The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block is presenting Arizona Biennial 2026, the longest-running juried exhibition in Arizona.
The exhibition opened to the public on May 22 and will run through Sept. 27 on view in the James and Louise R. Glasser and Earl Kai Chan galleries at the museum, 140 N. Main Ave. Admission is included in the general entry.
People are also reading…
The exhibition, which started in 1948, focuses on the Southwestern landscape with the theme of place and heritage. For each biennial, a new juror is chosen to select the works for a cohesive exhibition.
Leo Shen watches a video made by Anh-Thuy Nguyen, which is part of the Arizona Biennial 2026 show at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block. The exhibit showcases contemporary artists from around the state. The show is on view through Sept. 27.
Juried by Julia Rodriguez Widholm, executive director of the Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive at UC Berkeley, the current show consists of 31 contemporary artists from around the state using various forms of media.
“I typically come to curatorial decisions with deep familiarity with the work, the artists, and the venue, so being asked to respond to the work on its own visual terms brought a focus and freedom I found invigorating,” Rodrigues Widholm said on TMA’s website.
Kathy Shen looks at artworks by Michael Afsa, as part of the Arizona Biennial 2026 show at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block.
All the works in the show were selected from submissions made earlier in the year, which required all pieces to be completed within the past two years, and by an artist from Arizona.
Michael Afsa, one of the artists whose work will be featured, said he is honored to be a part of the historic biennial.
“I am the Seed,” by Adia Jamille, 2024, is one of the artworks on display at the Arizona Biennial 2026 show at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block.
“Every other year it's a sampling of some of the most interesting and thoughtful work in the state, and so it's an honor to be included in it,” Afsa said.
Afsa's artwork consists of minimalist sculptures and photography inspired by the architecture of the American Southwest.
Two of the larger pieces in the show are abstract interpretations of the desert landscape and are made of basic construction materials, Afsa said.
Leo Shen takes a closer look at “Tangled Currents,” made by materials from eight historic landfills along the Santa Cruz River in Tucson during the Arizona Biennial 2026 show at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block.
The show will be accompanied by a series of public programs working in collaboration with TMA.
“The Fount,” by Karima Walker featuring iPhones and video is on display at the Arizona Biennial 2026 show at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 N. Main Ave.
Adia Jamille is having her art in the Arizona Biennial for the second time; her first feature was in 2023.
“I still kind of can't believe I'm in a biennial that's been going on for so long. It feels like I'm stepping into something bigger than me,” Jamille said.
Jamille is a fiber artist who creates her pieces with natural dyes and pigments. Jamille says her artwork is unique, and her focus is on landscape and the environment around her, which matches the Biennial’s theme.
“I feel like my work sometimes is a little bit specific, and there aren’t always a lot of places for it. So, it’s always nice when there are places that see what I’m doing and feel the messages and themes are important enough to share in a setting like this,” Jamille said.
