Quixotic performs during Scottsdale Arts’ The ARTrageous Gala in 2022. The performance group will return to The ARTrageous Gala: Bloom this year. Photo: Chris Loomis

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Arts will bring its annual ARTrageous Gala back to the newly renovated Scottsdale Civic Center on April 1 for an outdoor celebration centered on a theme of “Bloom.”

The gala, blooming with radiant living art experiences and fantastical creations, is designed to be an ultra-sensory evening that will reignite the attendees’ passions for the arts.

“With the completion of the Scottsdale Civic Center campus and its new outdoor stages, we will have one of the most spectacular backdrops for a magnificent night under the stars,” said Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts. “Our outdoor campus will provide a setting unlike any other.”

Wuestemann noted that over the past four years, Scottsdale Arts has reinvented its gala to become more engaging, glamorous and forward-thinking. During the pandemic, the nonprofit arts organization shifted its traditional gala date from winter to spring, with an eye on a potential outdoor event like this year’s The ARTrageous Gala: Bloom.

The transformation began with last year’s Luminescence gala, a cirque-style experience unlike any other in the Valley, thanks to entertainment throughout the night by the performance art collective Quixotic. This year’s gala will again feature performances by Quixotic.

“Quixotic is very excited to come back to Arizona to work with the Scottsdale Arts organization and team,” said Mica Thomas, executive producer of Quixotic. “We love this partnership that supports our group in exploring new creative collaborations. We are looking forward to the next adventure.”

Festivities throughout the evening include a red-carpet arrival, living art activations, silent and live auctions, a delicious coursed meal, dessert bar and performances by Quixotic and the Valley’s own Walter Productions.

Honorees and awardees include the Lifetime Award in Service to Oskar Knoblauch, a local Holocaust survivor who has worked with Scottsdale Arts on a number of educational arts initiatives; the Corporate Trailblazer Award to SRP, a valued partner for Scottsdale Arts events like Canal Convergence; and the Herberger Award for the Arts to Dorothy Lincoln Smith, a longtime supporter of the arts and committee member for Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

For information about attending The ARTrageous Gala: Bloom or donating, visit ScottsdaleArts.org/artrageous-gala.

Scottsdale Arts would like to thank the following gala sponsors and partners: Billie Jo Herberger; Pride Guide Arizona; SOAR Foundation; S|T|O|R|E Capital; Harvard Investments, Inc.; Nationwide; SRP; Tito’s Handmade Vodka; Lincoln Property Company; BMO; Northern Trust; Nelson Art; Dollar Radio Rentals; Rhonda & Gary Anderson; Merle & Steve Rosskam; So Scottsdale!; Quixotic; and Walter Productions. ________________________________________________________________________________

SCOTTSDALE ARTS
Through its partnership with the city of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through four acclaimed branches — Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation — serving more than 600,000 participants annually. In conjunction with the city of Scottsdale, we also host more than 200,000 people annually on our campus through a robust rentals program.