Open Studio Tour Events
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Artists & artisans located deep within the heart of Tucson, Arizona band together through the Heart of Tucson Art (HoTA) to celebrate the rich artistic culture of the Tucson Arts District. This gives artists a chance to expose & sell their work, while visitors get the chance to learn more about the individual artist, the artistic process and support the artist through a unique shopping experience.
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Tucson Clay Co-op
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Meredith Milstead's Studio
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Betsy Tanzer's Studio
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Tucson, Arizona
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Tucson, Arizona is a city rich in the visual arts and cultural heritage. Described as a "mini mecca for the arts" by the Wall Street Journal, it is premiere arts destination.
Open studio tour events are a staple in Tucson traditions and the arts sector is valuable to the region's economy. Studies, conducted by the nonprofit Americans for the Arts in 2012, say that $87.7 million in annual revenue is generated from nonprofit art organizations in the Tucson area. Combined, the nonprofit and for-profit arts sectors constitute 5.08 percent of the county's overall workforce. This is more than the national average, which is 2.02 percent. Located in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, the city is 2,389 feet above sea level and covers nearly 500 square miles. It is surrounded by multiple mountain ranges, including the Santa Catalinas and the Rincon Mountains. Tucson's rich cultural heritage centers around a unique blend of Native American, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo-American influences. These can be seen in the Hispanic barrios, historical and contemporary American architecture and the prehistoric Native American remnants. Each February, Tucson hosts the world's largest gem & mineral show in the world and also hosts the mineral and fossil showcase. This event alone draws tens of thousands of visitors in the span or three weeks. |
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Unique Art Studios, Galleries, and More
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The Tucson Arts District is brimming with residential artists, artisans and art collectors, located centrally within the city.
This central area has a rich artistic culture and a background that is unique to it's urban landscape. There are also many fine art galleries, artists cooperatives, prestigious art guilds, art services and major art schools within just a few zip codes. |
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Tucson Arts District Destinations
The map below will guide you through the major visual art designations.
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Fine Art Galleries
Professional Art Guilds
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Cooperative Galleries
Jewelry
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Blacksmith & Metal
Ceramics & Glass
Photography
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Museums & Gardens
Art Supply Stores
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About the Tucson Arts District
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Tucson, a city located in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert is surrounded by mountain ranges, including the Rincon and Santa Catalinas and spans nearly 500 square miles with a metro area population of roughly around 1 million.
The Tucson Arts District, centrally located within the city is brimming with residential artists, artisans and art collectors. This area has a rich artistic culture and background that is unique to it's urban landscape. There are also many fine art galleries, artists cooperatives, prestigious art guilds, art services and major art schools. The Tucson Arts District, evolved from the previous 'Tucson's Fort Lowell Arts and Furniture District'. This area in the 85712 was booming economically prior to the national collapse of the housing marketing in 2008. Many businesses were closed including most of the prestigious furniture stores. This permanently changed the urban landscape.
As the economy slowly recovered, the Tucson Botanical Gardens launched a juried exhibition for the general public in August of 2013 in its prestigious Porter Hall Gallery. It was called "85712" and focused on the residential artists with studios in the 85712 zip code area. |
85712 Zip Code Exhibition at Porter Hall Gallery in 2013
They discovered that just within this unique 6.8 square mile area of the city center, there were over 31, 720 residents at the time! So many pieces of art were entered from this zip code alone that the jurors of the show found it overwhelming & hard to make decisions on which pieces to pick for their limited space. The final show was wildly successful and included all types of artistic styles from traditional to modern.
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Take an Art Class in Central Tucson
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We maintain a network of teaching artists, who live and work here in the Heart of Tucson. To learn more...
Our teaching artists are capable of coaching someone to learn new skill through lecture, studio art practice or by sharing their own unique experiences. |
Art Schools in Tucson Arts District
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