Arizona Illustrated

Alanna At the age of 47 Alanna Airitam decided to become an artist. She left a successful career in advertising and pursued photography full-time. The photographs depict Black subjects in regal and dignified poses and settings. Her goal is to create work that she did not see represented growing up and to show the world her truth, as she sees it. Footprints From the Past Archaeologists have recently uncovered ancient human footprints beneath the windswept landscape of White Sands National Park in New Mexico that date to as far back as 23,000 years. That makes these footprints the earliest unequivocal evidence for human habitation in the Americas, pushing back our understanding of the date of arrival by as much as 10,000 years. The history-shaking find also helps to validate Native American claims of a deep time connection to this continent, and could forever alter our theories about the peopling of the Americas. The Art of Adobe Artist rafa esparza famously disrupts and re-envisions institutional spaces into places of inclusivity, diversity, and community. Here, we bring viewers into rafa’s vision through a public adobe brick-making workshop at MOCA Tucson and his solar observation room, which harnesses the power of the sun and gives a nod to the indigenous architecture found in the Southwest and Mexico. SHE-PHI – [Encore Story – May 2019] SHE-PHI is an all-girl step group from Holladay Magnet Elementary School in Tucson. Their performance brings a special brand of attitude, excellence, and teamwork to the stage.