A two-day event in Phoenix’s art district highlights local businesses and artists to celebrate the community and boost the local economy.
The Grand Unification, a cultural fiesta on Nov. 5 and 6 on Historic Grand Avenue in Phoenix, allowed local businesses and artists to come together to bring attention to an eclectic district after the COVID-19 pandemic caused many events, including the annual Grand Ave Arts Festival, to be canceled.
The free event hosted by Snoodmen, a local artist collective, offered an immersive art experience to the public, showcasing live art, food trucks, street performers, and live music.
“The impact Grand Avenue Festival has on the neighborhood is significant. It is the most exciting day of the year” said Michelle Meyer, the creator of Snoodmen. “As community members, we wanted to continue the showcase of Grand Avenue.”
Artists, performers, and vendors all lined the sidewalk between 9th Ave. and 16th Ave on Friday and Saturday.
Local businesses such as Grand Avenue Pizza Company, Arizona Roasted Corn food truck, Grilled Goodness, and El Charro Hipster Bar and Cafe offered dine-in and pick-up options for those attending the event.
Those in the area who came to Grand Ave. for dinner were greeted with vibrant art and street performances by local music artists.
Live music was played throughout the event in local businesses such as El Charro Hipster and Roosevelt Artworks.
“It’s great to see them in action, playing in front of a crowd,” said Logan Howatt, a friend of Avenda, a local band performing at the festival. After not being able to for a year, I’m sure everyone is ready to hear live music again.”
The impact of this event was shown through the general interest of the public, engaging in conversations about art, supporting local business, and participating in the activities this event offered.
Local businesses offered up space in their buildings to artists in the community to use for this event. Ábloom Salon converted into an art gallery, showcasing portraits of famous icons done by local artist Abe Zucca. The walls were lined with portraits for sale of people such as Bill Clinton, Jack Black, Cardi B and Billie Eilish.
Next door at Five15Arts @ Chartreuse was another walk-through art gallery and next door, Hazel & Violet Letterpress allowed those interested to use the printing press to make a complimentary poster.
What seemed to grab the most attention the first night was a silver-painted school bus with LED lights along the front parked outside of Arizona Iron Patio Furniture, just a bit further down Grand. Those brave enough to approach the mystery machine were shown a computer screen that asked to input a five-word sentence.
Pnosa, who uses sewing machines to create artwork, was inside the bus, sewing images using the five-word sentence input by the participants.
“It’s amazing how he created something out of just words I came up with.” said a couple who waited in line to try the interactive art installation.
Similar to the first day, event vendors and artists’ tents were set up along the sidewalk from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and a nearby parking lot was converted into a farmer’s market full of local art and thrift finds.
Teresa Cipriano, the creator of What’s Hoopening and a local embroidery artist, said she signs up for events like the Grand Unification to get her art out to the public.
“I’m a full-time teacher so I try to attend events like this every two weeks,” Teresa said. “If you sell your art on sites like Etsy they take a percentage, so events like this allow me to sell my art without the third party.”
The local street festival attracted the attention of the public and brought together a community of artists and Arizona-based businesses.
“We wanted to establish a community connection among business owners so that it was easier to coordinate and promote one another’s events and happenings, tightening up the community and getting everyone to know each other so we can coordinate regularly to create consistency for the neighborhood,” Michelle Meyers said.
The positive feedback and collaborative effort from everyone involved in bringing this event to life could mean more events like this in the future.
Contact the reporter at srausti2@asu.edu.
