Arts and Entertainment

Roosevelt Street in downtown Phoenix has had a significant transformation over the years, from a crime-ridden area to a now-substantial arts district. But some worry big businesses may threaten the current community.

Painter and photographer Travis Fields has grand visions for the arts community in Phoenix. He founded a Facebook group called Arizona Artists to give information to artists about the business side of their industry.

The second annual Phoenix Festival of the Arts was held Friday to Sunday at Margaret T. Hance Park, giving local artists another opportunity to come together and work on the large-scale murals that are a centerpiece of the three-day festival. For this year’s festival, Medina said two murals would be completed with the help of 120 local artists. While one mural was worked on just as it was the previous year, the other had a more direct theme.

Michelle Ponce explored art throughout her childhood -- first deciding she wanted to become an artist while in high school -- but it was not until she came to downtown Phoenix 12 years ago that she found her place in the community as an artist.

No one has to travel to a distant planet to encounter alien beings. One lives here in Phoenix. Donald Roth, locally known as Space-Alien Donald, isn’t your average interstellar traveler. He also creates rap music and owns his own musical venue.

The inaugural year of Phoenix Phabulous Experience invited guest speakers to tell stories inspired by a time period in Phoenix's history. Over a hundred gathered at the Phoenix Center for the Arts to hear the tales.

The paint studio's founder and owner, Anthony Sobrino, is planning on taking over a former clothing store next to Brush Party at Fourth and McKinley streets to create a studio for kids. Sobrino also hopes to accommodate schools.

The Phoenix Center for the Arts event on Dec. 11 will feature guest speakers, mural artists and 3-D projectors showing the history of different downtown buildings on digital murals from eight different time periods, alongside images of the imagined future.

Michelle Blades, of the Phoenix-based band North Dakota, will return after a year in Europe to Trunk Space on Dec. 11.

At the core of the band Longbird are two sibling ASU students who grew up surrounded by music. The band released its first album in September, and Bobby and Mariah Brown are hoping to break into the downtown music scene once band members are permanent.