Moseying along the streets of downtown Scottsdale is usually a good ol’ time, but during today’s Western Art-Walk, it’ll be a regular hoedown.

Moseying along the streets of downtown Scottsdale is usually a good ol’ time, but during today’s Western Art-Walk, it’ll be a regular hoedown.

Valley residents can help AIDS victims this weekend by purchasing pieces at the state’s first Zimbabwean art auction. Zuva Gallery, which specializes in contemporary African art, is holding an auction of more than 70 sculptures and paintings by young Zimbabwean artists, with prices starting at $150.

Art gallery owners across the country are finding they have a tough sell these days.

Trent Guerin hopes his next art show attracts new collectors. But this Thursday night, Guerin isn't hosting his art and wine reception at the G2 Gallery, 4200 N. Marshall Way in downtown Scottsdale.

Eight years of planning, three years of construction, $94.5 million invested and an unquantifiable amount of hope for something that could make downtown Mesa a respected arts destination in the Valley and around the country — it all comes down to Friday night (April 22), when the new Mesa Arts Center opens.

Eight years of planning, three years of construction, $94.5 million invested and an unquantifiable amount of hope for something that could make downtown Mesa a respected arts destination in the Valley and around the country — it all comes down to Friday night (April 22), when the new Mesa Arts Center opens.

Downtown Mesa's newest art space, SunDust Gallery, looks the way a gallery should, with stark white walls, exposed ductwork and cool concrete floors. There's even the requisite stunning sculpture positioned front and center, a collection of faces undulating on the ends of tall, arched poles like cattails on reeds.

Painter Beth Ames Swartz can be destructive.

Chandler grocer Eddie Basha is expanding from artichokes to art. Basha, a Western art lover, has partnered with two others to acquire Trailside Galleries of Scottsdale and Jackson, Wyo.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Fresh off an intensely combative debate, President Barack Obama, Republican Mitt Romney and their running mates are taking their tuned-up fight to the precious few battleground states where the election is up for grabs with just 20 days to go.

May 11, 2005

It's everything downtown Scottsdale wants: A place where residents can live, work and play in an urban setting.

Walls are the ultimate decorator’s surface, an empty canvas to embellish with an endless variety of colors, motifs and designs. With so much wall space, it can be daunting to narrow down your choices to a manageable few. Even choosing a color strikes fear in the hearts of many homeowners. It’s no wonder the comparative safety of white or beige is the first line of defense. And it’s true that these are colors that will not offend anyone. But if you are ready to be a little more adventurous, perhaps it’s time to take a leap of faith and pump up the volume on your home decor. In fact, the right mix of shades and designs in paint or wallpaper will enhance your living spaces to such a large extent that you will never look back.

A Mesa artist with international clout has a poignant, larger-than-life sculpture piece depicting two life-sized figures holding aloft a gilded, oblong house; the image raises the question of whether the figures will drop the home, or balance it among the crushing pressures of today's imploding market.

WASHINGTON - Jubilant Democrats on Thursday elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the first woman speaker of the House, the crowning celebration of newfound power the party won in the November electoral sweep.

Scottsdale art gallery owner Craig Foote drops the names of well-known local artists as if they are old high school friends he’s keeping track of. “That’s Jim Kearns,” he says, pointing out paintings and sculptures as he gives the grand tour of his Scottsdale home. “That’s Travis Southworth.”

You can’t take it with you, sure. But feel free to re-create it wherever you end up. That’s the lesson from Anthony and Lindsay Cresta, a married couple that last month opened Windup Gallery in downtown Mesa — Main Street’s funkiest, coolest art gallery since, well, ever.

The Arizona Legislature is joining the high-speed wireless class with a system that will provide free public access in several areas of the Senate and House buildings by Jan. 12.

In Chris Stratton’s house you’ll find a 4,000-bottle wine cellar, a computer system running more than nine miles of cable and a children’s play room accessible by a hidden passageway in a trophy case. It’s just one of five luxurious homes at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club open to the public next weekend as part of the Home Tour at Superstition Mountain, the 890-acre development in Apache Junction that’s home to some of the East Valley’s more expensive and elegant homes.

When it comes to gaining a competitive edge in a slow housing market, Scottsdale real estate agent Jean Steed doesn’t rule any idea out.