Ah, Family Weekend. Whether it’s your parents, grandparents, long-lost friends or red-headed stepsiblings, chances are someone you haven’t seen in a while is coming into town.
If you’re a freshman, you’ve just settled in and your visitors are anxious to see that you’re not subsisting solely on Easy Mac and Diet Coke.
If you’ve been at the UA for a while, they’re going to want to make sure you haven’t had a run-in with the cops yet, and that your apartment/house/cardboard box is still intact.
Or maybe they’re just using Family Weekend to catch a football game and enjoy the weather.
Whatever the case, there are plenty of ways to get those visitors involved. They’ve even granted your parents a free pass to come sit in on your classes!
Of course, that may or may not be a great plan. My fundamentalist Christian grandmother was considerably distraught by a particularly graphic discussion of an erotic piece of literature my freshman year.
Luckily, there is another option. The UA is home to a variety of worthwhile galleries and museums, all of which are open during Family Weekend and many of which are free of charge. Send your guests to check out some of the latest art exhibits and brush up on their knowledge of Tucson culture – better yet, take them yourself.
Arizona State Museum
The museum’s permanent collections allow an anthropological glimpse into the Southwest’s history. Currently on display, Daniel Martin Diaz’s “”Anatomy of Sorrow”” uses archaic imagery to express modern themes of life and death. The museum also boasts the world’s largest collection of Southwest Indian pottery.
Center for Creative Photography
UA Photography professor Frank Gohlke’s work hits close to home at the CCP. His landscape photography documents the relationship between Americans and their surroundings, in regions all across the country. Chances are you may find your hometown among the images.
Joseph Gross Gallery
Video and media elements add impact to Valerie Constantino’s powerful “”house with song,”” which examines the ideas of materialism and consumption in human existence.
Kachina Lounge and Gallery
Many will relate to the sentiments behind Anh-Thuy Nguyen’s “”Here I am in Tucson,”” a compilation expressing her experience during her first two years of study in the U.S.
Lionel Rombach Gallery
See what’s going on in the School of Art at the Rombach Gallery, which showcases student work. Lexi Coburn’s “”Eroding Cognitive Dissonance”” examines erosion in a physical and psychological sense.
Union Gallery
Experience a bit of Tucson tradition through “”La Celebración y el Sufrimiento.”” This collaborative effort attempts to bring to light the Tucson community’s cultural heritage. The annual All Souls Procession here in Tucson inspires an impressive collection of artwork, and you will find that work on display here.
University of Arizona Museum of Art
Currently, the UAMA is showing “”Jenny Schmid: the Vistas of Gender Utopia,”” a showcase of this up-and-coming printmaker’s work. This particular project deals with the themes of gender and liberty with contemporary humor.
