Alliance makes a Splash for Creative Arts Therapy program

“In the summertime there is not always a lot going on in Tucson, and this a ‘get-out-and-do-something’ event. Whether you like music and dancing or you are into fashion or enjoy silent auctions or love the art portion, it is a really fun, collaborative event with a low ticket price for tons of food and libations,” said Cait Huble, the communications director for the allliance.

Huble said Splash, at 6 p.m. June 27 at La Encantada, 2905 E. Skyline Drive, has become the signature summer fundraiser for the nonprofit, which is dedicated to creating, advancing and preserving the arts and culture in Southern Arizona.

The alliance began in 1997 as the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council and has grown into a collaboration of artists, businesses, government and more than 200 volunteers that stages events, festivals, fundraisers and educational programs throughout Southern Arizona.

Popular offerings include SAVOR Food & Wine Festival; Salsa & Tequila Challenge; Cruise, BBQ & Blues Festival; the Tucson Symphony Orchestra MasterWorks Concert Series; and the Park Place Chalk Art Festival. The organization has also expanded into Phoenix and Tempe with Chalk Art Festivals, culinary festivals and other events.

Huble is working to promote public awareness to further expand the nonprofit.

“One thing a lot of people don’t understand about us is that we are a nonprofit. Because of the nature of the events, it can be confusing, but everything we do is a fundraiser for something else. SAACA has strong branches of arts therapy and arts education in the community, and we do events across the city in order to fund those,” Huble said.

The Creative Arts Therapy program utilizes multidisciplinary artsto provide healing through music, writing, visual arts and community arts. In partnership with the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, it provides rehabilitation services to visually disabled veterans as well as those with traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities. The program has also expanded to residents in three local assisted living and retirement facilities.

Arts education programs include Musical Magic for Kids, which encompasses Just For Kids, a partnership with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra that runs six months out of the year and is supplemented with performances by the Civic Orchestra of Tucson and the Tucson Academy of Music & Dance. The Community Share program connects teachers with specific artists or resources in the arts realm who provide assistance in the classrooms.

These programs are vital due to continued funding cuts in school arts programs, according to Meghan Menke, 25, a Splash volunteer.

She learned about the alliance through her fiance, Mitch Turbenson, who helped to pilot the group’s Musical Gold in the Morning program, a daily classical music listening and learning program that is presented in 13 local elementary and middle schools.

“With all of the cuts to arts programs in schools, unfortunately lots of kids don’t get the musical experience I had when I was in elementary school. The kids get to listen for five minutes every day and do a quick question-and-answer session so they get ideas in their heads about different instruments and think that taking music lessons is an option,” Menke said.

A UA College of Pharmacy student who is also an artist and photographer, Menke is convinced that the arts help people in every field of study and work.

“I like to say that I can use my creativity in the pharmacy side of things; it helps me work through problems along the way and helps me in dealing with patients,” she said.

She and other volunteers will bring creativity into play at Splash, where attendees will have the opportunity to assist in creating several community murals. The abstract pieces will be highlighted by different mediums and innovative methods such as filling water balloons with paint and placing the balloons across a large canvas; attendees will throw darts and pop the balloons to create the colorful work of art.

Menke said she believes projects such as the interactive mural bring the community together.

“It gives everyone something to relate to and something to talk about with each other,” she said. Additionally, Huble emphasized that alliance projects and events such as Splash expand the public’s perception of art.

“Our job is to expose people to different forms of art and help them realize how much it can enhance their lives,” Huble said.