Resident Artist Villalobos will present work-in-progress for his upcoming exhibition, offering a raw exploration of the effects of machismo within Norteño culture. Through sculpture and performance, Villalobos draws from his personal experiences growing up in a traditional, conservative family on the US/Mexico border in El Paso, TX. His work confronts the intersection of identity, religious ideologies, and gender roles, shedding light on the trauma and endurance of those who challenge societal norms.

Villalobos was selected as the 2024 national resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas program, one of the only programs in the U.S. that exclusively fosters Latinx artistic talent, providing unparalleled resources to realize ambitious new work.

RVSP HERE

Join us at @tqpueblo to celebrate the #DayoftheDead with food, activities, a beautiful altar and more. 

We will honor our ancestors, our cultures, and our land in community at this family friendly event. We face racism and violence all around us, but in community and with the blessings of our ancestors we can resist and create new worlds. Bring photos of your deceased loved ones and any small item or food to leave for them as an offering. If you would like to share food with the living we welcome you to bring a desert, drinks or a traditional dish to share with everyone.

In this photography workshop, participants will honor their loved ones who have passed by capturing new memories. Led by artist José Villalobos, attendees will engage in creative poses inspired by traditional Día de Muertos themes, culminating in the integration of their images into community altar with Trans Queer Pueblo.

Join us in person on October 3, 2024, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM for our Charla with Estephania González. This event will be held at Grant Street Studios.

The charlas are a series of informal conversations between Contemporary U.S. Latinx and Latin American artists with curatorial professionals. The series gives viewers the opportunity to visit artists’ studios and hear more about their practice through conversations.

González was selected as the 2024 regional resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

RSVP HERE

Join us at ASU Art Museum for the opening reception of “Muddy Terrains”, a joint exhibition by Mariana Ramos and Estephania Gonzáles our current Artists in residence. The opening reception will include a performance by Estephania Gonzáles in addition to delicious bites, refreshments, and music by DJ Flawlyss provided by the ASU Art Museum.

RSVP HERE

Join us for our first edition of “Convive” at the Cala Alliance Studio.

Group Exhibition Featuring : Joshua Casteñeda, Estephania Gonzalez, Mariana Ramos, Saul Millan, and Francisco Diaz.

Music by Esteban.mp3

Refreshments will be provided!

RSVP HERE

In this newest Art LAB Estephania González introduces you to Aztec goddess of water, Chalchiuhtlicue, and invites you to meditate on the Mexica peoples' ancient ritual practices surrounding this vital resource. As Estephania guides you through a water consumption exercise you may reflect on your personal water usage and ask questions like “What would life look like with limited water access?, What bodies of water are sourced from on a daily basis for my water consumption? What is the journey water takes to reach me? What are the barriers faced today to access this life giving resource?”

We may discover the answers to these questions and more as we gather to give reverence to water.

RSVP HERE

Join us in person or online on April 19th, 2024 at 6:00 PM for our Charla with Mariana Ramos Ortiz. This will take place in person at CALA Alliance at 316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103 and streamed on IG Live.

The charlas are a series of informal conversations between Contemporary U.S. Latinx and Latin American artists with Curatorial Assistant Sade Moore. The series gives viewers the opportunity to visit artists’ studios and hear more about their practice through conversations.

Ramos Ortiz was selected as the 2024 exchange resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

Join us for an open studio with exchange artist, Mariana Ramos Ortiz. The open studio will take place on Friday, March 8th from 6:00–8:00 PM at CALA Alliance (316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103). Ramos Ortiz will present work-in-progress created during her residency period through April 2024.

Ramos Ortiz was selected as the 2024 exchange resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

LatchKey Gallery, in partnership with CALA Alliance (Phoenix, AZ), is pleased to present Land of Wolves. This exhibition showcases new work by Alejandro Macias (b. 1987, Brownsville, TX), produced during CALA Alliance’s 2023 Regional Artist-in-Residence program. Land of Wolves is the artist’s New York City debut and the first show with LatchKey Gallery and will run from February 23 - March 31, 2024 at 173 Henry Street, New York, NY 10002. The opening reception will be Friday, February 23 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

Macias roots his practice in the ambiguity of the in-between–of identity, nationhood, and place. His paintings and drawings address themes of migration and assimilation, rendering a unique impression of the US/Mexico borderlands and foregrounding the brutal and unjust policies that characterize this space. The artist positions himself as a documentarian, depicting the objects, people, and geographies that make up the dynamic yet complex region.

Many of the works in Land of Wolves feature bifurcated maps, signposts, and portraits of law enforcement. These works serve as vignettes of the borderlands, often revealing the oppositions and inherent contradictions that exist within the region. The exhibition’s title, borrowed from the 2015 film Sicario, underscores Macias’s interest in interrogating representations of the borderlands in media and public consciousness. Though a contested, bicultural space, Macias draws attention to the narratives that disseminate across cultures to form a dominant idea of the borderlands in the American imagination.

In a series of works referencing the US flag, Macias creates a liminal space within the work itself by splitting the work across multiple panels and drawing attention to the space between them. For the artist, negative space or shifts in medium and iconography are critical aspects of the work. In paneled works such as LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS (2023), the craggy edges of splintered wood echo the almost 2,000 miles of the continental border. In contrast, smooth, industrial highway signs jut out of the bottommost section of the work, exposing the wall behind it. In a series of smaller wooden panels, Macias replicates the fissure between boards, with unique roadway signs bearing quotes from films released on both sides of the border.

In his portraits, Macias is profoundly interested in coupling seemingly oppositional elements in his sitters. In Border Watcher (2023), the subject wears a pressed and rigid border patrol uniform. While their identity is shielded by a multicolored serape–this pattern suggests that the sitter is of Mexican descent. The ongoing Nopal en la Frente series also depict border patrol officers, through precise graphite drawings paired with frenetic and gestural approaches in pastel. The derogatory title, a slur for Mexican Americans that shy away from their cultural heritage, signals that these officers, too, hold roots from the other side.

The duality of Macias’s compositions highlights the inherent friction that people of the borderlands hold within them. In many ways, the portraits, signs, and maps are physical manifestations of this rupture. Taken as a whole, Macias’s work asks us to consider the multiplicities of identities we may hold and how they might be in conflict with each other.

This reception is open to the public. Click “google Calendar” or “ICS” on this page to add this event to your calendar.

Join us at the exhibition opening of Sarah Zapata: Beneath the breath of the sun

“Beneath the breath of the sun” features newly created works completed during the artist’s residency with CALA Alliance in Fall 2023. Alongside these works, Zapata chose ceramics made with clay and earthen materials from the Museum’s collection to reference the land. The installation evokes a topography of the Arizona landscape, where bold hues of orange and yellow nod toward the punishing sun and air of the desert, weaving together the ecological and geological aspects that make up the complexity of our place.

Join us in person or online on December 15th, 2023 at 6:00 PM for our third Charla of the year with Sarah Zapata. This will take place in person at CALA Alliance at 316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103 and streamed on IG Live.

The charlas are a series of informal conversations between Contemporary U.S. Latinx and Latin American artists with Executive Director and Curator Alana Hernandez. The series gives viewers the opportunity to visit artists’ studios and hear more about their practice through conversations.

Zapata was selected as the 2023 national resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

Join us for a conversation with artist Luis Rivera Jimenez for the closing programming event for Luis Rivera Jimenez: A Brief Proposal on Race and Cultural Cosplay. We will explore how readings of images and symbols are registered through culture, race, and power and how these implicate our notions of violence and racism.

How I Became an Artista returns with its newest community-based Art LAB. Join us on Saturday at the Phoenix Hostel & Cultural Center (1026 N. 9th Street Phoenix, AZ, 85006) on December 2nd from 12:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. to participate in a holiday decoration workshop with artist Sarah Zapata. Participants in this workshop will discover basic textile methods but, most importantly, the creation process through play. We will focus on the history of textile methods and learn how to make yarn puffball ornaments and garlands.

This program is free with registration. Participants of all abilities are encouraged to participate. All materials will be provided.

Join us for an open studio with national resident artist, Sarah Zapata. The open studio will take place on Wednesday, November 1st from 6:00–8:00 PM at CALA Alliance (316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103). Zapata will present work-in-progress created during her residency period through December 2023.

Zapata was selected as the 2023 national resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

Join us for an evening of cuisine and fun as we celebrate Sabor: Celebrating the Flavors of Peru!

CALA Alliance is pleased to announce the much-anticipated return of its annual benefit dinner and culinary event, Sabor. On Thursday, October 19, 2023, at Heritage Park, CALA Alliance will present guests with one-night-only experience inspired by the regional ingredients and culinary traditions of Peru. At this year’s event, Cloth & Flame will design a dinner for guests comprised of leaders from the Latinx, artistic, business, political, nonprofit, and community sectors. Sabor proceeds directly benefit CALA Alliance and its mission to create shared arts experiences that encourage cultural understanding between people of the Americas.

A Phoenix-based multidisciplinary Latinx arts organization, CALA Alliance collaborates with artists and arts organizations to foster Latinx artistic talent in the Metro-Phoenix region and beyond. CALA Alliance creates vital spaces for audiences to engage in artistic learning and presents public programs that create intercultural dialogue, revealing the complexity and dynamism of our communities. In so doing, CALA Alliance’s program acts as a catalyst to grow community understanding of contemporary social issues from Latinx, Indigenous, and Latin American perspectives.

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How I Became an Artista returns with its newest community-based Art LAB. In Partnership with the ASU Art Museum, join us on Friday at the ASU Art Museum (51 E. 10th St., Tempe AZ) on September 15th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM to participate in a papel picado workshop with artist Aileen Martinez. Participants in this workshop will learn how to make their own papel picado banner, a paper cutting craft and decoration that originates from Mexico.

This program is free with registration. Participants of all abilities are encouraged to participate. All materials will be provided.

We will discuss key points in our survey and share our conclusions about the current state of Race and Cultural Cosplay. Our R&D specialist, Luis Rivera Jimenez, will present leading inquiries into these topics. Backed by the leading professionals and researchers into these themes, this report will illuminate the tumultuous and complicated realities of dealing with Race and Cultural Cosplay to compel and inspire each other towards the action needed to make a difference in you/and your community. 

Key takeaways: Race, Cultural Cosplay, Inspiration

Join artists Carlos Martiel and Luis Rivera Jimenez, and director and professor of the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University, Irasema Coronado, in a conversation about artistic and aesthetic responses to migration, immigration, and displacement, moderated by Alana Hernandez,  executive director & curator at CALA Alliance and curator of Latinx art at the ASU Art Museum.

A panel of leading experts on translation*, language and racial justice will kickoff our events related to the exhibition, Luis Rivera Jimenez: A Brief Proposal on Race and Cultural Cosplay. As members of this multicultural and ethnically diverse board it is crucial for success in our mission and our future milestones to foster a culture of inclusivity through language. We look to empower our board members with this compelling journey into the values, thoughts and vision that we hope to inspire throughout this meeting/agenda/report. As we start off our agenda, we hope we can compel and inspire each other towards the action needed to make a difference in you/and your community.

Key takeaways: Race, Language, Translating, Empowerment

*Disclaimer: This event does not contain translations by accepted certified, sworn, notarised and legalized translators. We disclaim all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.”

For these translations, reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no amount of translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace human translators. These inquiries into translations are provided as a service to users of this exhibition , and are provided “as is.” No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, or correctness of any of these translations made from English into any other language.

In celebration of the opening of three new exhibitions, “Everything is a Little Fuzzy”, “Luis Jimenez Rivera: A Brief Proposal on Race and Cultural Cosplay” and “Crafting Resistance”, you are cordially invited to a reception with the artists and ASU Art Museum curators Alana Hernandez, Erin Joyce, Windgate curatorial fellow Ninabah Winton and curatorial intern Abby Sutton. Join us for drinks and light refreshments, music and art activities at the ASU Art Museum.

Admission is free with registration.

Join us in person on August 11th, 2023 at 5:30 PM for our second Charla of the year with Alex Macias. This will take place in person at CALA Alliance at 316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103 and streamed on IG Live.

The charlas are a series of informal conversations between Contemporary U.S. Latinx and Latin American artists with Executive Director and Curator Alana Hernandez. The series gives viewers the opportunity to visit artists’ studios and hear more about their practice through conversations.

Macias was selected as the 2023 exchange resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

Join us for an open studio with regional resident artist, Alex Macias. The open studio will take place on Friday, July 14th from 6:30–8:30 PM at CALA Alliance (316 W McDowell Rd., Suite 103). Macias will present work-in-progress created during his residency period through August 2023.

Macias was selected as the 2023 regional resident artist for CALA's Residencias Artísticas residency program. CALA’s residency program is one of the only programs that exclusively foster Latinx artistic talent in the United States, providing artists with unparalleled resources that enable them to realize innovative, ambitious new work.

How I Became an Artista returns with its newest community-based Art LAB. In partnership with the Sagrado Galleria, join us on Saturday, June 24th from 12:00–2:00 PM to participate in a mixed media workshop with CALA Alliance's 2023 regional resident, Alejandro Macias.

Participants in this workshop will learn about Macias’s project and research as a regional artist in resident at CALA Alliance. Community members will learn about mixed media approaches within a singular surface while having the freedom to explore their own subject matter.

Participants of all abilities are encouraged to participate. All materials will be provided.

This program is free with registration. Register below!

About the Artist

Born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, along the US / Mexico border, Alejandro Macias received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2008, and a Master of Fine Arts in 2D Studio Art from the University of Texas - Pan American in 2012. His practice mixes conventional, representational, and abstract approaches, a strategy that acts as a metaphor for his upbringing along the US / Mexico border. His work explores themes of Mexican American identity, assimilation, acculturation, repression, civil rights, immigration, cultural misconceptions, contemporary socio-political trepidations, and the ever-shifting US political landscape. Through his canvases and works on paper, Macias look to unearth ignored histories pertaining to migrant communities across the southwest.

About The Sagrado Galeria

The Sagrado was established in Phoenix, Arizona in 2016 as a response to the city’s lack of commitment to the South Phoenix community, arts, and culture. The Sagrado Galleria stands as the only community arts organization and art gallery in South Phoenix that nurtures the community’s cultural identity and serves as a cultural bridge for the Valley.

How I Became an Artista workshops are offered to our community free of charge. You can help support CALA Alliance in keeping these programs free to community. Please consider partnering with CALA Alliance with a modest gift to help purchase art making materials and provide equitable stipends to our teaching artists.

A suggested donation of $5.00 per participant is greatly appreciated.