Who Are We?
We are an all-volunteer organization operating in Tucson, Arizona. ​We are currently made up of artists & artisans however participation in our group is open to anyone who is engaged in or a patron of the visual arts.
"The Arts" is a modern umbrella term for a broad category which includes a number of the artist's disciplines such as the performing arts, conceptual art and the "visual arts".
The "Visual Arts" category includes fine art as well as applied, decorative arts, and crafts. Traditional visual arts includes drawing, painting, printmaking, calligraphy, sculpture, metal smithing, wood working, jewelry making, origami, glass blowing, glass cutting or fusing, ceramics, monuments and architecture. Modern visual arts includes assemblage, collage, mixed-media, fiber art, photography, digital art and installations.
Our Purpose
  • ​​Plan & organize events that educate or increase public awareness of the artisan’s process, unique skill set or craftsmanship involved in the creation of the visual arts.
  • Promote and provide services that will enable visual artisans to grow, band together and thrive;
  • Generate cultural awareness and enrich the community of central Tucson, Arizona 
  • Fund raise or donate to provide scholarships & fellowships to artists.
What We Do!
  • We promote the role of visual artists & artisans within Southern Arizona and provide services that will enable them to grow, band together and thrive. 
  • We plan, promote and implement Spring and Fall annual self guided open studio tour events in midtown Tucson.
  • We offer local businesses and corporate sponsorship opportunities to reach a local audience of artists, artisans or visual art patrons.
  • We maintain a network of teaching artists, who are experienced and capable of teaching a particular skill or able to share their skilled knowledge of a particular craft within the visual arts. 
  • We partner with other art organizations such as art guilds, art schools or nonprofits to promote the value of the visual arts within our community.
  • We advocate for local art businesses and services within the Tucson Arts District of midtown Tucson.
"We raise awareness in community of Southern Arizona on the process of creating the visual arts through education, event planning and promotion of visual artist​s & artisans."​
​"Our vision is to promote the visual arts, support learning a new skill, mastering a craft, encourage creativity, unite those with common interests, advance the role of the artist and enrich the community of Southern Arizona."​
Photos Above Taken by Photographer Taarna Davis
Our History
We formed in the Fall of 2015, due to lack of funding after the Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC) announced that their annual Fall open studio tour was cancelled.

We didn't want this annual Tucson tradition to dissolve so we immediately started organizing a tour among ourselves.  

TPAC then received an unexpected generous private donation and continued to plan the Fall 2015 tour however we had already started form a sense of community and ownership among ourselves, the artists located in the Tucson Arts District. 

We continued to plan our tour because we felt that the 200+ artist city-wide tours were too large for art lovers to reach the majority of studios located all over town in just two days. ​
​TPAC then granted us a portion of the private donation, which allowed us to pay for our initial start up expenses.

Our 2015 Fall tour was a huge booming success, We are now convinced that breaking the city into smaller areas is better for both art lovers and artists alike.  

Since that first tour, we've successfully presented Open Studios Tours in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, and Spring 2017, as well as a Winter 2017 PopUp Art Event.

The HoT Art organization is now currently attracting new artists who are volunteering and help to build a brighter future for the Tucson Arts District!
All HOTA logos were designed by
​our own local artist Lynne East-Itkin.
Picture
Heart of Tucson Art in MidTown Tucson