Regardless of your major, you are expected to be well rounded in your education, and that includes the arts. Unlike your other classes, you won’t have to spend much money for this part of your studies. Here’s how you can create your own arts education on a tight budget:
1) Flash your CatCard
It’s useful for more than just letting you into your dorm, checking out stuff at the UA libraries and getting into the Student Recreation Center. Many venues on campus and throughout Tucson offer student pricing and discounts. Some places even offer free admission with your CatCard. These are worth checking out:
Arizona State Museum — Go for The Pottery Project with its Wall of Pots and a virtual vault where you can “”handle”” priceless artifacts without fear of breaking them.
Center for Creative Photography — After seeing the current exhibitions, which feature contemporary and influential photographers, you can consider making an appointment to look at the center’s deep archives. Making an appointment is free and open to the public.
University of Arizona Museum of Art — Many of the exhibits, which feature contemporary and historic works, are culled from the museum’s permanent collection. Alumni over the past 50 years have donated Japanese woodblock prints, religious art, Op Art and more, which serve as inspiration for its wide-ranging exhibitions.
Notable exception: Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block — The downtown museum is part of the Museums on Us program, which gives free admission every first weekend of the month to Bank of America cardholders with photo ID. The museum is also free to everyone the first Sunday of each month. It’s a bargain for anyone curious about contemporary and Southwestern art.
140 N. Main Ave.,
2) Get slammed or mic’ed
With great coffee and tea comes music and free poetry. Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea is home to many events during the fall and spring semester. Local and visiting musicians perform for the Friday open mic nights, most of which are free. If you think poetry can be boring to listen to, then you need to see a poetry slam — reciting poems becomes a performance. Every second and fourth Saturday the café hosts competitions by the Ocotillo Poetry Slam.
1730 E. Speedway Blvd.,
3) Become a punk, revolutionary or hacker
As you settle in and learn more about the Old Pueblo, you’ll discover hints of its outlaw history and mentality. You can find more overt signs of this at a few places. Toxic Ranch Records champions the ideals of punk and indie rock while supporting local bands. Revolutionary Grounds Books & Coffee serves hot coffee and thought for food with its selection of progressive and leftist books. Featured in a recent documentary, the Dry River Collective provides a gathering space for anarchists and anyone with a D.I.Y. ethos. Events and services include bike repair, band performances, free haircuts, self-defense training and a “”hackerspace”” for your projects.
Toxic Ranch Records
424 E. Sixth St.
(520)623-2008
Noon – 6 p.m., Sundays: noon – 5 p.m.
Closed Tuesdays
Revolutionary Grounds
606 N. Fourth Ave.
(520) 620-1770
Monday – Thursday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Dry River Collective
740 N. Main St.
Hours vary.
Visit www.dryriver.org for times.
4) Hang out with artists, dancers, musicians, writers, poets and faculty
People who are serious about art are often checking out the above places and more, as well as being engaged in their own ongoing projects. It wouldn’t hurt to strike up a conversation or invite them to coffee the next time you meet someone who creates art.
