing classes for teens on probation, and have partnered with Boys and Girls club to offer free after-school sewing classes. They also created the Sewing and Textile Employment Pathways (STEP) program, which offers paid vocational training to low-to-moderate income residents and trains skilled workers for local businesses.

All community members are encouraged to join Threaded Together to build skills and express themselves. They offer free open studio hours for adults on Wednesdays and for teens on Thursdays. In addition, their classroom holds workshops for learners of all ages and skill levels, offered with sliding scale pricing.

At the start of the pandemic, instead of holding a grand opening party as planned, Threaded Together stepped up to fill the manufacturing gap and provided vital PPE to frontline staff and community members. They also provided employment at a time when many businesses were forced to close. Their staff, contractors, and volunteers have so far made over 25,000 reusable masks and hospital gowns, which were distributed around Flagstaff and to medical facilities on nearby reservations. They have been featured in the news through Arizona Daily Sun, AZ Central, The Lumberjack, Flagstaff Live, MSN News, and NAZ Today.[/ultimate_modal]

Tynkertopia’s mission is to serve as a STEAM Community Center to empower all residents of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona to cultivate skills, strategies, and confidence as independent, lifelong learners and to expand creativity, inquiry skills, and STEM/STEAM skills and knowledge by inviting curiosity, inspiring wonder, encouraging playfulness, and celebrating unique solutions.

As a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for students, teachers, parents, artists, crafters, inventors, makers, and tynkerers of any age, Tynkertopia welcomes community collaborations in which partners work together to share expertise, resources, and responsibility for achieving mutual goals. The organizations’ vision is to build a “stronger future for Flagstaff youth and families by offering community-based STEAM learning opportunities.”

Children and youth of all ages enjoy going to Tynkertopia to build, create, explore, discover, tynker, and have fun learning about science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). Tynkertopia’s motto is Think with your Hands • Learn by Doing!

Tynkertopia offers FREE admission to all. Funding comes exclusively from donations and grants. The organization is dedicated to serving children and youth living in poverty and those un- or under-represented in STEAM fields. Tynkertopia partners with the US Department of Agriculture and St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance to offer a free meal to every child between 1- and 18-years of age who visits Tynkertopia. Growing minds require good nutrition, so Tynkertopia is proud to provide nutritious meals to all who wish them.

Tynkertopia hosts fieldtrips from area public, private, charter, and homeschools in which students engage in hands-on learning that deepened their understanding of the science and engineering concepts they were learning in school. They also host science-based birthday parties for children who love Tynkertopia and want to celebrate their birthdays in Tynkertopia’s colorful, engaging space.

Tynkertopia also offers a Junior Internship program that gives middle and high school students a rare opportunity to gain work experience while providing help to younger children engaged in creating, building, coding, tynkering, and more.

Tynkertopia’s exponential growth and success since opening its doors in August 2018 indicates that Tynkertopia is filling an important need in Flagstaff. As each month passes, more and more families discover Tynkertopia. Before its temporary COVID closure, Tynkertopia hosted over 10,500 visitors. During this closure, they quickly adjusted their learning model: instead of having children and youth come to them, they delivered STEAM learning opportunities to Flagstaff children and youth.

Tynkertopia created STEAM Kits and delivered them each Friday at area schools, domestic violence shelters, the Coconino Center for the Arts, and Flagstaff Public Libraries. Each of the 16,000 STEAM Kit contained a STEAM Challenge, all the materials needed for the challenge, guidance on how to solve the challenge in English and Spanish, a list of books and hands-on materials on the topic that could be checked out of the library, and a Tynkertopia sticker and flyer.

Tynkertopia also created and distributed many STEAM Kits during the Flagstaff Festival of Science. Tynkertopia was honored to partner with many Flagstaff arts, science, and educational organizations to reach as wide an audience as possible during the COVID pandemic.

Tynkertopia reopened on August 14, 2021 at its new location within Siler Homes, one of the largest public housing communities in Flagstaff, reaffirming its mission to serve children and youth living in poverty and/or un- or under-represented in STEAM fields. The former and current Flagstaff Mayors, City Council, and City Manager recognized the importance of having a free STEAM Community Center in Flagstaff.

Hence, the City of Flagstaff invited Tynkertopia to use the 1,800 sq. ft. building formerly known as the Siler Homes Activity Center to provide STEAM learning opportunities to children and youth living in this neighborhood and the greater Flagstaff area.

Tynkertopia is currently open six days per week to serve drop-in visitors, those registered for a wide array of classes, field trips, birthday parties, and a myriad of special events. Siler Homes residents are frequent visitors, as are new families who have discovered Tynkertopia since its COVID closure, and numerous families who were frequent visitors at its old location.

Tynkertopia founder, Dr. Alice Christie, describes Tynkertopia as a natural culmination of her more than 50 years teaching in both K-12 and university environments. She actualized her vision of a hands-on community learning space when she created Tynkertopia in the hope of empowering participants to cultivate skills, strategies, and confidence as independent, lifelong learners. Many believe that Dr. Christie is one of the strongest contributors for youth development in Flagstaff because of the positive impact Tynkertopia has had on our community.

Tynkertopia has been warmly embraced by the Flagstaff community. The following unsolicited comments are from parents who frequent Tynkertopia and speak of their gratitude for Tynkertopia and what they consider to be benefits of Tynkertopia to the Flagstaff community:

• What a wonderful space for kids! This is an amazing learning and fun place that is so needed in Flagstaff.
• My girls really enjoy this place! The crafts, STEAM activities, and creation stations are amazing. We can’t wait to go back.
• This establishment is a wonderful contribution to Flagstaff children and their growing brains!
• Tynkertopia is a great community asset for Flagstaff. So much thought and energy has gone into everything there. Great experience!
• This is an amazing addition to Flagstaff. My son loves creating and exploring here, and the staff are beyond supportive.
• Tynkertopia is just incredible. Not only is the access FREE, Tynkertopia provides a fun learning environment for children.
• Tynkertopia is a great place to spend time learning and exploring. Help support this local wonder.
• What a great initiative in making STEAM education free and accessible to all the children of Flagstaff!
• I love Tynkertopia!! Free STEAM open-ended activities for the whole family!!
• Such a wonderful place to spend time learning and tinkering. There [is] a wealth of materials and options for kids of all ages. This place is a wonderful addition to the Flagstaff community!
• Tynkertopia offers a wonderful collection of educational toys and tons of books. It’s a treasure trove! I highly recommend it, and the young volunteers are helpful and lovely with the kids!
• Amazing!!!! Love the difference you are making for our community.
• Tynkertopia is a treasure trove! There’s a wonderful collection of STEAM educational toys & tons of books, games, puzzles, and STEAM challenges. My kids wanted to stay all day! And so did I!
• I am so grateful that I can take my kids to Tynkertopia. Amazingly, it’s FREE, so we can afford to go as often as we want.

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The Lasting Indigenous Family Enrichment (LIFE) program that Carrie manages has allowed so many opportunities for people who would never meet to participate in a wide variety of activities. One of the most impressive activities was partnering with the Museum of Northern Arizona to build a traditional Pueblo style bread oven at the Colten Gardens. I feel very strongly in emphasizing that Carrie always includes people of all cultures to participate in the programs she designs for community. Everyone is welcome and everyone has opportunities to learn about themselves. For example, at the bread oven build, one learned about the importance of physical wellness required to gather the elements necessary to build an oven. Also, we were taught the cultural significance in the value of all hands-on deck helping to build something that could be shared by all.

Other types of activities that Carrie has created for community include teaching about Indigenous gardening, the Indigenous viewpoint on the importance of running for wellness, celebration of life through Indigenous dance, the acknowledgement of Indigenous sovereignty through Indigenous food preparation. Carrie has committed hours of research on how to share physical, mental, and spiritual wellness with community through the activities she’s created for community. She has been fortunate to collaborate and to bring to Flagstaff many Indigenous people who are skilled in their cultural knowledge and are willing to share with the general public. Her emphasis on following through each level of preparation for an event is a true gift. For example, Carrie gathers information about cultural stories, artistic designs, or methods of gathering traditional components and she makes sure that the value in each part is taught by an elder or a skilled artisan. Carrie has a notable respectful and harmonious style of strategizing to impact and advance the culture and community of Flagstaff. Many times, Carrie has been acknowledged and thanked publicly by local Native community members at Indigenous events, but I think it’s important that the City of Flagstaff publicly acknowledge and award Carrie Dallas for her advocacy and empowerment of all people and all cultures.”

Carrie Dallas wanted to personally mention that “culture is an element of life that can make it pleasurable. The parts of Culture I associate with include tribal connections to Indigenous music, dance, movement, art, attire, food, beliefs, values, positive practices/rituals, health, wellness, gratitude, respect and honor. Culture is a blessing to our lives, in so many ways. I have witnessed youth’s cultural learning impact their confidence, health and wellbeing, times over. I’ve heard heartfelt words of remembrance, of a cultural practice that has been lost and brought back. Culture connects us. It brings us together to share time and space. There are so many reasons why I continue teaching and sharing Native American culture. It is a lifeway and a destiny I love.”[/ultimate_modal]

Bacon founded the Tiny Library Project. He drove around the US to collect old English phone booths and restored them to place in Flagstaff. These phone booths hold books for community members to borrow and read. In May 2021, the phone boxes transformed into books and The Library Project Food Drive. This drive allowed Flagstaff community members to donate unopened cereal boxes to be stacked into one of the phone booths for people to take when needed.

“He’s a man who’s built his entire life on four tenets: family, community, humanity and kindness. From the Tiny Library Project to the Best Life Ever Foundation and community advocacy, Bacon refuses to simply be a bystander. He greets every person he encounters like an old friend and everyone seems to know him, even those he’s never met”. -Bree Burkitt (AZ Daily Sun)[/ultimate_modal]

Speak for the Peaks is an art initiative, organized to address the ongoing destruction of a sacred mountain known as the San Francisco Peaks. The peaks are core to a hydrology system existing across the Colorado Plateau. Snowbowl, since its official inceptions, has largely dedicated itself to desecrating this sacred site. Most notably, Snowbowl and the City of Flagstaff entered an agreement to funnel the city’s reclaimed sewage onto the mountain to create fake snow. Within the past year, Snowbowl has submitted plans for developed expansion that would yield an even greater impact while contesting it would be done so in a fashion that was honorable to surrounding tribes. SFTP is a response among many (throughout the 8 decades that Snowbowl has existed) directly addressing and opposing the desecration and commodification of a sacred site. Hence, SFTP. Hence the need to turn inward and to unite and revitalize the collective expressions of Indigenous people who hold this mountain and her many relatives as sacred.

As a sacred summit, this mountain nourishes the various life ways that are intricate, biotic and a repeating of seasonal ecological breathing that is as patterned and diverse as the more than 200 songs that reside within one ceremony (among just one of many tribes).

Advocacy for this mountain has thus far been organized through the participation of various artists across the region and this continent who center their relationship to this mountain through shared teachings, catharsis, and reminders. Additionally, many of our participating artists have been rewarded with cash prizes to help them out during these difficult times as their welfare is the welfare of the mountain, and their expressions are the nexus of initiating the mass shifts in consciousness. Artists have engendered a cognizant return to the fundamentals of Indigenous personhood as we jointly encounter the pandemic resulting from climate crises, centuries of colonization, and geopolitical narratives that seek to erase Indigenous health—including mostly notably, our relationship to land.

The initiative provides support for the artists who participate in each of its four phases.  From the phase one prompt, “How does the mountain’s current welfare reflect our/your own well-being?” artists submitted paintings conveying the beauty of the land juxtaposed with signs of development, digital illustrations personifying the mountain as a nurturing mother. Each artists’ creativity is the limit for how they answer the prompt, with visual art, written and performed song, poetry, choreographed dance, short film or video essay and 3D art accepted as well as other forms of media such as a podcast, TikTok video, Twitter essay, Instagram story, protest sign, skate video and more.[/ultimate_modal]

 As non-profits from a broad spectrum of focus areas know, APS is committed to ensuring that the communities across Arizona are vibrant and diverse. One of the ways APS fulfills that commitment is through robust philanthropic efforts that support a variety of causes including the arts, culture and arts/science education. 

Organizations focused on arts, culture and arts/science education in the greater Flagstaff area have benefitted from APS’s generosity – not only in 2021, but for decades preceding last year. Although this inaugural award is focused on 2021 efforts, it to be noted that consistency and longevity are key hallmarks of APS’ philanthropic efforts. Creative Flagstaff, Museum of Northern Arizona, Lowell Observatory, The Arboretum, Theatrikos, Flagstaff Symphony, Flagstaff Festival of Science, Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music, STEM City, Flagstaff Dark Skies are just some of the many organizations that have benefitted from APS’ recognition of the value of arts and culture to Flagstaff residents and visitors. 

Throughout the turbulent times faced by organizations since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, APS has continued to demonstrate that it understands the challenges our non-profits have faced. Their flexibility allowed multiple grantees to refocus their 2021 and 2020 funding to other needs, including general operations, in an effort to ensure their viability. 

APS is more than deserving of this award because of the multi-faceted approach it takes to philanthropy. In addition to the cash contributions APS makes each year through the APS Foundation and the APS Community Impact Grants, the organization: 

• Provides in-kind support in the form of printing, trash boxes, tickets to sporting events for use in raffles 
• Provides in-kind services such as hanging lights for rodeos and other events 
• Supports employees’ board service which has included the Museum of Northern Arizona, United Way of Northern Arizona, Northern Arizona University Foundation, Flagstaff Symphony Organization, and many others 
• Matches employees’ donations through its employee giving fund at 50 cents on dollar and has recognized employees’ volunteer efforts through cash donations to organizations where employees have volunteered 

Please note that APS makes investments such as these throughout the 11 counties it serves in Arizona. To provide the full picture of APS’ philanthropy, we have included information for 2021, as well as the five previous years. 

While their donations might not be the largest across the arts and cultural sector in any given year, APS always shows up for our non-profits across Flagstaff and northern Arizona – be it arts, culture and education or economic development, social services, the environment, first responders or any of a multitude of other focus areas. 

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In 2021, Dark Sky Brewing reached out to the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition to let the members know that Dark Sky Brewing had created a special IPA to support the Coalition during Celebration of the Night. Throughout the month of October, a portion of the sales from the brewery’s Circadian Rhythm – a full-bodied beer with strong notes of citrus and juice – would be going to the Coalition in support of Flagstaff’s famous dark skies.

“For us, this collaboration just makes sense,” said the brewery’s Event Coordinator Miguel Sotelo. “We chose the beer ‘Circadian Rhythm’ because of its bright and powerful flavors. Like the members of our beautiful community, we are thrilled at the opportunity to support the bright and powerful people that directly protect, educate and support Flagstaff as the First International Dark Sky City.”

In addition, Dark Sky Brewing supported Flagstaff’s dark skies by hosting an event marking the 20th anniversary of Flagstaff’s designation as the First International Dark Sky City on Oct. 24, complete with telescope viewing on the brewery’s outside patio. Again, the brewery pledged support through sales and also recruited Pizzicletta to join in and offer a portion of its sales for that night, too!

Because of the fabulous local support, the evening turned into a classic Flagstaff celebration – in honor of conservation of our dark skies natural resource; acknowledgment of community values; opportunities for learning and discovery; and, fellowship among locals and visitors, scientists and college students.

Fueled by the enthusiasm, creativity and generosity of the Dark Sky Brewing team, the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition’s fundraising campaign for 2022 has begun; the year’s dark skies public programming is developing into the most extraordinary and far-reaching yet; and, the example has been set for how local small businesses can embrace and participate in efforts that benefit us all.

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 The Flinn Foundation’s support of MNA over the past year has included significant financial investment, resources (such as webinars) for cultural institutions navigating the pandemic, and free access to top consultants regarding financial planning, strategic thinking, and audience evaluation through the phases of the pandemic and preparation for whatever the “new normal” may be. 

In June of 2021, Flinn awarded MNA an unrestricted grant of $100,000 to support the institution’s response to the pandemic. The impact of this investment cannot be understated, as it enabled MNA to retain staff, continue public programming (online and in-person in Covid-sensitive ways), and created a buffer so that staff could move from a reactive state of crisis response towards thinking strategically about next steps for MNA. This investment will have a ripple effect for years to come, as it not only helped ensure MNA’s survival, but also gave organizational leaders room to breathe and carefully consider how to address the challenges of the pandemic and the future of the institution. 

This 2021 grant followed similar support in 2020 where the Flinn Foundation generously agreed to convert a project specific grant of $100,000 to unrestricted operating support. This was especially helpful at the outset of the pandemic when cultural organizations, like much of the rest of the world, were facing a completely unknown and unpredictable future. 

The Flinn Foundation values communication and transparency with grantees, and throughout the pandemic, has asked for input about MNA’s needs. It is notable that the 2021 grant was unrestricted; Flinn recognizes that nonprofits themselves are in the best position to determine how funds ought to be used. These unrestricted funds have been critical in allowing MNA to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of the pandemic, which often change from one day to the next. 

In addition, over the past year the Flinn Foundation has provided a series of webinars and individual consulting sessions with nonprofit management consulting firm TDC. This access to specialist consultants assisted arts and cultural organizations with responding to the pandemic and planning for the future, and was available for free to Flinn grantees. This provided MNA invaluable access to these experts and has informed MNA’s strategic and financial planning processes, both underway now. 

MNA is one of the oldest cultural institutions in Flagstaff, and the Flinn Foundation’s support will not only advance MNA’s vision of the future, but also the broader cultural sector in northern Arizona. MNA seeks to cultivate partnerships across the region, collaborating with artists and other institutions to advance the cultural sector far beyond the walls of the museum. It is our honor and pleasure to nominate the Flinn Foundation for the 2022 Viola Award in Philanthropy. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. 

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