Arizona Illustrated

Alley Art Gallery: Josie Zapata and her young friend and neighbor Louis Lievanos have at least two things in common; an alleyway and the loss of loved ones to COVID-19. To stay positive, they, along with others, came together and transformed their alleyway into an art gallery. Over time more friends and neighbors have joined their creative expressions, resulting in a new sense of community and pride in their shared space. Body of Work - Nicole Miller: Body of Work: Nicole Miller features artist and filmmaker Nicole Miller, a world-renowned artist with roots in Tucson. The segment unfolds around Miller's creation of a bronze sculpture of Michael Jackson, using molds taken from Jackson’ s actual body in the 1980s. It was poured at Metalphysic Sculpture Studio, a Tucson foundry. Through the creation of this sculpture, we look back at Miller’s previous work, which often deals with black bodies. Miller's work has been celebrated around the world, with solo exhibitions at Marfa Ballroom, Centre D’art Contemporain Geneva, Kunst Werk Berlin, the California African American Museum, Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, The Highline NYC, and The LA County Museum in Los Angeles. She was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 2018 Pole Dancing in Tucson: Pole dancing is an art form that started in the strip clubs and like many other subcultures is now part of the American mainstream. Tucson has become an unexpected hotbed for the industry, boasting a variety of studios, teaching different styles of pole dance. It is even home to the U.S. Pole Sports Federation which hold the national championships here and hopes to one day bring the sport to the Olympics. Ellen and Laci (Encore Story 2018) "She failed at agility and she failed at obedience, but she's a great therapy dog." That's the statement from Ellen Morell, a former dental hygienist, planned giving consultant and current ordained Episcopal priest who now works at Harmony Hospice in Tucson. After adopting a bulldog puppy named Laci, the two became great friends. Together, they've become a popular team that visits nursing homes and other facilities to provide company and comfort to residents.