Tohono Chul Park Inc

Tohono chul's art and cultural offerings celebrate the diversity of the southwest with an emphasis on the interactions of cultures with the environment. Tohono chul offers year-round changing cultural and art exhibits, regional music, year-round lecture series, workshops, and travel ed-ventures, as well as three museum shops which enable the visitor to learn more about or take home with them things they have seen while visiting. Tohono chul has three galleries located in a historic house built in 1937. Rotating exhibitions throughout fiscal year 2024 displayed 891 pieces by 165 artists. Among the changing cultural/art exhibits in our main gallery were: the exotic sublime | land and sky: the first exhibition of a series which examined the romantic sonoran landscape as viewed from near and far - magnified or mourned from arm's length, from distant vistas, from out of this world.da de los muertos: tohono chul's biennial exhibition, started in 1999, which celebrates the rich traditions associated with the da de los muertos holiday. The exhibit was co-curated with sandy villegas who also designed and created the ofrenda (community altar) central to the exhibition.the exotic sublime | on a wing: the second exhibition in the above-mentioned series which presented a contemporary bestiary focused on the winged creatures that take to the air in the sonoran desert. Mammalian, insect, and avian species were represented.william lesch | a continuous trail: the first solo exhibition in tohono chul's main gallery featuring the work of renowned tucson photographer, william lesch.the exotic sublime | treading softly: the third exhibition in the above-mentioned series which presented a contemporary bestiary focused on the terrestrial inhabitants of the sonoran desert. Mammalian, reptilian, amphibious, and arthropodous species highlighted the rich biodiversity of the region.three times a year, tohono chul puts out calls for entries to solicit artwork from local and regional artists for group exhibitions. There is no entry fee to submit artwork. Because of this, we are able to work with artists across the board from novice artists exhibiting their work for the first time to seasoned professionals who have exhibited extensively. We host opening receptions in the main gallery four times a year which are free and open to the public. Live music is featured at each in reception. In fiscal year 2024, salvador duran and gamelan dewi malam provided entertainment for guests. Following each opening, two curator's talks are held in the gallery. The talks are free with the price of admission. The smaller entry and welcome galleries hosted a variety of exhibitions. Solo exhibitions of featured arizona artists included betsy babb, angel luna, gerry quotskuyva, and selections from the roy j. Kurtz collection of american indian art. The entry gallery project space series returned and featured five solo exhibitions by sharon holnback, amber vanhatala stene, heather bentz, kate hoover, and david adix. Tohono chul's annual queen of the night and 10 x 10 | a fundraiser exhibitions also returned. Artwork by lex gjurasic and chuck lavoie was incorporated into the garden pavilion to complement chilin at the chul, a summer, after-hours event for locals to beat the heat and enjoy the gardens. Additionally, we hosted an art talk with exhibiting artist, william lesch; two meet the artist events with exhibiting artists, kate hoover and gerry quotskuyva, and two presentations/trunk sales of navajo textiles and southwest basketry by american indian art expert, terry dewald. Thorn blizzard, performance art by kate long hodges featuring the music of marvin todacheenie, was held in the performance garden.fiscal year 2024 marked the return of tohono chul's chiles, chocolate, and day of the dead festival after a three-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. We worked with three schools and 11 artists who created personal altars of remembrance for the altar project which introduced visitors to the customs and traditions of da de los muertos. The festival also highlighted the performing arts with musical and dance performances by mariachi and folklorico groups. Sundays in the garden, tohono chul's fall and spring concert series in collaboration with the tucson guitar society, returned. Along with brewin' at the chul and jazz under the stars collaborations with the garden bistro and the tucson jazz society. We continued to offer a series of workshops in mindfulness and meditation along with on-site classes in tai chi and yoga in an effort to promote health and wellness.during fiscal year 2024, we saw local schools continue to visit the gardens on field trips. Approximately 20 school groups, which included 700 students, teachers, and chaperones visited the gardens. Fiscal year 2024 also saw the continued participation in bioblitz, a communal citizen-science event that documents, using the inaturalist app, as many species as can be discovered in the gardens over a four-day period. The third annual community day, a free day for families to experience all-ages educational offerings including a performance by tohono chul's pantomime troupe the desert players, in conjunction with american public gardens association's (apga) go public gardens an evergreen initiative designed to drive the public to visit, value, and volunteer at public gardens in their area and when they travel. A full slate of classes, lectures, and workshops continued along with ed-ventures day trips bringing people to engaging and sometimes hard to get to places they might not otherwise explore alone: two trips to whitewater draw to experience sandhill cranes, the heard museum for their spectacular 66th annual indian market, and a visit to boyce thompson arboretum. To inspire future wise stewards of the natural world, tohono chul collaborated with the southern arizona research, science, and engineering foundation (sarsef) to produce a summer camp in fiscal year 2024. Over two weeks, two groups of children (grades 4-5 in week one and grades 6-8 in week two) were immersed in everything sonoran desert related. From nature journaling to plant identification to feeding and tending to the resident tortoises, participants gained a deeper appreciation for the desert they call home. Summer camp culminated with campers' presentations and graduating to become junior docents!

During the past year, tohono chul park welcomed over 84,000 visitors and currently maintains approximately 8,200 active members. In addition, the children's museum received more than 30,000 visitors. Our retail shops were rebranded with new logos and color-coordinated packaging to establish a distinct identity, and we hosted a 'merry market' during the holiday season, offering extended evening hours to serve members of the community who work during the day.we hired a greenhouse coordinator to run our desert corner nursery and developed a plant charter emphasizing our mission to grow, sell, and promote arid-adapted plants that conserve water and support local wildlife, particularly native pollinators. We also held our first solo art exhibition in recent history, featuring william lesch's 'a continuous trail', which received coverage from local news outlets. To help young children explore our natural setting, we introduced 'adventure backpacks,' which include binoculars, a compass, and a magnifying glass to encourage hands-on learning in the gardens. In collaboration with the alzheimer's association, we launched 'desert mornings at tohono chul,' a social engagement program for individuals in the early stages of alzheimer's.we hosted various events, including 11 corporate gatherings, 35 weddings, and 13 celebrations of life. Other notable occasions included a bar mitzvah, a fashion show, retreats, and a sold-out wine tasting event. Our 'sundays in the garden' concert series drew record attendance, and our popular seasonal eventssuch as 'bloom night', 'chiles, chocolate and day of the dead festival and 'holiday nights'attracted large crowds and received highly positive feedback. Lastly, we are proud to report that tohono chul park is now an accredited arboretum and has earned the copper cactus tep social impact award. Every day, we strive to uphold our mission of connecting people with the natural beauty and ecology of our urban desert environment.