UA art students help with latest MOCA installation

On Oct. 8, the “were-:Nenetech Forms” exhibition Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art opened to the public. The exhibition was created with help from students at the University of Arizona’s College of Fine Art.

In an exploration of the themes and materials that bind and inform the desert southwest, lead artists Rafa Esparza and Timo Fahler have endeavored to bring about a creative commentary — in conjunction with student artists from the UA — culminating in the current “were-:Nenetech Forms” exhibition at the MOCA.

Esparza and Fahler acted as artist and instructor, leading a cohort of fine art students in the formation and execution of this exhibit. Traditional craft skills — such as the formation of adobe bricks utilized in the construction of a “solar oven” — are taught to students during live workshop opportunities in addition to exploration of themes that take place in the traditional classroom setting. 

The exhibition utilizes space at the MOCA as well as the UA school of art Joseph Gross Gallery. The joint venture between the two is in some way indicative of the project as a whole — representing the interdependent nature of life, and the ability to thrive in the typically unforgiving Sonoran Desert.

Currently the exhibition at MOCA Tucson is open to the public until Feb. 27, 2022, while the extension at the Joseph Gross Gallery is set to be unveiled later in December.